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INTERVIEW WITH FATHER FOTIOS (Djurdjevich), head of Monastery Shishatovac (Serbian: Šišatovac)



I FOUND IT ALL IN CHRISTIANITY!


The journalist Ljilja Nikolich-Sindjelich spoke with the monk, Father Fotios Djurdjevich, the head of the monastery Shishatovac, a painter and icon painter, for the magazine "The Way, the Truth and the Life":

- Father Fotios, would you like to tell us at the beginning of the conversation, what course your life had taken until your decision to abandon the common living and enter the monastery?

- I was born in 1945 in a very poor family in Shabac, where I completed elementary school, "Laza Lazarevich". I was fortunate in that one of my sisters sang in the choir (mixed Shabac’ choir), regularly, while another sister of mine also sang there, sometimes. The choir director was a priest Gregory Babovich Glisha, who also managed to find the time and had compiled the chronicles of the city Shabac 1941-1945, which now appear in the "voice of Podrinja" - a local magazine. If I remember correctly, as I was still a school boy at a time, we had frequent power cuts in those late fifties, and there was nobody that could take care of me, so my sisters used to take me along to their choir practice, where I listen to the singing, sitting in some corner. A whole new world opened up before me and the singing felt rather close to my heart, especially because we all had a sense for music in the family.

Then I remember the wonderful moments when mom asked me and my little sister to take the wheat to the church in a so-called "vezenom - vez" - that is a very finely woven fabric. I remember the first snow, the thin snow cover of 5-6 cm, which covered the ground. I still remember that feeling of whiteness, purity and sublimity, as we walked into the church. This was crucial for understanding that the church is something very significant. Until the age of 10 to 12 years, I went to church almost regularly. And as a future artist, I remember particularly well the purple vestments made of plush fabric. This left a lasting impression on me and shaped my future painting. I remember these braids on the purple priestly robes, and later I realized how refined were the used colors - in relation to the painting technique - because the colors, yellow and purple, are complementary to one another. This was decisive for my future life and orientation. Then I went to Novi Sad, where my protective mother, in concern to ensure that I would harbor a safe profession, recommended that I attend the Higher School of Civil Engineering, within the Department for the regulation of rivers, water and sanitation. Here, I had to learn different equations. But once I graduated, I brought the degree to my mother and said, "Well mother, I have completed it all and now I will enroll in the course that I strive for!" Since I have already been living in Novi Sad and was used to the atmosphere, this is where I enrolled in the Higher School of painting.

That was a decade when my faith somewhat ceased, it was the time of accepting the secular way of life, when I turned more towards the everyday, my career. But as I was maturing, thinking and remembering the good things from my childhood, and in comparison to what I was seeing and feeling, I knew that it (the profane) was not the right thing. The decisive factor was when I travelled to France in 1972, and took up a job at Peugeot. Since I spoke French, I was immediately hired as a graphic designer for the front page of the factory’s newsletter. Peugeot is a large corporation, at the time employing about 20,000 people. I was responsible for the cover and the illustrations, but in parallel, to this work I have already been seeking a spiritual life. Most fortunately, I had heard that, not far from Paris, there was a castle with an Orthodox chapel. This chapel belonged to a Russian princess, who although she was married to a French nobleman, remained Orthodox and had their own chapel, so the Russian emigrants also came there to pray to God. I also began to go there for worship and that is where I got to know Father Geor              ge Drobota. I made friends with this wonderful priest, who lived with his family in the Russian Orthodox Institute of Saint Serge in Paris.

Father Fotios spoke noting that it was his stay in Paris that was a decisive factor in his choice to become a monk. He tells us that he still fondly remembers the friendship with Father George Droboto, who had a studio within the courtyard of the Institute of St. Sergei, where he painted icons. There father Fotios started his iconpainting. At home - in a small studio near the Sacre Coeur Cathedral - he has devoted, as he says, to the "secular painting", while then in the afternoon, he would go to father Droboto to learn his first steps of icon painting.

