VELJKO GUBERINA 800 YEARS OF HILANDAR
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This year of 1998 is dedicated, by all our people, regardless of which part of the globe they live on, to the celebration of 800 years of Hilandar monastery, one of the most important foundations of Serbian spirit, culture and faith. It was and will always be an indestructible flame of our centuries-long existence. Therefore, the decision of the Managing Board of our Chamber is understandable, when on its session on June 13, 1998, it was decided that we, too, at the occasion of traditional Vidovdan gatherings of Attorneys of Serbia, should join the celebration. Thus we are helping the future generations of Serbian attorneys never to forget the unique Monk State on the Earth with the only Serbian monastery on the Sveta Gora (The Sacred Mauntain) - Hilandar, which represents an inexhaustible treasure of our spiritual culture, which has given us the strength to overcome and overpower all the difficulties our people have been going through. On this occasion we should briefly describe that spiritual center of Orthodox Christianity, source of worship of Saint Sava, guardian of Serbian cultural inheritance, the most important monument of our history.
When great Zupan (Head of tribal state) Stefan Nemanja, in monasticism called Simeon, joined his son Sava on the Sveta Gora in 1196, at first they lived in the Greek monastery Vatopedu. Aiming to found a Serbian monastery on Sveta Gora, they turned to the Byzantine emperor Aleksei III Ancel to give them the deserted monastery of Helandar. The Byzantine emperor granted their request, and in 1198 issued a document to Simeon and Sava, giving them Helandar and Mileja - district around the monastery as an eternal gift to the Serbs.
The same year the father and the son started raising Hilandar. During the construction in 1199, Simeon died, and the monastery was finished by the end of the year. Apart from the church deducted to the Virgin´s Assumption, a large tower and cells for monks were built. The same year Sava founded an ascetic group in which he, and then his followers, led recluse and strict monk lives. Sava made a typicon for Hilandar, determining thus the monastic way of life which had been respected through the centuries. For the ascetic group Sava made a special typicon, the original of which, in the form of parchment roll, is kept in Hilandar. There were approximately 15 monks in the monastery at the beginning, but the number soon grew to 90. During the XIII century Serbian rulers from the Nemanjic Dynasty kept on caring for Hilandar and took over church-founding responsibilities. Within the monastery walls, in time a multitude of churches decorated with icons and frescoes was built, reconstructed and restored, as well as towers and other constructions. On the place of the small Nemanja´s and Sava´s church, Milutin, the Serbian king raised in 1303 a church in which religious rituals have been performed till the present day. King Milutin, the greatest builder from the Nemanjic Dynasty, raised numerous cells for the Hilandar monks, a joint dining room, powerful towers, and gave to the monastery many estates, hand-written books, church vessels and other valuables. King Stefan Decanski kept the tradition, but Emperor Dusan, who for a short time even ruled Sveta Gora, bestowed abundant gifts to Hilandar and other monasteries from Sveta Gora, approximately 20 of them. He also found shelter there in 1347-48, running away from the plague that raged through Europe. During that time Hilandar owned large estates in Pomoravlje, around Pec, Struma, Thessaloniki, and especially Halkidiki. The aristocracy followed the Emperor´s example.
The material progress of Hilandar was followed by a spiritual prosperity. It became an exquisite literary and theological center. Two extremely important literary accomplishments of Serbian Middle Age literature were written there - the Life of St. Sava and the Lives of Serbian Kings and Archbishops. Numerous transcribers copied various scripts for the needs of religious service, as well as those with theological contents. By mid XIII century a colossal library was created with numberless scripts, 150 Greek and 150 Serbian charters were among them. There is an enormous treasury in the monastery consisting of relics, historical works and art-works. The first Serbian hospital was founded, and first medical book The Doctors´ Codex written there. For all that, and even more, for its good reputation, we should be grateful to the renowned monks and priests. Many of them became heads of the Peć Archepiscopy, later Patriarchate. Many painters came to paint the church, and make iconostasis and other icons for it. Even the Duke Lazar himself, although it was around 1380, became a founder by widening the main church, the Milutin´s foundation. And even after the Battle on Marica in 1371 and the Turkish unrestrainable invasion on the Christian states on the Balkans - the interpreting and transcribing activities in Hilandar remained the same. Hilandar and the Sveta Gora lost freedom in 1430, and for almost 5 centuries lived under the Turkish reign - till 1912. Hilandar lost many estates, but, luckily, from 1550 help started coming from Russia. Russian Emperor Ivan IV The Terrible was a great XVI century donor. He sent money for reconstruction of the monastery, icons, books, church objects. The help kept on coming till the end of XVIII century and the reign of the Emperor Peter the Great. Hilandar entered the XVIII century aiming to fortify its position by strengthening connections with the orthodox Slavic population. Beside the help from Russia which from the ruler was transferred to the Russian Sacred Synod, the inhabitants of Hilandar turned to the Metropolitan of Karlovci and Serbian church municipalities in the South Hungary. The help came from Serbian parts of Austria-Hungary from rich donors, mostly town-inhabitants: tradesmen and craftsmen. It helped Hilandar live through prolific periods. Even though in the period there were no eminent monks - writers, there were many transcribers who worked hard at the monastery. The school of fresco - painting went through various phases of its development. Even Dositej Obradovic lived at the monastery in 1765 and 1766. At the beginning of the XIX century the Greek uprising and the plague brought many troubles to the monasteries of Sveta Gora. Turkish violence resulted in significant decrease of number of the monks. During the XIX century the monastery was populated by Bulgarian monks although the connections with Serbian kings were preserved. Duke Miloš Obrenović helped the monastery, and King Aleksandar Obrenovic visited it in 1896 and paid the Serbian debt, since when the monastery became Serbian again. The Karađordjevic Dynasty kept the founding tradition. There was a certain stagnation in care and interest for the monastery after the II World War, as a result of the political situation in our region. However, Hilandar kept on living, and now the principal turns its attention to it again and wants to make up for the past period. It is certain that it will keep on doing its great task of being spiritual center of Orthodox Christianity, culture and our history. The eight centuries of Hilandar represent eight hundred years of our history: defeat and crisis, but also resurrection and victory. At the end, it is necessary to point out once again: Hilandar is a place of continuity of the spirit of Serbian people, regardless of the periods they went through. Nothing has changed here in respect to devotion and faith in God, meaning that canons and typics from the period of St. Sava are still honoured. On the other side, it managed to remain a guardian of Serbian cultural inheritance thanks to its rich library and even richer treasury. Besides, in every step of Hilandar miraculous and sacred things and happenings are encountered.
The most famous one certainly is Trojerucica the icon of Mother of God with three hands placed at the Prior´s throne in the Cathedral (Saborna Crkva) and is considered the protectress of the entire Sveta Gora. There are seven more miraculous icons in the monastery, as well as the miraculous icon of Christ the Saviour from the second half of the XIII century. One of great miracles is the Vine of St. Simeon which sprouted out by itself from his grave after St. Sava dug out his bones in 1206 and transferred them to Serbia in order to make peace between his brothers Vukan and Stefan. The vine has been bearing fruit for almost eight centuries without special care and protection, except pruning. At the end, the olive tree should be mentioned, which the Emperor Dusan planted himself in 1348. The inhabitants of Hilandar have been caring for it till the present day, and it has been living and bearing fruit for almost seven centuries. Let the eight centuries of Hilandar be our inspiration and support, especially today when Serbia and Serbian people are fighting for their survival! June 21, 1998
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