Bradina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 27, 2022
Photo: eparhija-zahumskohercegovacka.org
Orthodox faithful in Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered on Wednesday, May 25, to prayerfully commemorate the victims of a massacre that occurred 30 years ago.
Photo: eparhija-zahumskohercegovacka.org The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Grace Bishop Dimitrij of Zahumlje and Herzegovina in the Church of the Ascension in the village of Bradina, where at least 48 Bosnian Serb civilians were slaughtered by Muslim-Croatian military groups, reports the Diocese of Zahumlje.
Besides those killed, many others were sent to camps or were expelled. The fate of at least five of them remains unknown. All Serbian houses, and the Church of the Ascension, built in 1938, were looted and burned. The known victims ranged in age from 11 to 85.
Among the attendees on Wednesday were relatives and descendants of the victims of the ethnic cleansing. The names of the victims are engraved on a monument erected on the site of a common grave in front of the church.
Today, out of more than 1,200 Serbs who lived in the village before the civil war of the 1990s, only two retirees have returned. But despite this, the faithful gather every year on May 25 to pray for their departed loved ones.
“Our strength is in the Lord, not in our numbers,” said Fr. Dejan Grcic. “Although there used to be a lot of Serbs here, and now there’re only two, our strength is in unity. We are gathering for the Divine Liturgy, and as long as that’s the case, life goes on.”
And Bp. Dimitrij reminded the faithful that true Christian sorrow is accompanied by hope in the coming resurrection.
Photo: eparhija-zahumskohercegovacka.org
“Such an approach to suffering is a solid foundation in this world, on which we build ourselves as people, build our families and grow into a mature Christian nation that commemorates its deceased and victims, but doesn’t hate anyone,” the bishop stressed.
After its demolition in the civil war, the Church of the Ascension was rebuilt and consecrated in 2010.
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