- At that time, Father Amfilohios, who is now Metropolitan, arrived to Paris. I got to know him in a bistro, which was near the Institute of Saint Serge. He came to Paris, from Greece, through Italy, to hold lectures, I think it was about asceticism and the Holy Fathers (Serbian: "Sveti oci"). Together with the Serbs, who studied in Paris, I went to him, to his cell, a modest set up for a monk, where we listened to him and had a cup of tea. I learned a lot from Father Amfilohios. At that time a final decision already began to ripen tilting my views towards what was really essential. Family of Father George, who had seven children, yet everything still functioned flawlessly, left an equally strong impression on me - as a really good Christian family, faithful, calm, where you could hear a prayer before every meal. This is how I found my life’s spiritual crossroad. In humans different spiritual developments are taking place, the classification of certain spiritual movements, or the search for the meaning of life. Christ was a great revelation for me, the joy that actually there is no death. It is through the Lord Jesus Christ and Orthodoxy that I found an answer to the problem of death. This is something that preoccupies everyone. At one point in their life, everyone wonders: what exactly is the meaning of our life, what is it all for, why all the effort, the toil of our parents, our effort, if life ends with death, with the grave, the stench! If life is such, then it makes no sense, and everyone would raise their hands onto themselves (commit suicide), if that were the real end. But luckily for us it is not so. In Christianity, I found it all! I found the meaning of my own life and the sense of other people - namely, that these are eternal beings, that they are my brothers and sisters. There is no death, there are only migrations, as Crnjanski said.

- How did your friends react?

- You know, I had friends in Paris, but these were not truly deep relations, they were my colleagues, more concerned with their careers. But, at the Institute of Saint Serge, I met some Serbs, whom I became very close with and who shared the same aspirations like me. In life, you change friends and acquaintances, and you begin to bond with the people who have the same understanding of the transcendental life. When I found Christ, my painting career in itself was not important, as the ranking of my values changed. I understood that there is simply no life without Christ, and that there is no life without the feeling that God is the Creator of the universe.

- And your mother, how did she take your decision?

- She did not take it negatively nor positively; Even though my mother had other plans for me, she knew the Church's values. She did not practice religion highly, nor did she openly proclaim her faith, but I could see her when she secretly prayed and wept. She had the gift of tears. I can say that in general, people mourn for one thing or another, but my life was wonderful, as it were, complete: my soul was curious, in a positive sense, not wishing to know for the sake of knowledge itself, although this was certainly the case in the period between my twentieth and thirtieth year of life, when the man is the most vain, wishing to learn and demonstrate as much as possible - presenting music, painting, general knowledge, but this did not last long. Thank God my whole life slowly re-composed itself. I found myself in a peaceful euphoria, this was how I learned to love the eternal life, and I've become so fond of it. In the beginning when I did not know that the soul is immortal, even the seasons were full of melancholy: spring, autumn ... I asked myself why all this was happening? Then I would hear that this one died and the other one died, even some great personalities died, and I wondered what it all boils down to ... I had so many confrontations, what is the point of the whole thing, but when I went out into the luminosity of the Easter greeting, I felt the greatest delight. You know, I was inclined towards the fairy tales, painting, and the realization that there is no death, for me was a real fairy tale – there is no death. Now I really respect the way I will be received there (after death), not knowing the criteria, but I do know that I am not going into ‘nothing’, but into the true reality.  I feel that my mother and my sisters are happy that I am a monk.

- From the free thinking painter’s realm you have entered quiet a different spiritual world. How has that been like?

