September 15, 2010
The Commander of the Greek Kosovo Force Colonel George Chatzitheofanous related to officials that on September 11th, the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Amphilochios (Amfilohije) officiated Divine Liturgy with other Serbian Priests, and a priest from Thessaloniki.
The Divine Liturgy was attended by 150 Serbians and old
residents of Urosevac who left during the war, and
returned a few days ago from their permanent residences in
Serbia.
As noted by the Greek Colonel who was present at the
Divine Liturgy along with other officials of the Greek
Kosovo Force and Greek policemen of EULEX, the atmosphere
was overwhelming.
The construction of the Cathedral of St. Uros was
completed in 1933 by architect Joseph Mihajlovic. It was
the largest church in the city of Urosevac. The Cathedral
was built in honor of the patron saint of the city; an
ancient Serbian king who became a saint.
During the calamitous events of March 2004, the church was
taken over by Albanian demonstrators and suffered severe
damage. The Greek Kosovo Force which guarded the Church
had to withdraw under extremely difficult circumstances as
it could not control the civilians.
The cathedral of St. Uros has been closed since that time,
and become overgrown and littered with barbed wire, piles
of trash dirt, and rubble. This image of abandonment was
exactly what the Greek Force wanted to change, and it
gained many allies and helpers in this
effort. Regional bodies, the Mayor, the Imam,
the Catholic Bishop and others assisted Colonel
Chatzitheofanous.
Additionally KFOR military priests, including an American
Colonel, a Ukranian Colonel, and a German Lieutenant
Colonel responded to this appeal, along with EULEX
representatives and the OSCE.
