In need of protection

I find this difficult at many levels  This extraordinary World Heritage building, Decani Monastery, built 1327-1335, is a 40 minute drive from Gjakova where we are staying. It is a 'must see' for visitors to Kosova, according to many guide books, so we went today (although Di has been a number of times).
It was established by Serbian King, later Saint, Stefan Decanski. Here he is depicted on one of its inside walls giving the building to Christ.
Every single inch of wall and ceiling space is covered in the most extraordinary paintings from the 14th century, just a few years after it was built. These paintings are, amazingly, in their original state and depict various biblical scenes and saints.
Utterly amazing. So, where's the difficulty? Well, firstly my Christian faith is far removed from this expression of Christianity. It's not for me to judge the monks who live here; I just don't relate to the religiosity I encountered today, especially the veneration of St Stefan's remains, which are claimed to have  miraculously not deteriorated without mummification. I don't believe in the canonization of saints in the first place!
The second difficulty is that this is a Serbian orthodox monastery. Much of the ethnic cleansing carried out by Serbia was done in the name of Christ. Serbian residents of Kosova were advised to put a cross on their front door when systematic murder and rape were carried out, so that the police and army knew which houses to attack and which to leave.
The third difficulty is that we and our NATO partners are spending a huge amount of money protecting this and many other Serbian religious sites. This is needed. In February 2016 4 armed kosovar citizens were arrested near the monastery because they were carrying an ak47 and other weapons, clearly intent on attacking the Serbs within. In order to gain entry we had to give our passports to an Austrian KFOR officer to prove our identity and act as surety.
I hope I don't get into trouble for these photos ...



So, while we were refreshed by the beauty and peace of this place, I remain troubled.

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