 |
| Mr Stevo Pendarovski – President of Republic of North Macedonia |
An address of the President, Mr Stevo Pendarovski, made during the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Bigorski Monastery, on October 18th, 2020.
Dear respected Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia and Justiniana Prima,
Dear Bishop of Antania, Abbot of the Bigorski Monastery St. John the Baptist,
Dear members of the Bigorski Monastery,
Dear friends,
Three days ago, at the threshold of this great day, I had the honour to award the Monastery of St. John the Baptist with the medal of Merit for special achievements. On behalf of all Macedonian citizens, I thank you for the contribution that this place selflessly has been making through the centuries, increasing the spiritual, cultural and historical heritage of our people and the country to which it belongs
This day is not long enough for us to describe at least the major events of Bigorski’s millennial history. However, if we could look at these thousand years as one day, even for a moment we could see the first Archbishop of Ohrid John of Debar founding and consecrating the Monastery. We would witness generations of faithful, monks and laymen, rebuilding, upgrading and keeping the Bigorski Monastery alive. We would see the Macedonian constructors building these beautiful historical monuments from limestone, the legendary Miyak woodcarvers patiently carving the Bigorski iconostasis, and the famous painters painting the frescoes and icons in the church.
We would see a thousand celebrations of Christ’s birth and resurrection. We would witness the monastery becoming a source of spirituality, literacy, and spiritual rebirth and a home to people who were undoubtedly far ahead of their time, such as – Cyril Pejchinovikj, Joakim Krchovski, Anatolius and Parthenius Zografski and the Miladinovci brothers.
Unfortunately, we would also get to see great tribulations and accidents, because, over the centuries, the Bigorski Monastery went through persecution, fires and wars, yet managed to outlive different empires, states and ideologies. At times it was abandoned, but it was never forgotten or erased from people’s memory. After each accident, the monks, together with the people, rebuilt this sanctuary, each time reaching new spiritual and artistic heights.
0 Comments