Published: July 10, 2009 02:02 pm      

SERBIAN SOJOURN | Church members trace footsteps of ancestors

By TOM LAVIS

TLAVIS@TRIBDEM.COM

For 21 members of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in Westmont, a trip to their ancestral homeland produced emotional adventures that none of them could have imagined.

The tour developed into three trips: The majestic beauty of Montenegro, the culture, history and religious relics of Serbia and an unforgettable two-day visit to Krajina in Croatia, where many of the group’s families originated.

Church members who made the journey June 10-24 were Suzette and Dick Gardenhour, Michael and Mary Raich, Bill and Mary Kay Kelly, Nick and Emma Saula, Mitch Saula, Sylvester “Pety” Gjurich, Matthew Gjurich, Danica Wess, Richard Uzelac, Steve and Judy Uzelac, Natalie and John Ofsanko, Steve and Carol Purich, Barbara Appleby and Nick Matiejevich.

Members of the group said they were impressed with the culture, sites and hospitality.

They discovered a land of contrasts.

From a week at the plush resort beaches of Budva, Montenegro, where mountains rise from the Adriatic Sea, to a week in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, it was a full itinerary that included visits to fortresses, ancient towns, monasteries, cemeteries and open markets.

But the highlight occurred when the group boarded a tour bus to take a two-day side trip to Maljevac and surrounding area in Croatia.

About 95 percent of the members of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church can trace their heritage to this location.

Members of the Uzelac family were compelled to make the trip to visit the homeland of their father, Sava, who immigrated to the United States from Serbia in the early 20th century.

“He was the oldest of five children, and his parents sought money from a duke in exchange for land to pay his passage to come to America,” said Richard Uzelac of Conemaugh Township, Cambria County.

Sava Uzelac continued to write his relatives in Serbia until his death in 1971.

The Uzelacs lost touch with relatives in Serbia after their father’s death.

Following the Serbian-Croatian War in the 1990s, most of the Serbs living near Maljevac moved to other regions as their homes were destroyed during the conflict.

In Vojnic, the Saula family met an 85-year-old sister-in-law, which immediately sparked an exchange of hugs, kisses and tears.

The guides made many stops along the way to inquire about possible surviving ancestors of the group’s members.

On a dirt road in rural Croatia, a tour guide had the bus stop at a house with which she is familiar.

After a brief conversation with an older gentlemen, the guide motioned the Uzelacs to come out of the bus.

Through interpreters, they discovered that the two men who lived there were their first cousins.

“Nearly every Serbian-owned home was destroyed in the war, and we discovered that the home my cousins were living in was the same house my father helped his father build over 100 years ago,” Richard Uzelac said.

“Looking back on it, it’s almost surreal. I know it happened, but to think that I would find my father’s childhood home and meet two first cousins still living there was beyond my wildest dreams.”

One of his cousins told the group that the survival of the home is considered to be a miracle by local residents.

“We also learned that they viewed my father as somewhat of a folk hero because when he went to work at Bethlehem Steel in Johnstown, he sent money home, which enabled the family to buy back the land that was sold for his ticket to America,” Richard Uzelac said.

“My father and Lazo Gjurich came to America, and one moved to Franklin and the other to Conemaugh.”

Lazo’s son, Pety, made the trip and Uzelac’s cousin said he knew of the Gjurich family homestead and took Pety to his family’s ancestral home.

Although the spot is now an open field, Gjurich and his grandson, Matthew, who accompanied him, were overwhelmed at seeing the site.

“We took a walk to the brow of a hill and the cousin described that the beautiful Gjurich house once stood there and it always had an expansive garden,” Pety Gjurich said.

“It brought tears to my eyes, and my grandson and I hugged because this was his ancestry, too.”

Before he left, Pety Gjurich collected dirt and three pebbles from the site to give to his children upon his return home.

“Indescribable, phenomenal, unbelievable, wonderful – pick any or all of those words and it can’t express how making this visit made me feel,” Gjurich said.

A third member of the group, Michael Raich, also met the granddaughter of his uncle whom he discovered through an Internet search four years ago.

Suzette Gardenhour of Upper Yoder Township, who grew up in the Orthodox faith, said the pilgrimage was something she had always wanted to do.

“The idea of the trip began with six couples with at least one spouse with Serbian roots,” she said.

“It developed into a pilgrimage of sorts when other family members and friends decided to join us.”

The cost of the two week trip averaged about $6,000 per couple.

Gardenhour said that she and her companions were moved at the religious significance of the trip.

“Everywhere we went, people embraced us and treated us like a million dollars,” Gardenhour said.

“We were serenaded by a gypsy band, entertained by Serbian dancers and saw breathtaking vistas that rivaled any on earth.”

The believers were particularly influenced by their visit to the Cetinje monastery in Montenegro.

“We were privileged to view some remarkable relics,” she said.

“There in front of us were two boxes. One contained fragments of Jesus’ cross from Golgatha and the other cradled the right hand of John the Baptist.”

They also visited the Cathedral of St. Sava in Belgrade, Serbia, and the church of St. George at the top of Mali Oplenac.

Built by King Petar I, the church is covered with white marble. The interior is covered in mosaics, with more than six million pieces.

“St. Sava is the founder of the independent Serbian Orthodox Church,” Gardenhour said.

“This is the largest Orthodox church currently in use. It is built on the Vracar plateau, on the location where his remains are thought to have been burned in 1595. Construction began in 1935 and is not complete.”

The visitors also enjoyed a bounty of Serbian cuisine.

“We ate a lot of veal, pork, roasted lamb, some chicken and fresh vegetables,” she said.

Dinner usually started with homemade breads, accompanied by salads of tomato, cucumber, onions and cabbage, all topped with a vinegar and oil dressing.

“The terrain was similar to Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the people’s average monthly income was around 400 euros ($560),” Gardenhour said.

One component of the trip that surprised the travelers were the ruins of the war in the 1990s.

“Many homes and monasteries were destroyed and many buildings showed the scars of war,” Gardenhour said.

“Bullet holes in the sides of buildings are common and many look as if they are ready to collapse.”

Danica Wess of New Germany was drawn to return to the land where her father and mother were born and where their families originated.

She said walking to the church of St. Nicholas in the Stari Grad section of Budva, through the walls of the fortress and the tiled streets of the old city, was a unique experience.

“The church was as I remember my hometown church of St. Petka, with seats around the perimeter, filled with worshippers, candles burning and babushka-clad women standing for the entire service,” Wess said.

“I bent to light a candle and place it in the sand-based holder, where so many others had been lit, and even now, tears come to my eyes at the thought that my mother could see me finally standing there in her homeland.

“The interior of the church was ornate with frescoes; the singing was beautiful, the worshippers were intent and seemingly absorbed in the service.

“You stood side by side, most of the women on one side of the church, the men on the other.”

Wess said her visit to the Cathedral of St. Sava surpassed her expectations.

“We had heard about it so many times over the years, how it had been started and construction stopped because of wars and lack of money and restarted, that it hopefully may be completed in four or five years,” she said.

“It is such a huge structure and such a tribute to our faith that it would be wonderful to see it completed and filled with faithful.”

Tracing the footsteps of their ancestors was inspirational and emotional.

“This is where we all started, where we received our faith,” Wess said.

“I regret that I did not meet any remaining relatives. I don’t know that we have any there.

“Nevertheless, I shared in the joy and tears of others in our group who did meet family and friends. We were all as one and nothing can compare with the love we experienced.”