The divine wisdom and providence arranged today for our generation to be the witness of a truly rare historical event. Today the Holy Bigorski Monastery, the spiritual summit of our nation, the heart of our spirituality, the centuries-old lighthouse which illuminated the path towards a beautiful and sublime to generations and generations of our people, the icon of Christ’s light – celebrates its 1000 year jubilee! There aren’t enough words to describe the importance and magnificence of today’s event, but the greatest testimony could be the history written on this Sunday, this day of the resurrection. And “this day”, as our beloved Elder and Abbot, the Bishop Parthenius mentioned in his address the evening before, “is actually underlining and completion of 1000 years long life testimony, of constant feat and sacrifice in this sacred sanctuary of the most honourable Forerunner and Baptist John, thus concluding the humble achievement of our sacred monastic community. Standing in awe before this magnificent anniversary, our hearts are filled with gratitude and due respect for our noble predecessors, the reposed fathers and brothers of ours, who managed to write the Word of Truth in their hearts and left us an example of authentic life and immense inheritance.”
Witnesses of this spiritual greatness and festivity were thousands of souls – not just physically present at the monastery but also those who were spiritual with us, following the TV broadcast on our channels. Among those present, strictly following the rules for protection instated by the government, were the sponsor of the ceremony our president Mr Stevo Pendarovski, as well as members of the diplomatic core in our country, representatives of the social, cultural, scientific and political life and many faithful and friends of the Monastery.
Despite all the strict and complicated international measures, to our joy, we had precious friends who came to our celebration from several countries like Albania, USA, Bulgaria, England, Germany, Greece, Poland, Serbia and Sweden.
The Divine Eucharist served out in the open in the Monastery Yard on the specially prepared and decorated podium, headed by our respected Archbishop Mr Steven in co-service with the members of the Holy Synod of MOC-OA, was a real spiritual delight for every God-inspired soul and a liturgical seal of the 1000 years old Bigorski history.
As a sign of gratitude for the Archipastoral prayers and the Synodal support of the ceremony for the 1000th anniversary of Bigorski, our Elder and About – Bishop Parthenius decorated the Archbishop with the highest millennial award – stripes with a star and a cross, carrying the image of the Honorable Forerunner.
The Archbishop awarded us with a wonderful God-inspired sermon follower by the powerful address of the sponsor of the millennial event, our president Mr Stevo Pendarovski. In his address, the president managed to convey a very positive and inspiring message for the future to come.
On behalf of our monastic community, the Hieromonk Dositheus presented our Elder and Bishop with Bishop’s encolpion set carrying the sign of the 1000th anniversary.
The most touching address came from the hundreds of hearts who were invited in some way by God to this holy place to be healed by the devastating vices and addictions and find themselves in the blissful life of Christ’s church. Those who are inseparable part of our family, part of our Elder’s heart, of the hearts of all the monks and nuns in our monastic community, spoke today through the trembling voice of Mr Athanasius Cvetkovski.
The event concluded with the awarding of the medal “Forerunner” to those who have contributed greatly for the magnificence of the holy Bigorski monastery and the success of its evangelical mission.
In the end, we would like to offer our gratitude to those who invested themselves in the organization and successful realization of the great millennial celebration. Also, we ask forgiveness from all of you who were forced to stay out of the monastery due to the state safety protocol. This was not our intention. That’s why we made sure that all of you could follow the service live on three screen displays placed outside the monastery.
You can see the full event here and the full gallery
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