Peter's Church has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979, so the requests of the owners of the Serbian Orthodox Church regarding the construction of a parish house right next to it should not be treated as implicit and binding
Recently, considerable attention has been paid to the case of Peter's church near Novi Pazar for a reason, but still not all the key elements of the problem have been clarified, nor have all the relevant positions been presented and explained. It is a paradigmatic example that shows how the competent institutions of monument protection make harmful decisions related to modern interventions in that first-class historical environment. This insight is especially devastating after the "General Staff" case, when the conservators, all as one, took a stand regarding the demolition decision. When it comes to St. Peter's Church, of course it is not about demolition, but it is about endangering the authenticity and integrity of a cultural property and holy place of extraordinarily high values.
THE HISTORY, UNESCO
The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul near Novi Pazar, better known as Peter's Church, is the oldest preserved sacred building in the Republic of Serbia. It was built on a hill, on an archaeologically complex, multi-layered site that goes all the way to the tumulus above the duke's grave from the 5th century BC, while the building in its preserved original form from the 9th century was a rotunda with a dome, which with later additions got the complex and unique look we know today.
In the episcopal seat, in Peter's church, Stefan Nemanja was baptized for the second time, this time according to the Orthodox rite, since he received Catholic baptism in his native Zeta. It was the most important building in Raška at the time, where the great prefect held state assemblies during the second half of the 12th century, and when he judged that it was a good political moment, he abdicated the throne there (1196) and handed over power to his middle son Stefan, then son-in-law of the Byzantine emperor. Apparently, the first-born was crowned with the papal crown there (1217), since the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) was then under Latin occupation (1204–1261). After the establishment of an independent archbishopric with its seat in the Žiči monastery (1219), thanks to the diplomatic abilities of Nemanja's youngest son Sava, Peter's church, as the seat of the Serbian Bishopric of Raška, i.e. of lower rank, loses its primacy. Nevertheless, it was the most significant point of the ecclesiastical-political structure of the Serbian state during its formative period: all important decisions were made there and crucial events related to secular and spiritual power took place.
Her painting was created on several occasions in the range from the 9th to the 16th century. Finally, due to the unique values of its history, architecture and painting, Peter's church has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979 as part of the "Old Race with Sopoćani" group. All this would imply the generation of a high awareness of the competent service for the protection of cultural assets of the Republic of Serbia regarding its preservation and presentation, which should be approached with special sensitivity and respect. Also, in that context, the owner's requests, i.e. SPC, should not be treated as implied and binding. On the contrary, they should be considered very carefully.
However, in recent times, Peter's church and its immediate surroundings have been degraded by a new building, the construction of which is underway at the request of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with the blessing and generous funding from the state, with the participation and support of the competent, umbrella institution for monument protection, the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments. It is about the construction of a 37m long building in its small gate, north of the church and on an area that has not been adequately or completely explored archaeologically, which the archaeologists have particularly clearly and publicly announced. The new construction almost touches the exceptional tombstones, which form a unique picture together with the church. During the directorship of prof. Dubravke Đukanović, Ph.D., a 2022 project was drawn up at the Institute, and the same director delegated the supervision of the construction, which began in 2024, to her private company Studio d'art, more precisely to her own daughter. These data are written on the construction board at the site.
AT THE REQUEST OF THE DIOCESE
How to explain the behavior of the Republic Institute? The answer goes back decades. Back in the 90s of the last century, the Serbian Orthodox Church requested the construction of a refectory and a lapidary north of the church, as well as a house for the priest and his family. The report of ICOMOS, an international professional organization and advisory expert body of UNESCO, approves the request for a new building in 2009. Truth be told, that report was signed by Alkiviadis Prepis (ICOMOS, Greece), who, in consultation with Serbian colleagues, was apparently the only ICOMOS maker of far-reaching decisions regarding plans for a radical change within an immeasurably important cultural property for the Serbian environment. Also, A. Prepis is an architect, and in order to make such sensitive decisions, due to the importance of the locality when it comes to archeology, the opinion of one of his colleagues in that profession was also necessary.
