#trnovo

[postcard-from-the-past]

View of Trnovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnian vintage postcard

[veneroid]

"ja sam tvoja kćer" // 2024 // collage // džoli

"ako opet budeš pišao u reku, rusalke ce te naći"

[suetravelblog]

Gregorčki and Ljubljana Luv Fest Slovenia

Luv Fest Poster – Photo Primož Bregar The 2024 Ljubljana Luv Fest occurs between February 8 and March 12. It’s a “festival of love, art, and travel with cultural events, guided tours, and workshops for all generations”. There are so many activities, it’s almost dizzying, but I plan to attend as many as possible… Luv Fest Celebrating Love, Art, Wandering – Culture Tourist The festival began on the…

[jokeroutsubs]

Aww, looks like Bojan visited a primary school in Trnovo, Slovenia last week 🫶

Visit from the lead singer of Joker Out

"On Thursday, 15 June 2023, the 4th grade was visited by the singer Bojan Cvjetićanin from the band Joker Out. He attended the choir rehearsal, where the singers sang the song Carpe Diem accompanied by piano and were praised for their performance. It was unforgettable and magical."

- Translation by jokeroutsubs, DO NOT REPOST!

https://www.ostrnovo.si/2023/06/19/obisk-pevca-skupine-joker-out/

[orthodoxydaily]

SAINTS&READING: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024

october 14_october 27

VENERABLE NIKOLA , PRINCE OF CHERNHIOV AND WONDERWORKER OF THE YIEV CAVE ( 1143)

Saint Nicholas Sviatosha, Prince of Chernihiv, and Wonderworker of the Kyiv Caves, Near Caves, was a great-grandson of Great Prince Yaroslav the Wise and son of Prince David Svyatoslavich of Chernihiv (+ 1123). Nicholas was the Prince of Lutsk, and he had a wife and children (his daughter was later married to the Novgorod prince Saint Vsevolod-Gabriel (February 11).

On February 17, 1106 the holy prince left his family and was tonsured at the Kiev Caves monastery. Nicholas Sviatosha carried out his obediences with great humility. For three years he worked in the kitchen, for which he chopped wood and carried water. For the next three years, he was gatekeeper at the monastery. The saint had a garden around his cell. Out of his own means he built at the monastery the temple of the Holy Trinity and the infirmary church in the name of Saint Nicholas, his patron saint.

Saint Nicholas was the first of the Russian princes to accept monasticism, patiently enduring the reproaches of his brothers for his decision to lead a life of humble obedience. The saint’s doctor, Peter, pointed out to the royal ascetic that such exploits of obedience had injured his health. But suddenly the doctor himself fell sick, and was healed only by the prayer of Saint Nicholas. Then Peter himself was tonsured.

After he had progressed through various obediences, Saint Nicholas took upon himself the vow of silence. When the saint received money, he used it to beautify the church and to procure books (because he loved reading), or he distributed it to the poor. Saint Nicholas was a zealous peacemaker; in 1142 he reconciled the Prince of Chernigov with the Great Prince Vsevolod.

Soon after the saint's death, his brother Prince Izyaslav fell grievously ill. The monastery's igumen sent the sick man the saint’s hairshirt. Izyaslav put it on and was healed.

THE NUN PARASKEVA ( PETKA) OF EPIBATIMA, THRACE, WHOSE RELICS ARE IN LASI, ROMANIA ( 11th. c.)

She was born into a pious family, living during the eleventh century in the village of Epivato (Epibatimna), between Silistra and Constantinople. Her older brother Euthymius became a monk, and later he was consecrated as Bishop of Matidia.

One day, while attending the divine services, the words of the Lord pierced her heart like an arrow, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself” (Mt. 16:24). From that time she began to distribute her clothing to the needy, for which reason she endured much grief from her family.

