We spent the nights of October 25 and 26 in Budva, a picturesque resort town on the Adriatic coast. On Sunday the 26th, we began the day with a Liturgy in the local Church of the Holy Trinity. A mixed choir and a male canonarch (chanter) sang extremely well. After the service, we were invited to the parish hall, where Batiushka and the parishioners gave us a warm welcome and treated us to slivovica [plum brandy].
After lunch, we toured the picturesque Miholskije and Savina monasteries, and the ancient churches in the towns of Hercog Novy and Kotor.
The principal jewel of these places is "Boka Kotorska," the Kotor Bay. In fact, it is not a bay, but rather the only fjord in the Mediterranean basin, a convoluted shape penetrating deep into the mainland, and having a multitude of little islands. To the East are enormous, virtually sheer cliffs, with a shoreline dotted with marvelous little towns in the shade of forests. The principal town on the "bay" is Kotor.
In Kotor, you quickly realize that without having crossed a border, you are in a different country. From days of yore, the coast was part of Dalmatia, under the influence of Italy, with a predominantly Catholic population. Just like the little towns of the bay, the town's architecture was entirely Italian. The narrow winding little streets, white houses with balconies, ancient churches, fountains…. From days of yore, the residents of the Kotor Bay have been renowned as fishermen and sailors.
Kotor was named after the Illyrian Queen Teuta, who tradition states loved to relax in these parts. The town has been in existence since ancient times; it was home to Illyrians. In later times, it was to become part of the Byzantine Empire, the Serbian State, the Venetian Republic, and Austria. Kotor grew in the 12th Century during the reign of the Nemanje Dynasty, but it was the Venetians who made the deepest mark on its development. Kotor is under UNESCO protection, and for a good reason, many things of interest have been preserved there. Among them are two Orthodox churches visited by our group: one dedicated to St. Nicholas and another to the Apostle Luke.
The next day, we set off for the famous Ostrog Monastery, but first, along the way, we returned to the Cetinje Monastery in order to pray before the great holy relics - the Wood of the Life-giving Cross, and the Right Hand of the Holy Prophet St. John the Baptist.
We happened to be at the Cetinije Monastery on the day of St. Petka (Paraskeva-Piatnitsa), a righteous one who is greatly revered in Serbia. We arrived at the monastery during the Liturgy on the day of celebration of their Slava. On that occasion, following the Liturgy, the "blessing of the Kolach" is performed. Afterwards, in the chapel next to the monastery church, in which rest the Right Hand of the Forerunner and a piece of the Life-giving Cross, we began the long-awaited Moleben. On the reliquary containing the great relics, there is a small icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs, and at the entrance to the chapel, a large Icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs, written in the Cetinije Monastery.
Memories of our visit to Cetinije Monastery remained with us for a long time…
Soon we were comforted to see and worship in another great Serbian holy place: the Monastery of Ostrog, cut into a steep stonewall. Here, far up in the hills, rest the precious relics of the Serbian righteous one, St. Vasily of Ostrog. The people of Montenegro consider the Ostrog Monastery to be the third most important holy place in the Orthodox world, in all probability, having in mind Jerusalem and Mt. Athos.
Part of our bus trip was along a very narrow road. Looking down, we could see snaking loops of road somewhere in the valley far below. Through the bus windows, we could see rays of sunlight dancing from place to place along the 300 ft. cliff. It seemed as if the bus were flying over a chasm. Suddenly the bus came to an abrupt halt. On a narrow single-lane road, we were facing a little automobile… Ultimately, our "opponent" yielded, and for a long time drove back up the hill in reverse.
To reassure us, the guide said, "Don't worry, everything is all right. Local drivers have the Ostrog Monastery for their patron. They say that in all the time the road has existed, not a single bus has crashed. We are under the protection of the relics of St. Basil of Ostrog…." Some time later, the road became too narrow for the bus, and we had to switch to a taxi for the rest of the trip to the monastery.
Clinging like a swallow's nest to the overhanging cliffs, the monastery is almost inaccessible to enemies. To prevent anyone from getting there, one need only destroy a small section of road. The Turks succeeded in climbing these peaks, but at that, did so only a couple of times.
A narrow vertical ladder takes you up the hill. From the occasional pipe, resembling burrows difficult to see in the darkness wafts the smell of incense.
Many miracles have occurred in Montenegro's Ostrog Monastery. Thousands of pilgrims continue to come to this monastery set among the hills, and the monks tell them amazing facts from ancient and recent history….
In 1714, when the Turkish military leader Numan-Pasha marched with fire and sword across Montenegro, the monks of Ostrog buried relics of St. basil on the shores of the Seta River. Almost 150 years later, the Turks again came to Montenegro. In 1852 Omer-Pasha and 17,000 troops set Ostrog to the torch.
However, accompanied by 100 soldiers, Mirko Petrovic-Negosh, brother of the Prince of Montenegro, passed by the Pasha. Taking the relics of St. Basil, he managed to sneak past the Turkish forces in the night, and went to Cetinije, Montenegro's ancient capital.
In 1942, when the Germans were firing on Ostrog, a shell struck the monastery. Although it broke the doors of the Church of the Precious Cross in two, it did not explode. It remains in one of the vestries as material proof of one of St. Basil's miracles.
All of Montenegro is mountainous, with almost no arable land - only ridges, chasms, and river rapids.
While it is difficult to make a living in this land, it is also a land inaccessible to enemies - and even if they do climb up into Montenegro, most of them remain there. For that reason, Montenegro was only formally considered a country under the Turkish yoke. In practice, the sultans did not exercise actual authority here. Their troops rarely chose to go deep into the inhospitable mountains.
In the 17th Century, the Montenegrans became the first of the Balkan peoples to provide the Ottoman Empire a "lively existence." When Peter I began his long series of military campaigns against Turkey and called upon the Balkan peoples to rise up, they were the first to respond.