- I did not go to the monastery immediately. I returned to Serbia and was faced with the enormous problems, that I had to resolve within myself, to reorganize my values. Quiet naturally, this was difficult and painful. Before I returned, I realized that I was increasingly less attracted to the everyday living. I understood the essence of the message: what good are all the world’s gains to a man if he harms his own soul. That was the key sentence for me. I felt that one can be an extraordinary painter, but that this does not mean, at all, that one would be a successful painter, but that that depends on many other factors. It was when I had realized this that I decided to return to Yugoslavia in 1975. I lived a superb life, visited many monasteries and cultivated friendships with people of faith. It was a wonderful time in my life. There were also uncomfortable moments, including interrogations by the police, but I felt rather victorious even then , thinking that without persecution my dues would be low. I am not sure whether the police have my dossier, but I would be happy if they did. I lived in my own world, knowing that I had made the right choice. Evidently I was interested in the external reality to the extent to which I was connected with it, but otherwise I was living entirely as an internal immigrant. I began to approach the monastery, watching from afar what was happening, what was being done there and slowly, little by little, I came and left. It was not easy for me because I was a city person, I had a life like all the former urban youth, in other words, I never learned to perform physical labor. At that time, the generations who chose the life following the example of Jesus Christ and the life of a monk had two choices: First, the Serbian Holy Mountain Atos ( Serbian:"Sveta Gora"): but there was the foremost front, the most difficult one, the one with the most difficult sacrifices, work and prayers. Second, to participate in the monastic life in rural Serbia, where one would be exposed to the harshest physical tasks, from transporting wood from the forest to all agricultural activities, such as corn harvesting, hay collection, etc.. This was not impossible, but we, the city kids, simply did not how to do this kind of work. We were not accustomed to these agricultural chores. I came and I went. I withdrew because it was not easy to cancel my previous life and immediately get used to living such a lifestyle. But, after some time, I decided to go to Kosovo, where Bishop Artemios knew very wisely how to lead us youngsters. There, in Zochiste, I became a monk. I got a beautiful task, to paint the icons, because I had already learned the art of icon painting with father George Dobrot, in Paris. Singing and painting, these were my tasks. I stayed there until 1995 and then, with the blessing of Bishop Artemios, moved into the monastery Lelich, which was just formed and under the lead from the monastery Kaona. We were one brotherhood. From Lelich I moved into the community of Srem, because I could not rest in Lelic, and if someone wants to paint, then he needs a large inner balance and peace. In Lelich pilgrims’ buses arrived constantly and since I had the task of a monastic leader, I constantly interrupted my painting. This is why I wanted to retire to a monastery, where I would have more peace. So, I came to the monastery Shishatovac, a small monastic brotherhood, which allows me to paint. I paint icons and portraits, for which I received the blessing long ago from Bishop Artemios, who said: "Since each face represents an unrepeatable icon, the monk can also paint portraits. Everyone is different wherein lies infinite creativity.“
Klosters Shishatovac
Klosters Shishatovac

- Today, many young people wander from one monastery to another without finding serenity. What are your thoughts about this?

- To truly answer that question, one would have to know the soul of these wandering people. The people who decide to live in the monastery, today, usually bear a great burden from the world around them: either they come from broken families, or they were not successful in their social life, or they could not manage very well; while from the other hand, they do feel the transcendental life, long for love and togetherness. But this burden that they carry around with them, prevents them to anchor themselves  definitely in one environment. Probably these young people also simply find it impossible to adhere to the set tasks at the monastery, which is what I had felt myself. Here I would like to go back to my days as a novice. I was 35 years old when I saw the birth of the calf for the first time: I was horrified. Then I remember the heavy work, such as the transport of timber from the forest. We had to transport the fallen tree trunks with a steel chain and with the help of cows, from the forest beyond; firstly attaching the fallen tree trunk with the steel chain and then the pulling. I was afraid that the chains would injure my fingers and that would be the end of my painting. The lack of habit of rough, heavy physical work caused me great difficulty.

- But you had not given up!

- No. I always saw myself as a monk, especially when I related to the Greek and Russian monks who came to the Institute of Saint Serge- so to speak, I saw the "fire of faith." Then I understood exactly what made Paris so valuable: they were the Orthodox churches. This monasticism was the intellectual elite, something particularly elevated. Monasticism is the guide, the barometer of a nation and their maturity and character of the general optimism. Where monasticism prospers, the nation is also on the growth curve, while where it shrinks, be sure that its people will disappear. In our nation, it thrives.

