{"id":156918,"date":"2024-11-25T23:09:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T21:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=156918"},"modified":"2024-11-25T23:09:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T21:09:44","slug":"saint-stephen-rises-in-chicago-one-of-our-most-beautiful-churches-in-america-celebrated-its-patron-saints-day-video-photo-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/saint-stephen-rises-in-chicago-one-of-our-most-beautiful-churches-in-america-celebrated-its-patron-saints-day-video-photo-gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"SAINT STEPHEN RISES IN CHICAGO: One of our most beautiful churches in America celebrated its patron saint&#8217;s day! (VIDEO + PHOTO GALLERY)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Yesterday, the Church of Saint Stephen of De\u010dani in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/tag\/chicago\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Chicago<\/a><\/strong>, one of the oldest <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/tag\/serbia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Serbian <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/tag\/orthodox\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Orthodox <\/a><\/strong>parishes in this region, celebrated its patron saint&#8217;s day. The liturgy, with the blessing of Metropolitan Longin, was served by the hegumen of the Nova Gra\u010danica Monastery, Sergije, with the co-service of the parish priest, Father Aleksandar Petrovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=476&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fantonije.kovacevic%2Fvideos%2F981278037367191%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=267&#038;t=0\" width=\"267\" height=\"476\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>The faithful filled the Church of Saint Stephen of De\u010dani to the last seat, and among the adults, there were many children. While the youngest marveled at the world around them from their parents&#8217; arms, the slightly older ones joyfully sang and ran around the altar, throughout the sanctuary, and the oldest wore vestments and helped serve the liturgy as altar boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=476&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fantonije.kovacevic%2Fvideos%2F880408944205049%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=267&#038;t=0\" width=\"267\" height=\"476\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>After the liturgy, the festive celebration continued in the church hall, where a rich festive lunch was served, prepared by the women of the Serbian Sisters&#8217; Circle. Those present were able to enjoy a rich cultural and artistic program, which began with a beautiful presentation about Stefan De\u010danski prepared by students of the local Seminary, Stefan Dmitrovi\u0107 and Milan Petrovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then came the breaking of the slava bread, in which, in addition to the clergy, theology students, and children, the Gatari\u0107 family, the hosts of this year&#8217;s slava, also participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fantonije.kovacevic%2Fvideos%2F1953866995038921%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=560&#038;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fantonije.kovacevic%2Fvideos%2F1097541505272861%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=560&#038;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava7-1024x713.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160630\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>TRADITION: A piece of the bread was also given to the family that will be the host of the slava next year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After we were reminded of who this ruler\/saint from the Nemanji\u0107 dynasty was and what he was remembered for, the program continued with recitals by children from the parish, and then with a program in which all generations of the parish&#8217;s Avala Folklore Group participated, from those who were just learning the first steps of traditional Serbian dances, to the older, more seasoned dancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fantonije.kovacevic%2Fvideos%2F1289083942226450%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=560&#038;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>All of them, of course, dressed in traditional Serbian costumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fantonije.kovacevic%2Fvideos%2F472378492634210%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=560&#038;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fantonije.kovacevic%2Fvideos%2F1974250189655112%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=560&#038;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava15-1024x608.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160639\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava17-1024x705.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160640\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Father Aleksandar also gave an appropriate sermon about his first visit to Kosovo and Metohija and the most famous endowment of Stefan De\u010danski and probably the most beautiful Serbian monastery, Visoki De\u010dani: &#8220;We all know that there are great shrines of ours in Kosovo, but believe me, until we see it, we are not aware of what we have there. They are our spiritual lighthouses and they make Kosovo a holy Serbian land. The holy fathers in De\u010dani even opened the reliquary for us so that we could kiss the hand of Saint Stefan De\u010danski. Imagine, Serbs have been kissing the hand of their king for almost eight centuries and he protects and blesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The De\u010dani Monastery, unlike other monasteries, was never destroyed or burned. Throughout the centuries, it remained untouched, just as Stefan De\u010danski built it, and to this day it shines with the same spiritual light. We asked the monks and holy fathers if they were afraid when there was the bombing in 1999, if they were afraid, if they hid from the monastery. And they say: not at all, we did not doubt for a single moment. We knew that no bomb would fall on the monastery. And none fell. True, one fell, but it fell on the retaining wall and did not explode. Saint Stephen preserved that monastery through the centuries, his relics, but also the monks who lived a life worthy of a saint. Saint Stephen of De\u010dani protects all his shrines, including ours, but we must also protect it, living according to the canons according to which he lived,&#8221; Father Aleksandar emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava12-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160641\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After the end of the official part of the program, we asked him to say a few words&#8230; &#8220;God has given us a beautiful day today and many people have gathered with their families, including those who celebrate Saint Stefan De\u010danski as their patron saint, for whom this is a double celebration, so on this occasion I congratulate them and wish everyone that through the prayers of our patron saint, they may strengthen the faith in them, health, love, and all good things from the Lord,&#8221; said the parish priest, and added:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava11-1024x626.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160642\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;That sense of belonging of our parishioners is what pleases me the most, because our church is our second home, here we are truly like one family and all the qualities that adorn a family are cultivated in our church as well. And we are happy when we see that our parishioners see this as a place where they want their children to grow up and gain knowledge about our faith, culture, and tradition and the skills of speaking the Serbian language. If we succeed in that, then the mission of our church is fulfilled,&#8221; emphasized Father Aleksandar Petrovi\u0107, parish priest of the Church of Saint Stephen of De\u010dani in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160643\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160643\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160644\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160644\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160653\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava10-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160653\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160652\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava3-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160652\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160651\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava2-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160651\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160648\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava4-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160648\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160649\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava6-1024x738.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160649\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160650\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava8-1024x703.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160650\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160645\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava13-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160645\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160646\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava14-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160646\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"160647\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Crkva-Sveti-Stefan-Decanski-slava16-1024x689.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160647\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Text\/Photo\/Video: Antonije Kova\u010devi\u0107<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark>READ MORE:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/nikola-welcomes-a-son-the-jokic-family-grows-larger-and-wife-natalija-gives-birth-to-a-boy\/\"><strong>NIKOLA WELCOMES A SON: The Jokic family grows larger, and wife Natalija gives birth to a boy!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/tennis-world-in-shock-andy-murray-is-novak-djokovics-new-coach-and-first-mission-winning-the-australian-open\/\">TENNIS WORLD IN SHOCK: Andy Murray is Novak Djokovic\u2019s new coach and first mission \u2013 winning the Australian Open!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/vesic-arrested-prosecution-fears-former-minister-could-influence-witnesses-and-accomplices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VESI\u0106 ARRESTED: Prosecution fears former minister could influence witnesses and accomplices!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday, the Church of Saint Stephen of De\u010dani in Chicago, one of the oldest Serbian Orthodox parishes in this region, celebrated its patron saint&#8217;s day. The liturgy, with the blessing of Metropolitan Longin, was served by the hegumen of the Nova Gra\u010danica Monastery, Sergije, with the co-service of the parish priest, Father Aleksandar Petrovi\u0107. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":156935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[684,45,2891,2890,38,2892,135],"class_list":["post-156918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diaspora","tag-america","tag-chicago","tag-saint-stephen-of-decani","tag-serb","tag-serbia","tag-st-stephen-of-decani","tag-usa","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Serbiantimes.info EN","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156937,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156918\/revisions\/156937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}