Upon the death of her parents, the saint was tonsured into monasticism at the age of fifteen. She withdrew to the Jordanian desert where she lived the ascetic life until she reached the age of twenty-five. An angel of the Lord ordered her to return to her homeland, so she stayed at Epivato for two years.

Saint Paraskeva departed to the Lord at the age of twenty-seven, and was buried near the sea. Because of the many miracles which took place at her grave, her relics were uncovered and found to be incorrupt. They were placed in the church of the Holy Apostles at Epivato, where they remained for about 175 years.

Saint Paraskeva’s relics were moved to Trnovo, Bulgaria in 1223 and placed in the cathedral. Patriarch Euthymius wrote her Life and established the day of her commemoration as October 14. The Turks occupied Bulgaria in 1391, and her relics were given to Mircea the Elder, Prince of the Romanian Land (one of the districts of Romania).

In 1394 the relics were given to Princess Angelina of Serbia (July 30), who brought them to Belgrade. For 120 years Saint Paraskeva’s relics rested in Constantinople in the patriarchal cathedral.

On June 13, 1641, her incorrupt relics were transferred to the monastery of the Three Hierarchs at Jassy in Rumania, where many healings took place. On December 26, 1888, Saint Parasceva’s relics were moved again after being rescued from a fire. This time they were placed in the new cathedral at Iași, where they remain until the present day.

Hebrews 13:7-16

7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

John 17:1-13

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 6 I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. 9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

[zvetenze]

Umoljani village

Umoljani, Bosnia

Umoljani is a small mountain village southwest of Sarajevo in the municipality of Trnovo that is part of the Sarajevo Canton. The village sits to the south of the higher peaks of Bjelašnica. The village endures cold and snowy winters and mild summers. The traditional dwellings are constructed of local stone and wood from lower elevations of the mountain range. (photo 1988)

[thesynaxarium]

Today we celebrate the Virginmartyr Filothea of Argesh, Protectress of Romania. Saint Filothea’s mother died while she was still young and her father remarried. Filothea's stepmother proved to be a dishonourable woman, often punishing the young girl for her apparent disobedience when she would give their possessions away to the poor. Her father often reprimanded her as well for her spiritual life, but she continued to attend the divine services and to do good to others as her mother had taught her. The young Filothea excelled in virtue, prayer, and almsgiving. When her father worked in the fields, she was sent to take food to him. More than often, not all the food would reach her father as she would give much of it to the poor children begging in the streets. When her father complained to his wife about the minimal food she prepared for him, his wife responded that she sent him plenty of food, but rather that he should ask his daughter what she does with it. Out of spite, he decided to spy on the young Filothea. He witnessed her pious deeds of almsgiving, and in a frenzied rage, he drew his axe from his belt and hurled it at his unexpected daughter. This wound proved fatal and at 12 years of age, the young Virgin Martyr Filothea gave up her pure soul to the Lord. Filled with remorse for his deed, he tried to lift his daughter off the ground, but she became as heavy as a rock. Her father repented of his sin and confessed before the Archbishop of Trnovo who came with a procession to translate the holy relics to the cathedral but the body would not budge. Naming various places to the Saint, the Archbishop mentioned the Monastery in Argesh of Romania were they able to lift the body. Her holy relics were translated there and have been a source of countless miracles. May she intercede for us always + #saint #filofteia #filothea #filothei #philothei #romania #argesh #virginmartyr #martyr #alms #almsgiving #poor #charity #love #spiritual #faith #patron #patronsaint #protectress #miracles #miracle #wonderworker #orthodox #saintoftheday (at Curtea de Argeş, Argeş) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl24euKDK-s/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (January 14)

Originally Prince Rastko Nemanjic, he was the first Patriarch of Serbia (1219-1233) and is an important Saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In his youth (around 1192), St. Sava escaped from home to join the Orthodox monastic colony on Mount Athos.

He was given the name Sava. He first traveled to a Russian monastery and then moved to a Greek monastery, Vatoped.

At the end of 1197, his father, King Stefan Nemanja, joined him.