- Do you have any advice for young people?

- I would advise everyone not to give up. They should skip over this ditch, as well as they can, as long as they are moving forward, to keep skipping and if they do not manage the first time, nor the fifteenth, they would the twentieth. One must know that our time was very specific. There were priests, but one must have in view the whole situation back then: there was communism and totalitarian ideologies. A"great power" had to be defeated. It was like a terrible flywheel, which always turned in one direction, but we had to go in the opposite direction.

- Wouldn’t you say that this flywheel of temptations got even harder in the last twenty years or so?

-Yes, but do not forget that there are now many more sources of information, there are books, even radio shows, which was unimaginable in my time. This means that you can get informed and sort your life in the time that you are at. Also, I think that there is no place on this planet where humans can not find salvation. Of course, in some places with more and others, with less effort. And when we speak of an urban environment, then the human beings must cleverly balance out their active life: socializing, professional engegements etc. but also to find the strength to withdraw from that world, to pray to God, in order to receive the benefical power of tranquility, to then, stengthened within, return back to that (external) world.

-Today, many people do not accept that God exists, or otherwise do not accept any authority. How should one cope in such a world?

- This is a great misfortune and a great mistake. My generation, and myself amongst them, really had to endure much suffering. As Dostoyevsky said: "My Hosanna went through a lot of suffering" that is to say that everything was paid for dearly. It is so terrible that many people do not recognize the existence of God, it is as if one were to say to their own parents, "wait, let us first examine whether you really are my father and you really are my mother." This is the proof that people who think like that are basically compromised or violated, because only someone who is deeply hurt, may say "no"to the Lord! The man is constructed in such a way that we can resist even the Lord. I have seen that this can occur in people who are in great anguish and suffering, then they can sometimes blame the Lord asking why this happened or the other… But, stand agaist the Lord in full consciousness truly signifies that the demonic force has made a significant breakthrough for the soul, and therefore reflected the soul on the side of the demon. But, at the same time, the Lord is allforgiving. He loves everyone and desires that all people get to know the truth, and that they reach salvation. So, the Lord will take up even such a man, if one day he says "Hosanna"!

- Some say that because of the large number of those who are not in the church, there is an even greater reason for missionary work, greater effort, which at times does not seem enough.

- The first Christians wrote about the perfection of Christianity and of the imperfection of the Christians. We are fully aware of our weaknesses, in particular, we, the Orthodox Christians. Somehow it seems to me that we have no talent for this horizontal overview, but we make reviews on case by case basis, and we wait for the person to gage the vocation from within. However, one must keep in mind that we are also damaged by the period that lies behind us, as half a century of spiritual anesthesia is not a little at all. So it is not surprising that we do not have all these religious institutions developed for the valuable Christian work. Disallowing the presence of Chruch would be like forbidding air to reach certain places. The church, the religious spirit and the Christian spirit must always be omnipresent - whether someone accepts it or not, that (on the other hand) is a matter of personal freedom.

- Critisizing certain negative phenomenon, there are those among us that have gone so far that they have left the Church circles. What can you tell us about these people?


- The Zilotismus (Note: this is an extreme religious aspiration), as much as I could feel it, even within myself at one stage, always arises due to a lack of spiritual continuity. During the Communist time we were more or less practicaly separate from the Christian truth. We were simply consumers, and consumers of a vulgar, materialistic knowledge, in parallel, we had no spiritual knowledge, leading to a mismatch. And then, if someone lived away from the Church for a long time and one day just steps in, a general internal confusion results. Zilotismus arises mainly as a reaction to the life that we lived without Christ and outside the church. And it is precisely the mistakes that we made in that time, that push us to the Zilotismus, driving us to the extreme. This is reflected even in everyday behavior - when I see that someone comes to the church and bows theatricaly, touches the ground - okay, well, one should do so, when alone, but when there are other people we should show humility to God. When many people are present, then the behavior in the church should be more contained. But it is precisely these people who overdo it, and it is not that they only exaggerate in their gestures, but they also exaggerate in their understanding. Actually, one can say that today's Ziloten do not feel, or have not felt the atmosphere of the church, the living church. This is a combat, a struggle with one’s own sins, with the demons and the people. They want to assign the weaknesses of some people from the church to a general trend, and create a split with such a behavior. In Paris I have heard a sermon by Father Mrazev, who said: "... that even within the largest battle with oneself, with our own sins, the demons, the outer world, the man carries and will take to the other world a "shadow". Hardly anyone leaves this world perfectly pure. However, Father Mrazev said at the same time, that it is a consolation to know that the Lord will clean that shadow with His Goodness.

