When the Homily is about Immunology

Come on Rade, admit it...

...you grew a goatee, joined the Serbian Police Force, and are hanging out with the Patriarch.



Seriously though, this picture of Patriarch Pavle was taken during a Divine Liturgy offered for a feastday that Rade reminded us took place on June 28th (NC). The anniversary "celebration" of the collapse of Serbia under the Turks (1389AD)...and the martydom of St. Lazar. It is a curious story related to us by poem which Rade shared with the LOG recently. I found this version as well:

The Downfall of the Kingdom of Serbia

Yes, and from Jerusalem, O from that holy place,
A great gray bird, a taloned falcon flew!
And in his beak he held a gentle swallow.
But wait! it's not a falcon, this gray bird,
It is a saint, Holy Saint Eliyah:
And he bears with him no gentle swallow
But a letter from the Blessed Mother.
He brings it to the Tsar at Kosovo
And places it upon his trembling knees.
And thus the letter itself speaks to the Tsar:
'Lazar! Lazar! Tsar of noble family,
Which kingdom is it that you long for most?
Will you choose a heavenly crown today?
Or will you choose an earthly crown?
If you choose the earth then saddle horses,
Tighten girths- have your knights put on
Their swords and make a dawn attack against
The Turks: your enemy will be destroyed.
But if you choose the skies then build a church-
O, not of stone but out of silk and velvet-
Gather up your forces take the bread and wine,
For all shall perish, perish utterly,
And you, O Tsar, shall perish with them."
And when the Tsar has heard those holy words
He meditates, thinks every kind of thought:
"O, Dearest God, what shall I do, and how?
Shall I choose the earth? Shall I choose
The skies? And if I choose the kingdom,
If I choose an earthly kingdom now,
Earthly kingdoms are such passing things-
A heavenly kingdom, raging in the dark, endures eternally."
And Lazar chose heaven, not the earth,
And tailored there a church at Kosovo-
O not of stone but out of silk and velvet-
And he summoned there the Patriarch of Serbia,
Summoned there the lordly twelve high bishops:
And he gathered up his forces, had them
Take with him the saving bread and wine.
As soon as Lazar has given out
His orders, then across the level plane
Of Kosovo pour all the Turks.

Intriguing...hey Rade, can you tell us the meaning of "Vidovdan"? The Yahoo news story mentions a St. Vitus...what's that all about?