Great Serbian spiritual leader rests in Vitovnica monastery: We all remember Father Tadej's words well

Photo: Ivan Strahinic

10 kilometers from Petrovac na Mlavi, on the banks of the river Vitovnica, is the monastery of the same name, which has been declared a cultural monument of great importance in Serbia.

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According to tradition, this shrine was built by the Serbian King Stefan Milutin at the end of the 13th century. However, the first written sources about the existence of the Vitovnica monastery date only from the 15th century, from the time of the Turkish occupation.

The monastery church, built in the Morava style, is dedicated to the Assumption of the Mother of God. The monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and what it is particularly famous for is the "Vitovnica Gospel" which is bound in gold and silver and kept in the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade.

The confessor priest of the most beloved Serbian patriarch, Pavle, died in the spring of 2003 in Backa Palanka, and rests in the monastery cemetery in Vitovnica, where believers come every day to pray for health.

Even those who never came to Vitovnica carry at least a grain of spirituality that Father Tadej has shared with his people. It was this clergyman, whom many perceive as a holy man of God, who wrote a book entitled, "The way your thoughts are, is the way your life is."

"The kind of thoughts we deal with - is how our life is. If our thoughts are calm and quiet - we have peace. If our thoughts are negative - there's a feeling of unrest," wrote Father Tadej of Vitovnica.

Photo: Ivan Strahinic

(Ona.rs)