- How should one behave towards the Ziloten?

- The best way to influence the Ziloten is not to judge them, simply letting them live out their own Zilotismus; it is best if they come back alone to the bosom of the church, without pressure, especially because our Church is not aggressive. We should let it be, so that it disappears on its own. Let me now define zilot; The word "zilot" is a Greek word which means "the zealous and industrious." These are the people who are very eager in the pursuit of their faith, the spiritual "Clean Men" so to speak, striving to do everything in detail, like the Holy Fathers said and did.

- Does Zilotismus appear because of the lack of love?

- Well, we could say that it is a braid with a few woven strends. By all means it is the lack of love, the lack of spiritual depth, since as soon as there is no love, there is no spiritual openness. They have an extreme understanding of the church. The spiritual life is a sword with two edges. Especially at a young age one should have a spiritual father, to obey him and never change him; even if the spiritual father says something wrong, you should follow him (ie be obedient), for obedience is something so great that it may even cover some shortcomings. Here, I will tell you what people are capable of when they do not understand the essence of the Church and the Holy Sacraments. When I was in Lelich a woman asked me: "Father Fotios, can the demons simply pass through my body, through the parts that the baptismal water has not fallen on?" It's really a naive question, to which I answered her: "God be with you, but you're baptized. And if you have only had the head and the hair touched with the water of baptism, you are baptised.“ There is a lot of ignorance and naivete as well as literal understanding amongst men. Certainly, we know from the history of the Church, for example, that in some circumstances, when there is no water, one can be baptized, nevertheless, with a few drops of water, even with the sand from the desert. There are such cases. There is great ignorance and we are now paying the bill for the removal of our people from God.

- When you have visitors and they wish to talk to you, can you evaluate what spiritual state they are in, how much they know about faith, the Church, etc.?


- With time and in relation to my age and my spiritual life, that I spent in our church, one becomes sensitive to such things and is in a position to feel somehow what a soul stands before him and where it is at, within the first three seconds. And, accordingly, the conversation is moulded. The people are mostly interested to know why I went into the convent. I do not talk about the reasons why others did it, but how I came to this decision. One explanation that I am trying to portray to people is in what I saw in Paris and the way the Russians lived there, undisturbed to be living in a metropolis like Paris. It is then that I realized how we should be, but also where we are actually at.

- What else must we do?

- There is a lot that we must do, with a return back to the year 1941. Just imagine how awful this is. The wounds are very deep and everything in this region was obscured, fogging and cementing the state of our souls. So it is very difficult and we will need decades in order to regain consciousness and to get back to reality from the deception. We woke up a bit, that is obvious, eventhough we may wish it to be a faster awakening.

- Today many people would like to have monks as their spiritual fathers.

- The Holy Fathers explicitly say that one should not be forced to confess to those who we do not fit in well with . This is an old rule. We should not confess, where we do not feel we can open up. And therefore, if someone thinks that a priest from a monastery suits him, then he should go to him, but there are also many priests in the cities, who are on a high spiritual level and we may approach them and confess, accepting them as our spiritual fathers.

 - There are some questions about which the believers often talk about, polemically, one of which is for example the question of how often you should take the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.