However, before making the decision about the construction, a reasonable question was left out: who would the refectory next to the parish church be intended for, other than as a restaurant for believers and visitors? How can such a need be justified within the boundaries of an extremely delicately located, unique cultural asset that stands like a jewel on a hill, chosen as a holy place more than two and a half millennia ago, and which has come down to us unthreatened by additions. The medieval buildings in the port were destroyed over time, but what has been preserved is authentic: the church and tombstones. And it should stay that way, precisely for the sake of preserving the authenticity of the place. Unfortunately, these views were absent from domestic and ICOMOS experts, for which there is no reasonable professional explanation. In the meantime, the SPC's request for a new building has evolved from a refectory to a diocesan court and lapidarium, the construction of which is in progress.
Since the new building is a request of the Eparchy of Raško-Prizren, it should be known that since the NATO bombing in 1999, the bishop of the Eparchy of Raško-Prizren left Prizren, where he was ministering, for security reasons, and settled in the Gračanica monastery, where he has been staying ever since. At the Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2011, in a statement published on the website of the Raška-Prizren diocese, it was stated that the planned restoration of the Raška bishopric was postponed "until all the necessary conditions are met". After less than a decade and a half, the conditions have obviously been met.
It seems logical that the episcopal seat of the Raško-Prizren diocese should be returned from Gračanica to Peter's church, where it was located in the Middle Ages, but only until we face the reality of life today. However, the assurance comes from the Raška-Prizren eparchy that there is no talk of moving the bishop from Gračanica to Raška, i.e. Novi Pazar, and the announcement of February 14, 2026 says that the bishop has no intention of leaving the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. It is not clear why the statement from 2026 does not say openly what was said in the statement from 2011: we will re-establish the Bishopric of Raška with its seat in Peter's Church, especially when it is known that historically Gračanica was the seat of another one - the ancient Bishopric of Lipjan. The conclusion of the latest announcement reads: "...the existence and operation of the eparchy in the area of Raška is of key importance for the survival of the Church, the faithful people and the holy places in Kosovo and Metohija, because both parts of the eparchy form an interconnected and organic whole". It is by no means clear how the existence and operation of the Diocese in the area of Raška can be of key importance for the survival of monasteries in another area, i.e. in Kosovo and Metohija, on the other side of the administrative border.
WHAT THE REPUBLIC INSTITUTE SAYS
When it comes to the professional aspect of this undertaking, the key sentence can be found in the answer received from the Republic Institute published on A1 tv.net Novi Pazar, where it is said: "Without entering into a discussion about whether there is a need for such an intervention in this location, the goal was to develop the best possible solution that respects the guidelines of ICOMOS, as well as the inherited obligations and solutions from previous periods". Those words remind of the old saying: "When you get on the wrong train, all the stations are wrong". The decision-makers in the Republic Institute got on the wrong train, while they had time, more than two decades, to consider and revise the decision on the oversized building inside the port, i.e. to get off the wrong train. Which didn't happen. However, the job of the experts consists precisely in entering into discussions and determining whether there is a need for a new building in a medieval environment, how much, and in which location - and to allow or reject it accordingly.
The representatives of the Institute of the Republic stated recently, and several media reported this claim, that the experts of ICOMOS approved the construction of the building in the gate of Peter's Church in exactly that place and in the same dimensions as the dimensions of the building that is being constructed, from which it follows that there is no reason to worry about the removal of Peter's Church from the UNESCO World Heritage List, which was raised in the media as a question of vital importance. However, this insight does not in the least affect the activities at hand. Also, the claim that all the papers are correct and according to the law essentially means nothing. Essentially, this new construction has no place next to Peter's Church. Its construction damaged the authenticity and uniqueness of the locality. The building needed by the diocese was supposed to be erected outside the former walls, and for that statement it is not even necessary to pass a conservation exam, as evidenced by expert and lay reactions in the public.
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