In Kosovo and Metohija, near the Dečani Monastery, our brothers Rajko Krivokapić, Dragutin Lalatović, and Marinko Jovanović were recently imprisoned.
Let us remind you that they were detained near the Visoki Dečani Monastery because they allegedly had the inscription “Kosovo is Serbia” on the license plates of the car they were driving.
The IN4S portal published a letter from the imprisoned brothers, as well as numerous prayers they wrote together with drawings of saints and the Virgin Mary. In the letter, they greeted their brothers and sisters with the greeting “Christ is risen.”
“The detention where we are located is in Kosovska Mitrovica, the city of Saint Demetrius. We were imprisoned on the day of Saint Stefan Dečanski, also a great martyr of Christ. In all this, we recognize God’s blessing and ask for your prayers, not for release from prison, but for gaining freedom in Christ. As the Apostle says, to live in the freedom with which Christ has set us free,” the letter states.
They emphasized that their days pass in true joy in the glory of God, noting that on the day they wrote the letter (Sunday) there was a priest to give them communion.
“The two of us are together in a room with brothers Žarko Jovanović and Kemalj Mustafa. We have everything we need, we hope that the same is true for brother Rajko Krivokapić, who is located 50 kilometers from us,” they say in the letter.
“If anyone is saddened by all this, we remind them of Grandfather’s words: ‘What would be better for you than to die for Kosovo’,” wrote brothers Dragutin and Marinko.
We are transmitting the contents of the letter in full with accompanying photographs:
“Father Vasilije, brothers and sisters, we greet you with the best greeting: Christ is risen! The detention where we are located is in Kosovska Mitrovica, the city of Saint Demetrius. We were imprisoned on the day of Saint Stefan Dečanski, also a great martyr of Christ. In all this, we recognize God’s blessing and ask you for prayers, not for release from prison, but for gaining freedom in Christ according to the words of the Apostle: ‘To live in the freedom with which Christ has set us free.’ Our days pass in true joy and in the glory of God. The book is, thank God, coming to an end, and here we pay more attention to writing, drawing, reading, and multiplying other talents that God has given us. Today, as we write this to you, on Sunday, on the day of the Resurrection of Christ, there was a priest to give us communion with the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord, which is the most important of all. We take this opportunity to wish you a happy beginning of the Christmas fast and hope that you too will sing Christmas carols and troparia there: Why don’t we sing on Christmas, who wouldn’t hope for him, happy, happy… The two of us are together in a room with brothers Žarko Jovanović and Kemalj Mustafa, we have everything we need. We hope that the same is true for brother Rajko Krivokapić, who is located fifty kilometers from us in Podujevo. We hope that the candle is burning in Popi at Saint Demetrius and we pray to God that the sanctuary will soon shine in its full glory. If anyone is sad about all this, we remind them of the words of Grandfather (Metropolitan Amfilohije), who once said: ‘What would be better for you than to die for Kosovo’. We hope that the Lord, through the prayers of the Most Holy Mother of God and Saint Great Martyr Stefan Dečanski and Saint Great Martyr Lazar of Kosovo, all the martyrs and new martyrs of Kosovo and Metohija, Saint Peter of Cetinje, Saint Basil of Ostrog, Saint Great Martyr Demetrius, and all the saints, will give strength to our imprisoned brothers in Kosovo and Metohija, spiritual strength and perseverance in the cross they bear. A true sacrifice can never be in vain, when it is true and when it is made out of love for Christ. If it is not true, then it fails, as our deeds show us throughout the history of the Church. And this sacrifice of our imprisoned brothers testifies to the two-millennium-long true testimony of the sacrifice of love and God’s justice,” he said.
Protopriest Vasilije Brborić reported today that Krivokapić, Jovanović, and Lalatović, who are in prisons in Podujevo and Kosovska Mitrovica, are well.
“The letter shows the faith and spiritual strength of our brothers, because they testify to the Orthodox faith and the Serbian name. May the Lord, through the prayers of the Most Holy Mother of God and Saint Great Martyr Stefan Dečanski and Saint Great Martyr Lazar of Kosovo, all the martyrs and new martyrs of Kosovo and Metohija, Saint Peter of Cetinje, Saint Basil of Ostrog, Saint Great Martyr Demetrius, and all the saints, give strength to our imprisoned brothers in Kosovo and Metohija, spiritual strength and perseverance in the cross they bear. A true sacrifice can never be in vain, when it is true and when it is made out of love for Christ. If it is not true, then they fail, as our deeds show us throughout the history of the Church.”
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Source: IN4S.net, Photo: RTS