DODIK: IT IS IMPORTANT TO GATHER AROUND THE CHURCH, ESPECIALLY TODAY WHEN CHRISTIANITY IN THE BALKANS IS UNDER ATTACK

PRNJAVOR, JULY 19 /SRNA/ - President Milorad Dodik said today that it is important to gather around the Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/, especially today, when Christianity in the Balkans is under attack and when Republika Srpska is being targeted.

"What once happened in the Middle East is now happening in the Balkans. Here, Christianity is being attacked by Muslims/Bosniaks, and through efforts to abolish and diminish the importance of Republika Srpska by constantly spreading lies," Dodik said. However, Dodik said, all of this has strengthened Serbs to build monasteries and gather around the Church. He stressed that there is a constant danger from Bosniak demands to strip Serbs of their powers, which is why it is important to remain united. Dodik, who today attended the Petrovdan gathering and the commemoration of the feast of the Svetogorska Stupljanska Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God at the Stuplje Monastery, said that this monastery reflects the historical continuity of the suffering of Serbs from the period of Ottoman occupation to the present day. He recalled the beginning of the monastery’s reconstruction 32 years ago and said that it was gratifying to witness the success achieved in its restoration, to which Republika Srpska provided significant assistance. Dodik said that every Serb should set aside time to visit a church. He pointed out the importance of today’s day, which also marks the feast of Saint Sisoes the Great, the protector of children, as well as the Day of Remembrance for the Children Killed During the Genocide against Serbs, Jews and Roma in the NDH /Independent State of Croatia/, which will be observed this evening in Prijedor. The Stuplje Monastery, dedicated to Saint Archangel Michael, is located in Gornji Vijačani, on the Manastirica River. The first written records of this Orthodox holy site date back to the 15th century. It is believed that it was destroyed around 1691 during the war between Turkey and Austria. After the destruction, the monks from Stuplje moved to the Orahovica Monastery in Croatia, where they continued their monastic life. The foundations of the monastery were unearthed on March 9, 1994, and its restoration has continued ever since. One of the key years in the monastery’s restoration was 2008, when monks returned to Stuplje after more than 300 years. The Institute for the Protection of Cultural-Historical and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska has registered the Stuplje Monastery as a second-category cultural monument of Republika Srpska.