SERBS FIND CEMETERY IN SOUTHERN KOSOVSKA MITROVICA VANDALISED

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, NOVEMBER 7 /SRNA/ - Serbs who visited the cemetery in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica this morning, on the Orthodox Memorial Saturday of St. Demetrius, found broken gravestones and burial mounds overgrown with weeds.

The memorial service was conducted by Protopresbyter Radoslav Janković, who said that remembering the departed preserves their memory and allows people to follow the example of their ancestors, TV Most reported.

"The Church has designated Memorial Saturdays as days when we pray to the Lord God for the repose of the souls of our deceased relatives, who lived before us, upheld the Orthodox faith, did good deeds and passed away in the Lord. Those we love never die and are never forgotten, for in God's eyes, everyone is alive," Priest Janković said.

He stressed that prayers should be offered to God for the souls of the departed, while candles should be lit and memorial services held at their graves.

"It is up to those of us who remain alive to follow in the footsteps of our holy ancestors, to hold fast to the true faith and do good deeds, so that a man of God may stand tall and be recognised for his good deeds by both God and people. This is what our holy Orthodox faith teaches us, and this is how we should conduct ourselves, live our lives and prove ourselves worthy of our ancestors," Protopresbyter Janković said.

The cemetery in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica has been devastated and left overgrown since 1999.

St. Demetrius Memorial Saturday is one of four days designated by the Serbian Orthodox Church for prayerful remembrance of the departed.