In Pasjane, Kosovo and Metohija, the feast of Saint Bosiljka of Pasjane was joyfully celebrated.
This week, Orthodox Christians around the world honor two saints: the widely known Saint Paraskeva and the recently revealed Saint Bosiljka of Pasjane, whose story has touched the hearts of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.
The Serbian Orthodox Church designated October 26, the eve of the great feast of Saint Petka, as the day to honor Saint Bosiljka. Though the places these saints lived are hundreds of kilometers apart, their sacrifice for Christ reminds us that time, space, and suffering are temporary, while His truth is eternal.
This year’s celebration in Pasjane was attended by His Grace Bishop Teodosije of Raška-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija, Vicar Bishop Ilarion of Novo Brdo, monastic communities from surrounding monasteries, clergy, and a large number of faithful. After the liturgy, children from Pasjane and nearby villages presented a cultural program, and at the start of the celebration, Bishop Teodosije and Mr. Petar Petković, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Government of Serbia, addressed the congregation.
Saint Bosiljka is the most beautiful flower of this village, the highest gift the people have given, and her pure sacrifice before God is what represents us most. Holy martyrs are the greatest before God because they resemble Him the most. Saint Bosiljka is not only an example but also a call for us to do good—not only for ourselves and our people but for the whole world, which will benefit future generations. I am delighted to see so many children here today. Every child in Kosovo reminds me of Saint Bosiljka, said the bishop.
Like Saint Petka, Bosiljka Rajčić was a humble, devout virgin, obedient to her parents. She lived in the village of Pasjane in Kosovo and Metohija, which, after the Battle of Kosovo, was occupied by the Turks, who committed many atrocities against Christians. While working in the fields, like many Serbian girls of her time, she was abducted by the Turks. They pressured her to convert to Islam and marry a Turk a suggestion reinforced by other captive women, including her cousin, who told her she would live well if she obeyed. Bosiljka calmly replied, “Christ is my chosen one.”
Because of her steadfast faith and refusal to betray Christ, she was martyred for the Orthodox faith and remained a virgin forever. Her captors dismembered her body and scattered it across nearby pastures as a warning. The villagers of Pasjane buried her bones in the village cemetery, only for them to be later moved during the communist era and embedded in the pillar of the Church of the Transfiguration in Pasjane, to protect them from desecration.
In 2019, archaeological research confirmed what the people of Pasjane had believed and preserved for centuries. Since then, Pasjane, Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia, and the global Orthodox community have been blessed with yet another saint from this region.
Saint Bosiljka of Pasjane, a beautiful maiden with long braids, dressed in the traditional attire of the Gnjilane region, rose to eternity, joining Saint Prince Lazar, the Kosovo martyrs, and new martyrs, shining as a guiding light for the Serbian people who continue to live here today.
