Carmichaels, PA - The Seventeenth Annual Vidovdan dinner and program were held at the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania June 28, 2015. The dinner and program are held each year to remember, honor and reflect on the Christian martyrdom associated with Kosovo from 1389 to the present.

Officers and parishioners of the St. George Church gather each year in the church hall following the Divine Liturgy. The St. George Kolo prepares the dinner. Members of the Church Executive Board,  Kolo and Choir speak about the important lessons.

Parishioners read from the powerful poetry conveying the lasting messages of the martyrs giving their lives as Christians. Christians needed to stand against adversity in 1389. Christians have had to stand against evil in the present day.

The poems and writings about the Battle of Kosovo touch the heart and draw the mind deeply into what occurred with St. Lazarus and those joining him in battle. Subsequent atrocities in Kosovo are also brought to mind.

St. Nikolai Velimirovic said Vidovdan is the greatest Slava of the Serbian people.[1] The Executive Board and parishioners of St. George Church considers it important each year to have the dinner and program.

Evil and adversity for Christians was not limited to 1389 and continues in varying degrees in different locations throughout the world to the present.

Christian martyrdom is integral to the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church and to the wider history of Orthodoxy. Christian martyrs make the ultimate sacrifice. Christians of each generation benefit from the sacrifices of martyrs. Contemporary Christians do well to examine the personal willingness to sacrifice for Christ.

Christians are suffering in different parts of the world today. The Kosovo martyrs inspire defense against contemporary evil. The Kosovo martyrs are lasting witnesses of complete and honorable commitment.

Honor and witness for Christ are the most powerful of messages when martyrdom is considered. The depth of commitment to Christ expressed in the lives of Christian martyrs deserves full attention.

Parishioners at St. George Church in Carmichaels annually examine the lessons of Vidovdan.  Parishioners of St. George Church take the time each year to hear about the suffering and honor the ultimate sacrifices.

Article by Fr Rodney Torbic

[1] Kosovo Revisited. Editor Hadzi Antic. Published  by the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada, Beograd, 1989.