“Regardless of who we are and what we believe, there are places that quietly erase all differences and remind us of the purest part of ourselves. The great shrines in Kosovo and Metohija, especially the Visoki Decani Monastery, carry a strength that does not ask for our name or the path we walk,” say Aleksandra Kožul and Marija Stepanović Dinić, representatives of our Association, following their tour of the Serbian monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija.
A year and a half ago, Aleksandra visited Visoki Decani for the first time. Although she knew she wanted to return, the journey was thwarted for months by obstacles—ranging from family illnesses and surgeries to the fears of friends whose memories remain trapped in the traumas of refugee columns and enclaves surrounded by barbed wire. Yet, despite the advice of those around them not to go, the decision was made almost overnight.
“Everyone around me was in shock, and some earnestly begged us to back out, asking where we were going alone and how we would manage at the administrative crossing. But inside me, there was only peace and an inexplicable certainty. I knew that when you set out with an open heart, bad things simply cannot happen,” testifies Aleksandra Kožul. Her determination was matched by her friend Marija.
“When Aleksandra told me, ‘I’m going to Decani, even if I go alone,’ I just looked at her and briefly replied, ‘I’m coming with you.’ Fear gave way to pure trust. Throughout the trip, the GPS kept losing signal, but our inner compass made no mistakes—we felt as though we were traveling under an invisible shield,” points out Marija Stepanović Dinić.
Their journey first led them to the Patriarchate of Peć, where, in complete silence and free from tourist groups, they felt the centuries-long endurance of history. At Visoki Decani, they attended the evening service and venerated the relics of Holy King Stefan Dečanski, while their impressions were further enriched by conversations with the abbot, Archimandrite Sava, and hieromonk Father Peter.
“Their gentleness and wisdom cannot be described with ordinary words. A conversation with them brings a peace that imperceptibly settles under your skin and stays within you as a gift you carry home,” emphasizes Aleksandra.
Following historic Prizren and a moving visit to the damaged vaults of the Church of the Mother of God of Levišla, where, as they say, the scars on the walls became their brightest medals—came an encounter with a different face of survival in Velika Hoča. The circle was closed with a visit to Gračanica, carrying the message that the anxieties at the start of the trip vanish the moment you cross the administrative line.
“This journey was proof that history is still lived through the people there. That is why I would like to encourage anyone thinking about making this trip: do not be afraid, but rejoice. There, alongside the ancient walls, you will surely find a part of yourselves that you may have lost along the way,” conclude Aleksandra and Marija.
