The document summarizes a pilgrimage to the Visoki Dečani Monastery in Montenegro in November 2009. It describes stops at churches and monasteries along the way, including a military escort to Visoki Dečani due to security concerns. Upon arriving at Visoki Dečani Monastery, the group attended evening services and celebrated the monastery's feast day the next day before departing.

1. Pilgrimage to Visoki De č ani November 2009

2. We left Cetinje at 6am

3. Previous picture was not taken at 6:00am. (It was dark, but not as dark as this slide either.)

4. Our First Stop

5. This cathedral in Montengro deserves its own presentation... some other time. :-)

6. The cathedral served as our "park and ride" from which we then carpooled to...

7. Our Second Stop

8. Berane Monastery A monastery where we stopped for breakfast.

9. Main Church of St. George

10. If you have never visited a monastery; you should. Warning: you may want to stay.

11. Two Panteleimons

12. From Berane, we drove to the border. Cetinje is about a five hour drive from De č ani.

13. At the border, the Italians (NATO) were pleasant. They discouraged pictures though.

14. The Italians (NATO) provided a pre- arranged military escort to the monastery.

15. De č ani Monastery

16. The monastery is situated in an area that can be hostile towards Christians and Orthodox in particular. Thus, the military escort.

17. Inside the grounds

18. When I saw the church I thought, "How tall it is!" I didn't realize that "Visoki" in Serbian means "High" or "Tall"

19. Visoki De č ani

20. Before the evening service, a novice was given the blessing to wear the mantia (aka cassock) p.s. "Novice" in Serbian, literally means "one being tested".

22. Anyone recognize the new novice? Hint: I met him in Australia.

23. Alexander and I … or (grammatically speaking) “Alexander and me”

24. After Vigil and food (of course!) it was time for bed... I say “of course” as monks (especially Serbian one’s) are known for their hospitality.

25. Bedtime?

26. No, I didn't sleep with the animals. De č ani supports itself with animals, (cheeses, eggs) a garden, bees, and more.

27. The next day…

28. ... we all celebrated the Monastery Slava (feast day).

29. After the service, I got to practice my Serbian. The Church is more than 36 meters long, 24 meters wide and 29 meters high.

30. I spoke with people from all over the world. Some I already knew, but never expected to see.

32. Each picture is a story More info and photos at : http://www.kosovo.net/main.html

33. The End