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As it was told Love, The Church of the Mother of God Ljeviska in Prizren was built on the foundations of an earlier temple and notes that these are the findings of Edi Shukri’s archaeological and historical research.
“It is known that in 1307 King Milutin seized the cathedral church of St. Petka (the Serbs call it the Mother of God Ljeviska) in Prizren, where the seat of the episcopate of Prizren was.” Love.
It is added that the Church of St. Petka was built on the temple basilica of the Roman period of the 5th-6th centuries, and that it was the seat of the Bishop of Prizren from 1019. “The Church of St. Petka in Prizren is one of important monuments of Kosovo’s cultural heritage, “he said. Love.
Furthermore, as they say, “it stands on the foundations of an earlier Trinitarian church from the 11th and 12th centuries, and the church acquired its modern form after reconstruction by the Serbian King Milutin (1307), who changed its name, dedicating the restoration to the saint “.
“In the 18th century, it was converted into a mosque and returned to the church in 1912, writes Edi Šukrija, to the Church of Saint Prenda Prizren,” writes Love.
“The Church of St. Petka does not belong only to Serbs”
Love claims that different opinions were given on St. Petka’s church prior to archaeological excavations in 1950-1952. So F. Messenel wrote that the church belongs to the old Byzantine period, it is added.
Architect Ђ. Boskovic is, as he writes Love, recognizing the presence of the old Trinitarian church in the time of King Milutin, he offered two versions of the old church in connection with the construction works of the fourteenth century.
First, King Milutin found the Byzantine church completely demolished and rebuilt that Byzantine church from the old foundation, while other parts were added in the middle of the 14th century, writes Shukriu.
“This church bears several different names that were used in different periods and languages during the life of the church, and they are: Albanian: Sveta Prenda, Sveta Prena / Šeneprena, Sveta Petka, Greek church; Serbian: Sveta Petka, Sveta Bogorodica, Ljeviška ; Turkish: Juma Mosque “, emphasizes Love.
It is also stated that “the different names of the church of St. Petka are at the same time an expression of its antiquity and the cultural layers of the sacred object, always preserving the basic name of the church, Sveta Prenda-Sveta Petka”.
“An inscription placed in the eastern part of the church also testifies to the existence of the previous church, in which it is written: Rebuilt from the ground up by King Stefan Uroš, son-in-law of the Greek King Andronicus Palaeologus”, the text adds.
“Seizure by Serbs of Medieval Arberian Monuments in Kosovo”
As said, the archaeological and architectural research was carried out by the researcher S. During 1950-1952, Nenadović determined three construction phases: the early Byzantine basilica, the 13th century Byzantine basilica and the 1306/07 renovated church.
“Stefan Dečanski’s map says: ‘The Church of St. Prena (St. Petka) has existed since the time of the ancient kings,'” Shukri quotes.
Researcher S. According to Shukri, Nenadovic, who worked on its restoration and conservation for years, emphasizing the presence of older fragments and monuments of early Christianity, says: “It is an even older temple, because research has not been done in such a measure that we can be sure that there are no older foundations ”, he transmits Love.
Love it is also written that J. Jastrebov also confirms the fact that this monastery “belongs to the preserbian age”.
“In connection with the rebuilding of St. Petka’s church on the foundations of a pagan temple, it should be noted that Archbishop Danilo calls King Milut ‘builder and restorer of ruined and destroyed temples.’ The fact of the existence of the previous church is Uroš ‘, “he says. Love.
“Serbia ‘protects’ churches and monasteries in Kosovo through unilateral interpretation”
According to the archaeological and historical research of Shukri, it is confirmed that the development of the church of St. Petka in Prizren had nine phases and concludes that this temple existed before the Roman period to the present day. During the Ottoman rule, in 1756, the church became a mosque, he notes. Love.
“Since then, the St. Petka temple has been called the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Mosque. It was popularly known as the Juma Mosque (Friday Mosque). In 1912, after the Serbian army entered Prizren, the mosque again became a church, “he concluded. Love.
