| St. Elijah Church | |
| Црква Светог Илије Громовника | |
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St. Elijah's Church, Podujevo, after its 2004 destruction
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St. Elijah Church
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| Location | Podujevo |
| Country | Kosovo[a] |
| Denomination | Serbian Orthodox |
| History | |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Dedication | Saint Elijah |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Completed | 1930 |
| Demolished | 1941-1971, 1999, 2004-2005, 2006 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of domes | 1 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Raška and Prizren |
Saint Elijah's Church (Serbian: Црква светог Илије, Crkva svetog Ilije) is а Serbian Orthodox church located on a small hill near the city of Podujevo, in Kosovo[a]. The complex includes an Orthodox cemetery. It was built in 1929, and has been demolished several times, as of 2010, the church has been rebuilt and renovated five times.
Contents |
The Church was shelled and completely destroyed in 1941, during World War II, by the Balli Kombëtar organization.[1] Later, after the collapse of Fascist Albania, the church was restored by the Serbian residents of Podujevo.[1] Reconstruction was finally finished in 1971.[1]
The church was attacked again after expulsion of the Serb population from Podujevo, in 1999. Muslim extremists shot it and set it ablaze, damaging the iconostasis and the church inventory.[1]
In 2003, UNMIK made a request of the Diocese of Raška and Prizren to evacuate movable church inventory, as an attack seemed inevitable.[1] The church was destroyed on the 18th of March 2004, during 2004 Kosovo Unrest. The church was attacked by a mob of 500 Albanians.[2] Czech media confirmed that Czech soldiers had to leave the Church compound that was destroyed along with the cemetery. The Albanians set a large fire in the middle of the church which severely burned it.[3] A Czech officer, Jindrich Plescher, confirmed in the news, deeply shocked, that the Albanian attackers had dug up coffins from the nearby Serbian cemetery, and scattered the bones of the dead.[4][5] (Report KFOR / UNMIK - March 18 "Orthodox church burned in Podujevo"). St. Andrew was shelled, a bell tower completely destroyed with explosives and the wall that surrounded the church was demolished.
After the destruction of the church, Czech KFOR soldiers found and confiscated the stolen bell of the St. Elijah Church from an Albanian family.[6] The bell was a gift from Yugoslav King Alexander I Karađorđević to the Podujevo Church in 1932, two years prior to his assassination in Marseilles. The Albanian representatives asked three times for the bell, saying that the bell belonged to the Podujevo municipality.[6] But The Czech KFOR battalion refused, saying that the bell is the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and Lieutenant colonel Josef Kopecky with Czech and Slovak soldiers delivered the bell to the Gračanica Monastery.[7] The chaplain of the battalion personally cleaned the bell.[6]
On 12 May 2006, the church was attacked once again. After partial reconstruction, led by the Council of Europe fund, the main doors of the church were breached, and all of the windows on the church were broken again.[8] [9]
Notes:
| a. | ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 86 UN member states. |
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