In 1198, the former prince and king restored the abandoned monastery Hilandar, which was the center of Serbian Christian monastic life at that time.

St. Sava's father took the monastic vows under the name Simeon. He died in Hilandar on 13 February 1200. He was also canonized as Saint Simeon.

After his father's death, Sava retreated to an ascetic monastery in Kareya, which he built himself in 1199. He also wrote the Kareya typicon both for Hilandar and for the monastery of ascetism.

St. Sava managed to persuade the Patriarch of the Greek/Byzantine Orthodox Church to elevate him to the position of the first Serbian archbishop, thereby establishing the independence of the archbishopic of the serbian church in the year of 1219.

St. Sava is celebrated as the founder of the independent Serbian Orthodox Church. He is also the patron saint of education and medicine among Serbs.

Since the 1830s, St. Sava has become the patron saint of Serbian schools and students.

He is also regarded as the father of Serbian education and literature. He authored the Life of St. Simeon (Stefan Nemanja, his father), the first Serbian hagiography.

After participating in a ceremony called "blessing of the waters," he developed a cough that progressed into pneumonia.

He died from pneumonia on 14 January 1235. He was buried at the Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Trnovo.

He remained in Trnovo until 6 May 1237, when his sacred bones were moved to Mileseva monastery in southern Serbia.

Three-hundred and sixty years later, the Ottoman Turks dug out his bones and burnt them on the main square in Belgrade.

The temple of St. Sava in Belgrade, whose construction was planned in 1939 and began in 1985, was built on the place where his holy bones were burned.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.2

437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome. 626 – Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. 706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang'an. 866 – Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army. 936 – King Henry the Fowler dies in his royal palace in Memleben. He is succeeded by his son Otto I, who becomes the ruler of East Francia. 963 – The Byzantine army proclaims Nikephoros II Phokas Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea. 1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg. 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain. 1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia. 1555 – Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola. 1561 – Menas, emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz. 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide. 1613 – The first English expedition (from Virginia) against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place. 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor. 1645 – Battle of Alford: Wars of the Three Kingdoms. 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine. 1723 – Bach's Magnificat is first performed. 1776 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not adopted until July 4. 1816 – The French frigate Méduse strikes the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board have to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa. 1822 – Thirty-five slaves, including Denmark Vesey, are hanged in South Carolina after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion. 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: The end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia. 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans led by Joseph Cinqué mutiny and take over the slave ship Amistad. 1840 – A Ms  7.4 earthquake strikes present-day Turkey and Armenia; combined with the effects of an eruption on Mount Ararat, kills 10,000 people. 1853 – The Russian Army crosses the Prut river into the Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia), providing the spark that will set off the Crimean War. 1864 – Dimitri Atanasescu founds the first Romanian school in the Balkans for the Aromanians in Trnovo, in the Ottoman Empire (now in North Macedonia). 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States. 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19). 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act. 1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London. 1900 – An airship designed and constructed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany made its first flight on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen. 1900 – Jean Sibelius' Finlandia receives its première performance in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus. 1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Germany. 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm. 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight. 1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta. 1940 – The SS Arandora Star is sunk by U-47 in the North Atlantic with the loss of over 800 lives, mostly civilians. 1962 – The first Walmart store, then known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas. 1964 – Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places. 1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll. 1976 – End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile. 1986 – Aeroflot Flight 2306 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Syktyvkar Airport in Syktyvkar, in present-day Komi Republic, Russia, killing 54 people. 1988 – Marcel Lefebvre and the four bishops he consecrated were excommunicated by the Holy See. 1990 – In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca. 1994 – USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. 1997 – The Bank of Thailand floats the baht, triggering the Asian financial crisis. 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional. 2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted. 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon. 2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks. 2008 – Colombian conflict: Íngrid Betancourt, a member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, is released from captivity after being held for six and a half years by FARC. 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people. 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx. 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.

