Relics of Cosmas and Damian sent to Poland

(cerkiew.pl) - One of the Orthodox parishes in Białystok (north-east region of Poland) received relics of St. Cosmas and Damian. The relics were granted for the parish by the monks of Zocziszte monastery in Kosovo, which is devoted to the memory of the saints and where their relics are kept.

The idea of bringing the relics to Poland appeared when father Petar, an abbot and a builder of the Zocziszte monastery visited Poland in 2007. He brought an icon of the holy brothers and gave it to the youngest parish in the town of Białystok. Thanks to the blessing of the Polish archbishop Jacob and Serbian archbishop Artemije relics could be given for the Polish faithful. Father Michał Czykwin from the Białystok St. John parish brought the relics from Kosovo at the beginning of August.

Holy brothers lived in the 3rd/4th century. First information about a male monastery in the area of Zocziszte comes from the XI century. The relics of the holy brothers where kept there and the place was famous for many miracles. A Turkish occupancy, war and communistic regime demolished the monastic life in the region. After short renewal in 1992, again the monastery was demolished in 1999, when Albanian extreme fighters put fire under the monastery and monastery buildings. Monks came back in 2004. They managed to rebuild the monastery, also thanks to the help of the faithful from Poland, who organised help for the monastery in 2006.

The monastery lost its financial source of preservation – the vineyards. The monks looked for a new way of supporting their home. They started painting icons. They learned the art of iconography for over a year. The first icon was the one of the holy brothers Kosmas and Damian, which was later given for the Polish Orthodox parish in Białystok.

In the official letter to the archbishop Jacob, archbishop of Kosovo Artemije wrote Remembering your brotherly love and hospitality we decided that in our brotherly love we would fulfil your request and give you a part of the relics, so that God’s name and miracles made by the holy doctors would also be proclaimed in a brotherly Polish nation. We are sure that praying at these holy relics you will remember us and our martyred Serbian nation in Kosovo and Metochia.