The Serbian Orthodox Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius ( sr, Српска Православна Богословија Св. Кирила и Методија), known as the Prizren Seminary (Призренска Богословија), is a
Serbian Orthodox
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.
The majority of the population in ...
theological school. The school has produced
scholars
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher ...
and
educators
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, though its main mission is to create
clergymen
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. The seminary was the first cultural-educational and political center of the Serbs in Kosovo.
History
19th century
Serbian merchant
Sima Andrejević founded the seminary in order to train men to serve as Orthodox clergymen and teachers. The teaching process in this school started in May 1871. Two years after its foundation, on 10 August 1872, a
dormitory
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
for
student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
s and another one for
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
s were added.
20th century
Under the direct leadership of
Petar Kostić, it quickly became the center of
Serbian culture
Serbian culture is a term that encompasses the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Serbs and Serbia.
History
The Byzantine Empire had a great influence on Serbian culture as it i ...
and education in the Ottoman Empire during the first decades of the 20th century. Located in the center of Prizren, the school soon came to be the cell of a first university in
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
, and this enabled the Orthodox, Serb population, to advance educationally and culturally at a time when
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
were unable to access education, except for some
Koran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
schools in
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
, for boys only.
The Seminary was looted by Albanians during World War II, when many Serbian churches, monasteries and schools were destroyed.
Between 1960–65, the seminary reached its peak and counted 400 students at that time. In 1970 it had 129 students and 12 teachers.
Kosovo War
When the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
ended, on 12 June 1999, the majority of Serbs who were living in Kosovo at that time, were forced to flee, and those who were unable to, took refuge and hid themselves in the Prizren Seminary, where they were fed and protected by the UN peacekeeping
Kosovo Force
The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo Security Force, Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2 ...
, until a place for them to settle was found. Serbs hiding in the Seminary were sent for Serbia in August 1999. After the refugee Albanians returned to Prizren, they burned and damaged Serbian buildings, including the Seminary.
2004 unrest
In the
2004 unrest in Kosovo
The 2004 unrest in Kosovo is the worst ethnic violence case in Kosovo since the end of the Kosovo War, 1998–99 conflict. The violence erupted in the partitioned town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Kosovo Mitrovica, leaving hundreds wounded and at least ...
, which broke out on 17 March, ethnic Albanians started attacking the Serb settlement in Prizren, including the Seminary. Reportedly, no UNMIK,
Kosovo Police
The Kosovo Police ( sq, Policia e Kosovës, sr-Cyrl, Полиција Косова, sr-Latn, Policija Kosova) is the national policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo.
History
A Kosovo Police Service was created in 1999 in the aftermath o ...
or KFOR were present there at the time to defend the facility. The mob set the seminary on fire, with people inside, and beat several elderly people. One man reportedly died of his injuries. The German KFOR's failure or refusal to mobilize to protect the Serbs was a main security failures of the 2004 unrest. The UNMIK in Prizren stated that 56 Serb homes and 5 historical churches that were burnt down could have been prevented by KFOR mobilization.
Restoration
In March 2007, the local company HIDROTERM together wit
Cultural Heritage without Borders(CHwB) worked together in restoring this educational institution to its former state. The tender for its restoration amounted to 1.3 million euros, 20% of which were managed by CHwB, and was supported by the
European Agency for Reconstruction
The European Agency for Reconstruction used to manage EU's main assistance programmes in Serbia, Kosovo ''(under UNSCR 1244/99)'', Montenegro and North Macedonia. The Agency was headquartered in Thessaloniki, Greece, with operational centres in P ...
. During its restoration, HIDROTERM did the physical work under the supervision of the CHwB. Others who took part in this project were the Municipality of Prizren, the
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
, and the Institute for Protection of Monuments in Kosovo. In the summer of 2012, the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
decided to donate 200.000 euros to the seminary to prepare for the accommodation of new students.
Russian Orthodox Church donation towards the restoration of the Prizren Seminary
spc.rs; accessed 5 May 2016.
Directors
* Stevan Dimitrijević
Stevan Dimitrijević (10 January 1866 in Aleksinac – 24 November 1953 in Belgrade) was a Serbian theologian, historian and pastor to Chetnik freedom-fighter in Ottoman-occupied Old Serbia and Macedonia during the beginning of the 20th century.
...
, 1899–1903; 1910–1920
Graduates
* Patriarch Irinej
*Doksim Mihailović
Doksim Mihailović ( sr, Доксим Михаиловић; 20 February 1883 – 24 October 1912) was a Macedonian Serb ''voivode'' (military commander), originally a teacher, who joined the Serbian Chetnik Organization to fight in Ottoman Macedon ...
, guerrilla fighter
*Lazar Kujundžić
Lazar Kujundžić-Klempa ( sr-cyr, Лазар Кујунџић: 1880 – May 25, 1905) was a Serbian Chetnik commander (vojvoda) who was active in Old Serbia and Macedonia.
Biography
He was born in Orahovac, near Prizren. He graduated fro ...
, guerrilla fighter
*Jovan Grković-Gapon
Jovan Grković ( sr-cyr, Јован Грковић; 1879 – 9 October 1912), nicknamed Gapon (Гапон) was a former Serbian Orthodox monk who joined the Serb guerrilla (chetniks) in the Macedonian Struggle (1902–1912).
Life
Grković was bo ...
, guerrilla fighter
*Rade Radivojević
Rade Radivojević ( sr-cyr, Раде Радивојевић; 1874—July 1907), known as Vojvoda Dušan (Душан), was a Serbian Chetnik Organization, Serbian Chetnik vojvoda in Old Serbia and Macedonia (region), Macedonia during the Macedonian ...
, guerrilla fighter
References
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{authority control
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
Religious buildings and structures in Prizren
Seminaries and theological colleges in Kosovo
Educational institutions established in 1871
1871 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo
Secondary schools in Kosovo
Education in Prizren
Ottoman Serbia
Kosovo vilayet
Schools in Prizren
Religious schools in Kosovo