MONASTÈRE DE ZOČIŠTE
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This Serbian Orthodox monastery (Манастир Зочиште/Manastir Zočište, Manastiri i Zoçishtës) was once one of the largest in Kosovo. It is located in the village of Zoçishti/Zočište, which has about 700 inhabitants, all of them Albanians (30% Serbs before 1998). Founded in the 14th century on the site of a Byzantine monastic complex and an early Christian church, it was abandoned after the battle of Kosovo Polje (1389), then rebuilt in the 16th century and was destroyed by the KLA after the Kosovo War in September 1999. Rebuilt with the same stones and according to the same architecture in 2005, it once again houses a small community of monks. Dedicated to the Anargyrian saints ("who heal without asking for money") Como and Damien, it is a place known for its "miracles". Indeed, it houses a spring that is supposed to cure, among other things, eye diseases. This gave its name to the monastery and the village: the Slavic term zočište can be translated as "healed eye". Before 1998, locals of all faiths came here in the hope of a cure. Now, only Serbs frequent the monastery. Within the complex, the small church of Saints Como and Damian houses the supposed relics of the two Anargyrian saints, which were moved to Serbia shortly before the 1999 destruction. There is also a "miraculous" icon from the 14th century that was rediscovered under the rubble in 2004. It is a double-sided icon representing on one side Saint Damian and on the other Saint Como.
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