Byzantine Blog

Niti cemo se pokoriti, niti ukloniti!
We shall neither submit, nor yield!

In 1887, on the occasion of the celebration of Vidovdan (Saint Vitus' Day) in the Serbian Monastery of Ravanica, Nikanor, the Bishop of Pakrac, addressed his flock with these words: “I shall not make a long sermon. It is enough to tell you: Brethren, today is Vidovdan!”

Indeed, for Serbs, wherever they are, that is sufficient.

Speaking about Vidovdan ethics and its significance for Serbs, on the 600 years anniversary of Kosovo Battle, on Vidovdan in 1989, Father Mateja Matejic wrote:

The Kosovo Ethics, which are implanted in the national consciousness of the Serbian people, have not changed for 600 years - nor will they ever change. The basic values of those ethics, bequeathed to Serbs on Vidovdan in 1389, have not been chiseled on two stone tablets, but are impressed in the inmost being of every Serb.

Every nation has one date in its history which it considers more important than any other. For the Serbs, the most important date in their history is June 15, by the old calendar - June 28, by the new calendar (Vidovdan). On that day, in 1389, 600 years ago, Serbian and Turkish armies clashed on the Kosovo Field. Both the Serbian ruler Prince Lazar and the Turkish Sultan Murat I died as a result of the battle. In addition, a great number of Serbian military leaders, as well as a great number of Serbian warriors lost their lives. Notwithstanding the fact that according to historical documents neither the Serbs nor the Turks won the battle, Serbia was so exhausted that it was unable to continue resisting the Turks - a few decades later the heirs of Prince Lazar recognized Turkish suzerainty and five centuries of domination of the Serbs by the Turks ensued. That long and martyr-like enslavement changed the course of Serbian history and interrupted the cultural progress of the Serbs, which was clearly evident during the rule of the Nemanja dynasty.

It is difficult to assess the importance of the Kosovo Battle for world history. Such is also the case with the battles at the Alamo or Gettysburg, which are so important for American history. However, it is undeniable that the Battle of Kosovo was exceptionally significant not only for Serbia, but also for Europe and European Christian civilization.

Kosovo Battle, painting by Petar Radicevic

It is a fact that on Vidovdan, June 15, 1389, the Serbs, without help from a single European nation, defended on Kosovo Field not only the frontiers of their own territory and lives of their people, but, at the risk of losing their national independence, they also defended the interests and security of Christian Europe. In the conflict of two rival civilizations, the Muslim and the Christian, the Serbs checked the wave of the Turkish invasion, interposed themselves as a wall between the Turks and Europe, and enabled Europe to make preparations for its own defense. It is questionable whether the history of Europe would have been the same without the Battle of Kosovo and the sacrifice of the Serbian nation.

However, no matter how great the historical value of Kosovo and Vidovdan may be, for the Serbs they have an additional unique dimension and preeminence. Persons of non-Serbian origin may consider Kosovo as only a far-away, strange, and even unimportant geographical territory, and Vidovdan, June 15, 1389, as a date of a battle of which they know little or nothing. As far as the Serbs are concerned, Kosovo is their Holy Land, the cradle of Serbdom, and their inalienable, historical, national, and cultural heritage. As far as they are concerned, Vidovdan, June 15, 1389, is not just the date of a battle, but their nation's identity, and the sacred will and testament which contains religious, ethical, and national principles for all Serbian generations from the Kosovo Battle until the present. In the national consciousness all of Serbian history is divided into two periods: prior to the Kosovo Battle and after the Kosovo Battle. And whereas the other battles in which the Serbs took part are mentioned only in historical textbooks, Vidovdan alone is included in the calendar, which registers holidays and the names of saints exclusively. Vidovdan alone has become a national holiday which has been observed through the centuries, and it is observed on this occasion, 600 years after the Battle of Kosovo.

