The lecture “Kosovo Myth in Our Time” by Miloš Ković, PhD, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade, was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Thursday, January 23rd, 2025, starting at 6 p.m.
At the beginning of the lecture, Darko Gučanin, director of the National Museum Kraljevo, welcomed the attendees and referred to the historical, cultural and spiritual significance of Kosovo and Metohija, as the center of medieval statehood and a place that has been a source of myths and legends of great importance for the national identity of the Serbian people throughout the centuries. Pointing out the special interest that this topic arouses in Kraljevo, he reminded the audience of previous programs of the National Museum Kraljevo with similar themes, such as the scientific conference “Kosovo and Metohija: A Geopolitical Overview” and the recent promotions books by Milomir Stepić “Geopolitical Glossary of the Balkans” and by Kosta Nikolić “The Charisma of Emperor Dušan”.
The opening speech was given on behalf of the National Museum Kraljevo and the Society of Historians of the Raška District by Dragoljub Danilović, PhD, history professor at the Gymnasium Kraljevo, who introduced the audience to the impressive biography of Professor Ković. In his speech, he cited the words of academician Radovan Samardžić: “If history did not deal with the truth, it would be better if it did not exist” and his belief that Professor Ković is the best person to explain the concept of the Kosovo Covenant and help us understand it”.
In his one-hour presentation, Professor Ković first noted that the Kosovo Covenant had been intensively discussed since 2018, which he linked to the launch of an internal dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija. The phrase Kosovo Covenant was present within the church and among a few intellectuals, such as Marko Marković, Žarko Vidović, and Dimitrij Bogdanović. The roots of the Kosovo Covenant should be sought in the Middle Ages, in the era of Saint Sava and Saint Simeon. Ković emphasizes that the Kosovo Covenant is contained in the Žička Sermon of Saint Sava and his Canon and reiterates that it is actually a renewed Saint Sava Covenant. Saint Sava was already recognized in his time as the creator of the Serbian national church and the one who showed his people the path of the “true faith”. Sava’s escape from the palace to the monastery, his abandonment of the earthly kingdom and his commitment to the heavenly kingdom were a model that obliged the Nemanjićs, but also the entire Serbian people. The Covenant of Saint Sava directly relies on the Old and New Testaments, and the Lives of Domentian point to the existence of an awareness of covenant and chosenness among the Serbian people. Professor Ković mentioned the theory of one of the leading theorists of nations, Anthony Smith, who divides nations into hierarchical, republican and covenantal. Covenantal nations are characterized by their pre-modern origin and awareness of the given covenant and are recognizable among peoples who professed their faith in the national language.
The era of Prince Lazar could see its myth of origin and its “golden age” in the time of Saint Sava. In the period after the Battle of Kosovo, cult writings write about the sin of Emperor Dušan, which caused the punishment for abandoning the covenant. Dušan’s arbitrary proclamation of the patriarchate and patricide are sins that cause the suffering of the Serbian people. It was Prince Lazar, as a Christ-like ruler, who was chosen to return the Serbs to the path of the covenant and achieve reconciliation of the churches. Lazar’s commitment to sacrifice, feat and the kingdom of heaven are the core of the Kosovo Covenant. Vuk Branković is presented as Judas, the Kosovo heroes as apostles, while Miloš Obilić has no counterpart in the New Testament. Ković states that the key figure in the interpretation of the Kosovo Covenant is Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović, who believes that Kosovo, the land on which the blood of the martyrs was shed, is actually “holy land”. Many Serbian creators have included the Kosovo Covenant in their works, such as Njegoš, Miloš Crnjanski, Ivo Andrić, Isidora Sekulić, Milan Rakić, Justin Ćelijski and others. The Kosovo Covenant was definitely shaped in the 20th century. Today, the Kosovo Covenant is a subversive idea precisely because of the unpopularity of making sacrifices for higher goals in a time of pronounced individualism and materialism. Professor Ković ended his lecture optimistically, emphasizing that a kind of renewal is taking place within the Serbian Orthodox Church today, noting that our churches are full of young people both in the country and in the diaspora. After the lecture, Professor Ković answered questions from the interested audience for another hour.