[agrego9]

Chironico, november 2024

Old school freedom. Stara ekipa na starem placu :) Super odklop, po zelo delavnem septembru in oktobru. -> Balvanski vodnik Trnovo ob Soči je izdan! :D

Boljšega vremena si ne moreš zamisliti. Jesenske barve at it's best!

Varuhi švicarskih balvanov.

Odkrivanje novih sektorjev.

Les cliques a claques 7C. Beta je naštudirana :)

Tony problem res ni bil problem :)

[mariacallous]

Amid an ongoing vote count and elections overshadowed by deadly landslides and floods, it was already clear on Monday that no big changes in municipal governance will follow the October 6 local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Major national parties did not gain much support in big cities such as Banja Luka, Tuzla or Zenica in the elections. But their grip over smaller towns remains as strong as before. 

Turnout at Sunday’s elections was just above 47 per cent.

The new mayor of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia, a hot topic among Bosniak and Serb political parties, will be a Serb, Milos Vucic – a cousin of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who has been living in Srebrenica since 1995. Vucic declared victory on Sunday night. 

Drasko Stanivukovic, from the Party of Democratic Progress, PDP, the sitting mayor of Banja Luka, the administrative centre of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, will stay in office for another four years. 

Milorad Dodik, president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, said the main Bosnian Serb party got “44 per cent of the votes in Republika Srpska”.

The SNSD won 81 per cent of mayoral contests in Republika Srpska, or 51 out of 63 municipalities and towns. They will also have two mayors in the Federation entity,

In Banja Luka, the biggest city in Republika Srpska, Dodik said the SNSD “did not lose Banja Luka, we just didn’t win it.”

When it comes to the Federation entity, coalitions of the so-called Trojka parties kept most of the mayoral seats they held before. Zijad Lugavic will remain mayor of Tuzla; the mayors of Mostar and Sarajevo are chosen indirectly by the cities’ councils. 

In Sarajevo municipalities, the situation has not changed except in Novo Sarajevo Municipality, where current Sarajevo mayor, Benjamina Karic, is leading the race.

The incumbent mayor of Trnovo, Ibro Berilo, candidate of the main Bosniak party, the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, again won a mandate. Besides Trnovo, the SDA won 34 mayoral seats in total, eight more than in 2020. 

The Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ party, the biggest Croat party in Bosnia, dominated the race in municipalities with a Croat majority. However, compared to 2020, when HDZ held 20 mayoral offices, this year it won 17. 

Elections in Jablanica, Konjic, Kresevo, Kiseljak and Fojnica have been postponed, as these municipalities were struck by floods and landslides on October 4. The Central Election Commission, CEC, has a deadline of 30 days to decide when the elections will be held there. 

Watchdog organisations and the CEC reported numerous irregularities on polling day, including attempted vote buying, pressure on voters and problems with fingerprint scanners – which were tested at a limited number of polling stations.

A total of 26,089 certified candidates, of whom 10,983 were women, competed for 3,400,204 registered voters, including 44,789 people who were voting from abroad.

[starerazglednice]

Hostnikovi iz Podroj pri Šmartnem pri Litiji

Arhitekt Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) je po preselitvi iz Prage v Trnovo leta 1921,  postal sosed trnovskega župnika in pisatelja Frana Saleškega Finžgarja (1871-1961), ki je tu leta 1918 prevzel delo župnika. Trdno prijateljstvo in dobri odnosi so krasili oba soseda. Jeseni 1932 sta oba odšla na obisk v Podroje pri Šmartnem pri Litiji, kjer je bil doma Anton Hostnik( 1894-1967) kaplan v Trnovem, ki je nadomeščal župnika Finžgarja v času njegovega dopusta in ob drugih odsotnostih. Bil je tudi vodja župnijske pisarne. Med obiskom kaplanovega doma so bili vsi deležni lepega sprejema in pogostitve s strani kaplanovega brata. V prijetnem vzdušju in pogovoru je arhitekt Plečnik vzel v naročje kaplanovega nečaka Antona Hostnika ml.( 1929-2016), ki se je kot odrasel mladenič tudi odločil za poklic svojega strica in leta 1959 dobil mašniško posvečenje. V hiši Hostnikovih se je rodil tudi Davorin Hostnik (1853-1929) slovenski prevajalec, filolog in pedagog. Njegovi najbolj znameniti deli sta rusko-slovenski in slovensko-ruski slovar, ki sta izšla v Gorici. Za slovnico slovenskega jezika je leta 1918 dobil nagrado ruske Akademije znanosti.