- It is my personal experience, that there are no hard rules in this. That is precisely where the delicacy and gravity of Orthodoxy lies, namely that there is no easily established position: that - that you must do, and that - that you must not do! You may do it one way or another, it all depends on the condition of the soul, the spiritual situation. It is good that some frequently receive the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, but this should not become such a habit, that they approach the Holy Chalice every time. The man should approach the Chalice, if he complies with all the fasts, Wednesdays and Fridays, then he should not have to fast the whole seven days, but he must always have an open eye for his own "inner life". And this “eye” needs to be critical enough to decide: to say stop, not today, another time.

- There are believers who understood the connection between the confession and the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, rather literally, and therefore confess before each sacrament of Holy Eucharist.

- One should not be taken in by habitual manners, but simply when a man feels that he does have something to say, when one can focus on a problem, a situation or something that happened, that he may say so. All together, one should not go to confession for every little thing; Sometimes it may take even half a year, that a man would not feel any need to confess, that he has nothing to say. Of course, we always have a fight with the bad thoughts. The fight against the evil thoughts, that is, the preservation of the purity of mind and heart, is the most important in the Christian life. This is the basis of everything, everything else are the leaves, while the fruits of the effort are the ability to remain pure for as long as possible.

- When and how should we pray?


- In addition to the prayers that we read regularly, it is very important to reapeat Our Lords Prayer, (Note: this is the prayer"Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on sinful me"), no matter how often nor whether our mind is completely locked within this prayer - eventhough the Holy Fathers say that the most effective prayer is the one when the mind is trapped in the words of the prayer. Yet, because we humans are weak creatures, we perform our prayers imperfectly sometimes. The mind often wanders off, wanders around while we pray, however, even this is better than not saying the prayer at all. Even if we do not understand and do not listen, the demons hear, they feel if a man is pronouncing the prayer. In the olden times, when some people complained that they read the Bible but do not understand, the Holy Fathers answered,"Just keep reading, my dears, the demons understand it! "The demons are the main authors of all evil in a man and want to destroy his peace of mind and the blessed state of the soul. But in this millennium, a major departure takes place, a large removal from God and prayer. It is not necessary that the human remains in any prayer, but it is the remembrance of God, bringing the spirit to God every 3-4 seconds, that is crucial: while traveling, while some secular work is being done ... The memory of God is basically a prayer, it is being with Him. If that does not exist, then we open a space for the demonic arrows that violate human beings. And the horrible demonic thought can destabilize the status of the human mind to make him unhappy, even to such an extent that the person suffers for a few hours just because of one terrible idea. The idea is installed by the demons, but the man absorbs it and begins to take to it.


 
- How do you relate to the icons as an icon painter?

- In my work I explicitly stand by the Byzantine canon, as per the recipes from the ancient church. I think it is good that we do not have experiments. Simply, I believe that it is not appropriate, in a way it is not curtious, to insist too much on individualization, because the icon does not aim to affirm the  one who paints but the eternal Truth.

- So you think that the icon painter should not introduce novelties?

- No, it should not be done, what there is, is sufficient. We may, in our aesthetic sense add change through colours, possibly a bit in the drawing, particularly in the face expression or figure.. The look should be peaceful and God loving, almost distant from this world. We should turn to the icon in search of serenity that, unfortunately, we do not always have while we are here on Earth.

- There are young artists who, as they say, wish to leave a stamp of the time that they live in. There are those who even added skyscrapers in the background of the icons.

- Perhaps these high-rise buildings hold a meaning to someone, as for me I believe that I am already in eternity and the time does not have a meaning for me. I could be in some 22nd or 23rd century but that would make no difference to my (soul’s) salvation. Possibly, visually this may represent something to someone, some sort of colourfulness, something new and I suspect that these representations are closest to those spirits who are constantly in search of exploration, but where is the sence in that? The Holy Fathers say that there is nothing new under the cap of the heavens. Only the resurrection is a novelty, everything else is repeated. Today, there are those icons, that may literally fright you, with some kind of boogieman figures. They think that the more they distort the face, the more the face is deformed and grotesque, that this will make the icon better. No, an icon must have beauty, a transcendental beauty, a calmness, a silence which shines from it, and not a frightening stare, a sort of uneasiness.

