INITIATIVE TO PLACE STONE CROSS AT THE BOTTOM OF BLUE TOMB

BELGRADE, MARCH 3 /SRNA/ – The Head of the 1912 – 1918 War Volunteers Association Nikola Filipović told SRNA that he is pleased that the memorial ossuary on the island of Vido will be reconstructed in the year marking the 110th anniversary of the Serbian army landing on the Greek islands, adding there are plans to place a large stone cross in the sea at the Blue Tomb's site.

He stated that the War Volunteers Association, together with the Akvalangist diving club from Zemun, has launched an initiative to ensure that the thousands of Serbian soldiers resting at the bottom of the sea receive their own memorial and Christian symbol.

"The idea is to lay a large stone cross to the seabed, which will be made of stone from Herzegovina, Kosovo and Metohija, and Šumadija. I hope we will implement this within the next year, and the project will be led on behalf of the Association by Saša Vukotić, a professional diving instructor," Filipović said.

Filipović emphasized that the Association welcomed the information that the Government of Serbia has allocated RSD 100 million /EUR 854,000/ for the reconstruction and restoration of the memorial ossuary on the island of Vido, where Serbian soldiers killed during the First World War rest.

He pointed out that the ossuary will be completely restored in accordance with the original design from the time it was built.

"We know that in recent years the chapel was closed, opened only when state delegations laid wreaths. The passage of time damaged the structure, and renovation was unavoidable. This will be the first renovation since 1938, when it was built," Filipović said.

He added that, within their capabilities and as permitted by law, since the site is under the direct protection of Serbia's Institute for Cultural Monuments Protection, the memorial is maintained by members of the Greek-Serbian Friendship Association.

Filipović recalled that three years ago, for the first time since 1941, a Divine Hierarchical Liturgy was served on the island of Vido by the Metropolitan of Corfu and the Ionian Islands, Nektarios and the Athonite Archimandrite Methodios, which is highly significant.

"Since then, during the Days of Serbian Heritage in Corfu around May 1 each year, a Divine Hierarchical Liturgy has been served in this chapel within the Vido island complex," he said.

Filipović stressed that this site has for decades been a place of pilgrimage and a symbol of suffering, but also of the resurrection of Serbia and the Serb people. He added that in the future it should also become a destination visited by Serb high school graduates from Serbia and the region as part of their graduation trips.

"We recommend that graduation excursions visit Corfu, the island of Vido, and Zejtinlik. No European capital can teach us history like the places of our suffering. This is a place of suffering, but also of resurrection, and a place where we can best understand the strength of our people," he said.

The memorial ossuary on the island of Vido was built in 1938, when the remains of Serbian soldiers buried in 27 cemeteries on Corfu were transferred there.

The mausoleum contains the bones of 1,232 identified soldiers, as well as the remains of about 1,500 unknown heroes.

At the bottom of the Ionian Sea, at the Blue Tomb toward which the mausoleum is symbolically oriented, rest another approximately 5,000 Serbian soldiers who, after the Albanian Golgotha, found their eternal peace there.