[veneroid]

"Anđelika" // 2024 // egg tempera // džoli

"anđelika viče što svetom pismu fali nekoliko dobrih strana"

[jambolaja]

Rex-burger&beer

Miha invited me to Rex (+386 64 191 918; info@rex-bistro.si) for his 40 b’day. I arrived around 20h to Eipprova street. Ones cool area in Trnovo close to city center became hipster area. But stil it has his charm. I brought Miha few dark beers from Craft shop – beer shop near by. Around 10-15 people gathered there. Met some people after 10 years, some people from high school and few new…

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Saturday, October 21, 2023

october 8_october 21

VENERABLE PELAGIA (457) THE PENITENT OF THE Mt OF OLIVES

Saint Pelagia the Penitent was converted to Christianity by Saint Nonnus, Bishop of Edessa (Saturday of Cheesefare Week). Before her acceptance of Christianity through Baptism, Pelagia was head of a dance troupe in Palestinian Antioch, living a life of frivolity and prostitution.

On the following day, when Saint Nonnus was teaching in the church about the dread Last Judgment and its consequences, Pelagia came. The teaching made a tremendous impression upon her. With the fear of God and weeping tears of repentance, she asked the saint for Baptism. Seeing her sincere and full repentance, Bishop Nonnus baptized her.

By night the devil appeared to Pelagia, urging her to return to her former life. The saint prayed, signed herself with the Sign of the Cross, and the devil vanished.

Three days after her baptism, Saint Pelagia gathered up her valuables and took them to Bishop Nonnus. The bishop ordered that they be distributed among the poor saying, “Let this be wisely dispersed, so that these riches gained by sin may become a wealth of righteousness.” After this Saint Pelagia journeyed to Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. She lived there in a cell, disguised as the monk Pelagius, living in ascetic seclusion, and attaining great spiritual gifts. When she died, she was buried in her cell.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

NEW MONK-MARTYR IGNATIUS of BULGARIA and Mt ATHOS (1814).

The holy New Martyr Ignatius was born in the village of Eski Zagora in the Trnovo region of Bulgaria, and was named John in Baptism. While he was still a young child, his parents George and Maria moved to the city of Philippopolis and enrolled him in a school there.

Although he did well at school, he had a strong desire for the monastic life. Upon reaching adulthood, he entered the Rila monastery in western Bulgaria. There he was assigned to an Elder, with whom he lived in obedience for six years. When the Elder’s strictness became unbearable, John returned home.

About that time the Serbs rose in revolt against the Moslem government. John’s father was asked to take command of an Ottoman brigade, but he refused to fight against other Orthodox Christians.

The Moslems attacked George with furious anger. He was stabbed and then beheaded. John’s mother and sisters were also taken by the Hagarenes, and they ultimately agreed to convert to Islam.

John fled and hid in the home of an elderly Orthodox woman. His mother and sisters learned where he was hiding, and they told the Moslems. Those sent to capture him did not know what he looked like, so the old woman told them she did not know him. The woman helped him escape to Bucharest, Romania, where he became acquainted with Saint Euthymius, who would also endure martyrdom.

John did not wish to stay in Bucharest, however, and so he left for Mt. Athos. On the way he visited the village of Soumla, where he ran into his friend Father Euthymius again. Learning that Euthymius had denied Christ and beome a Moslem, John became very sad and left the village.