- In Greece, there are often iconopaintings of compositions, which, let us say, warn the people about the consequences of abortion and the like. What do you think about that?

- I think that we must fight the "white plague"and the murder in the womb / abortion by other means, in a different way, namely through a more spiritual enlightenment of the people. But well, sometimes it is useful to have some pictures in hand, too. There are presentations of hell, that I had the opportunity to see on a Greek reproduction, that may impress certain individuals. There were some morbid animals and figures shown that torment the sinners in hell, portrayed in the most horrifying way, and that is what could leave an impression.

- What do you like to iconopaint the most?

- I like every icon. Yet, my favorite is the Mother of God with the Lord, especially the "Tender / Lovely" (Serbian: "Umiliteljna"), showing the Lord as though he at play with the mother of God. There is an opportunity to use fine lighting, there are no sharp shadows, everything is "sfumato", ie visually blurred or unclear.

- What about an exhibition, were you thinking of giving us a joy of presenting one?

- No, no, just not that. It is precisly because I used to meticulously follow the cultural life, that I am a huge advocate that monasticism and the culture should not mix much. Monasticism has its own environment, it should move within this frame. Our mission is foremost a spiritual one - to enlighten and help people here, in this life, to reveal to them the meaning of life and to show them, with the knowledge that we gained in person and through the Holy Fathers, to illuminate life, like with a spotlight, so that we make it better and more meaningful to people.

- You also paint portraits ...

- In view that we do not have a community, in the true sense, at the monastry, there are no funerals, nor weddings, I, alone, baptise, for free, as I believe that the one who eneters the Church should not pay anything, but I do paint icons. And then, of course, through the Church’ services and contacts with the people, we meet and they get to know my work, and may decide that I paint a portrait or an icon for them. Mainly, I am now painting high Church dignitaries. You know, I would like to say, this is not some vanity, because each monastery should have a decent portrait of his dignitaries, so you can see who has lived and how, in what time.

- And how did you get the idea to paint the portrait of Father Gabriel?

- Well Father Gabriel once called, and we enquired about each others health he said that he has just had some health problems, that the years are catching up with him, so I said,"Let me paint your portrait, the years are passing, today, tomorrow, let there be a trace left.” He sent excellent photographs, and I was working throughout the Easter Lent, I had such peace at that time. During the Lent, there are no visits, it is cold, and it is at that time that I did this portrait. I am satisfied because I could see that the Lord really helped me during the painting, I could feel it in the ease of painting Arhimandrite Gabriel.

Father Gabriel

In fact, we have known each other for a very long time. I have met Father Gabriel already in Hilandar. He was always cheerful by nature, just like I imagine an Orthodox Soul: There is no darkness, no heaviness, just the serenity, even with mild jokes that are appropriate to the situation, not unpleasant. It is the optimism that sprouts from his personality. He was always neat, I remember him in Hilandar as a monk who always wore a bag made of goat’ hair. Father Gabriel is truly a wonderful and moral man.

Ljiljana Sindjelic Nikolic



translated from English by Milica Bačić

Source : http://www.manastir-lepavina.org/casopis/PutIstinaIZivot5-62005.pdf
11.10.2009 god.

ARCHIMANDRITE GAVRILO

Dear visitors of our web-site of the monastery Lepavina! Due to a high number of visits of our website, I am honoured to take the responsibility to describe you in English different events from Serbian Orthodox Church and monastery Lepavina. We would like to inform you that we will be also putting on our web-site some texts in English on different subjects from other Orthodox websites. I deeply hope and believe that our Lord will help me in that!

With God’s blessing, from monastery Lepavina Archimandrite Gavrilo.

Biography Archimandrite Gabriel (Vuckovic)

Krst
Njegovo Visokopreosvestenstvo Mitropolit G. Porfirije

Njegovo Visokopreosveštenstvo Mitropolit G. Porfirije

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Manastirski Casopis PDF

MANASTIRSKI
ČASOPIS - PDF