Warriors fresco from 14th century, Pec Patriarchate, Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia

As a geographical territory, Kosovo was Serbian even before the year 1389, before Vidovdan. That ownership was not marked by sticks, in the way the prospectors for gold marked their claims, nor by the deeds written in ink on paper, but by ancient and magnificent churches and monasteries and by Serbian cemeteries and tombstones. The capitals of Serbian kings and the thrones of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs were in Kosovo. Moreover, with the Battle of Kosovo, Kosovo and Vidovdan merged into a single concept and became a synonym with a specific meaning: the Serbdom. After June 15, 1389, one cannot speak of Kosovo apart from Vidovdan or about Vidovdan apart from Kosovo. They are inseparable because on Vidovdan 1389, on the Field of Kosovo, in the blood of Serbian warriors was written an indelible deed that forever confirms the Serbian ownership of Kosovo. Vidovdan commemorations, which have been celebrated annually for centuries, are reconfirmations of both the Serbian ownership of Kosovo and of the Vidovdan-Kosovo ethics, which are the core of the Serbian national image and the essence of Serbian identity.

It should be emphasized that the Vidovdan commemorations are not celebrations of a Serbian military victory over the Turks, for the Serbs were not victorious in the Kosovo Battle. However, it is incorrect, and even malicious, to claim that at Vidovdan commemorations the Serbs “celebrate their defeat in the Kosovo Battle.” Such a statement has no logical or historical support. According to the historical documents, the Turks had not won a victory in the Battle of Kosovo. Neither a military victory nor a military defeat are not and could not have been either the reason or the meaning of Vidovdan commemorations. On those occasions the Serbs honor and commemorate the heroes of Kosovo who laid down their lives defending their faith, freedom, nation, and country. At the same time, Vidovdan commemorations are the annual reviews of the post-Kosovo Serbian generations. They are evaluated in terms of Vidovdan-Kosovo ethics and on the basis of their reconfirmation of the Pledge of Kosovo. On Vidovdan, June 15, 1389, on the Kosovo Field, the Serbs chose once and for all their religious, cultural, ethical, and national identity. Their choice, in the form of an unwritten pledge, was handed down to all post-Kosovo Serbian generations and, through 600 years, Serbs have lived by that pledge.

In the course of six centuries the geographical boundaries and demographic constituency of Kosovo, as well as the political and social conditions have changed. Serbs, who represented a majority in Kosovo, have been reduced to a minority. Uncontrolled migration of thousands of people from neighboring Albania to Kosovo on one hand and, on the other, mass exodus of Serbs from that territory, because of the merciless oppression to which the Serbs have been subjected by the newcomers, especially in the period 1943-1988, has changed the status of the Serbian population from a majority to a minority. Atrocities, unheard of even in uncivilized countries, have been perpetuated against the Serbian population in Kosovo. Regretfully, biased reporting in the world press, including the American, misrepresents the situation in Kosovo. Victims - Serbs - are portrayed as oppressors, whereas oppressors - the Muslim population in Kosovo - are depicted as victims. It is incomprehensible that the freedom-loving Serbs, the allies of America in two world wars, are being taunted and attacked in the American press, whereas their oppressors, the former allies of Hitler and Mussolini in World War II, are undeservedly favored and supported. Thus, not only geographical territories, social and political conditions, but allegiances change, too.

Serbian hero, Milos Obilic

Fortunately, Kosovo ethics remain unchanged and those values will always endure for all future Serbian generations. Those values, briefly defined, are as follows:

• Uncompromising faith in God, without which there is no genuine philanthropy;
• Philanthropy, as a confirmation of the professed faith in God;
• Firm dedication to Christianity as it is confessed by the Orthodox Church;
• Priority of the spiritual over the material;
• Faithfulness to God, nation, and motherland;
• Freedom as a precious value for which everything should be sacrificed, whereas it should not be sacrificed for anything in the world;
• Honesty, righteousness, and love for peace - virtues to be practiced by individuals as a basis for healthy social relationships;
• Placing common interest above personal interests and readiness to sacrifice for those interests;
• Compassion to be extended even to enemies;
• National unity as a condition for national existence.

This testament, this set of ethics of Kosovo, represents the greatest importance of Kosovo and Vidovdan.

Inseparable through six centuries, it is the reason we celebrate Vidovdan today.

On June 15/28, 1914 the assassination in Sarajevo serves as a pretext for Austro-Hungarian declaration of war to Serbia, which triggered the First World War.
On June 15/28, 1921 the Serbian king Aleksandar proclaimed the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution (Vidovdanski ustav).
On June 15/28, 2001 former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic was betrayed and deported to the Kangaroo Court in Hague to stand “trial”.