He had not gotten very far when Turkish soldiers stopped him and took all his possessions. They demanded that he convert to Islam, and in his fright he told them that he would do so. Satisfied with this reply, they let him go.

John reached the village of Eski Zagora, where he met an Athonite monk from the monastery of Grigoriou. They journeyed to the Holy Mountain together, and John settled in the Skete of Saint Anna. There he met Father Basil.

One day John and Father Basil traveled to Thessalonica on monastery business. While they were there the monks David and Euthymius of Demetsana suffered martyrdom because they were Christians. John was inflamed with the desire for martyrdom. Father Basil, however, urged him to postpone his intention, and so they returned to the Holy Mountain. A short time after this, Father Basil died.

When a monk from the Skete of Saint Anna told him of the martyrdom of the New Martyr Euthymius (March 22), John was once more filled with zeal for martyrdom. He was placed under the spiritual direction of the Elder Acacius, who prescribed for him prayer, prostrations, and reading the Gospel.

In time, John was found worthy of monastic tonsure, and was given the new name Ignatius. The Elder Acacius blessed him to travel to Constantinople with the monk Gregory in order to bear witness to Christ. After receiving the Holy Mysteries in Constantinople, Ignatius felt he was ready for his ordeal.

Dressed in Moslem garb, Ignatius went before the kadi and proclaimed his faith in Christ. He told him how he had promised to become a Moslem when he was younger, but now he threw his turban at the kadi’s feet and said that he would never deny Christ.

Thinking that Ignatius was insane, the kadi warned him that if he did not come to his senses he would endure horrible torments before being put to death. On the other hand, if he embraced Islam, he would receive rich gifts and great honor from them.

The courageous martyr told the kadi to keep his gifts, for they were merely temporal gifts. “Your threats of torture and death are nothing new,” he said, “and I knew of them before I came here. In fact, I came here because of them, so that I might die for my Christ.”

Saint Ignatius went on to call Mohammed “a false prophet, a teacher of perdition, and a friend of the devil.” Then he invited the Moslems to believe in Christ, the only true God.

The kadi then became so angry he could not speak, so he motioned for a servant to lead Saint Ignatius out of the room. Ignatius turned and struck the servant, then knelt before the kadi and bent his neck, as if inviting him to behead him then and there. Other servants entered the room, however, and dragged him off to prison.

Later, Ignatius was brought before the kadi for questioning. When asked who had brought him to Constantinople, he replied, “My Lord Jesus Christ brought me here.”

Again the kadi urged him to reconsider, for he was about to experience unimaginable tortures. “Do not expect to be beheaded so that the Christians can collect your blood as a blessing,” he said, “for I intend to hang you.”

Ignatius replied, “You will be doing me a great service whether you hang me or put me to the sword. I accept everything for the love of Christ.”

Seeing that he could not turn Ignatius from his Christian Faith, the kadi ordered him to be hanged. He was taken to a place called Daktyloporta, where the sentence was carried out. The martyr’s body remained hanging there for three days, then some pious Christians paid a ransom for it and took it to the island of Prote for burial.

Saint Ignatius gave his life for Christ on October 8, 1814. He is also commemorated on May 1 with Saints Acacius and Euthymius.

The head of Saint Ignatius is in the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mt Athos.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

2 CORINTHIANS 1:8-11

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

LUKE 5:27-32

27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. 29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" 31 Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance

[zvetenze]

Highlands with Bjelašnica Planina beyond

Kramari, Bosnia

Kramari is a small village to the south of Bjelašnica Planina, in the municipality of Trnovo that is within the Sarajevo Canton. The highest peak of Bjelašnica rises to 2,067 meters above sea level. The village contains traditional dwellings and outbuildings constructed of stone with wooden framed walls and steeply pitched wooden roofs. These high pasturelands are used in the summer, following cold and snowy winters. (photo 1988)