Peppers "sweet as honey" grow in St. Prohor monastery: Here, 3 monks are in charge of organic production

Foto: Telegraf/S.T.

On about two hectares of the property of the Prohor Pcinjski Orthodox monastery, organic vegetables are grown, both for the needs of this shrine and for many other churches and monasteries in the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Eparchy of Vranje.

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The field next to Pcinjs is dominated by a huge greenhouse, where peppers of exceptional quality are cultivated. The first fruits arrive already in late spring, and the greenhouse is especially lively now, as most people but it to prepare their winter pickles.

The abbot of the monastery of St. Prohor, Archimandrite Metodije Markovic, says that many types of vegetables are produced on the estate, almost everything that grows in this climate.

"We grow the vegetables primarily for our own needs, we process a part into winter pickles, sell some, and give a lot away. This year, the paprika is of exceptional quality, it is mostly used for ajvar, but some is also dried.

"We have the vegetables from the greenhouse, but also from outdoors. The most important thing is that it is all organic. Although the fields are right next to a river, we irrigate the gardens with water from the wells. We have four workers helping out, and the monks also take part in everything," says abbot Methodije.

Peppers from the greenhouse, which were harvested in the past few days, look like healthy fruit, both in smell, taste and overall appearance. None are smaller than a beer bottle.

The green ones will go into pickles and other winter storage in the following days. Earlier, when the brotherhood was much more numerous, the monastery also had cosshweds, but today there are none, because there are only three monks here.

Believers from all over come to help them, but to maintain one of the largest estates of the Serbian Orthodox Church, many more hands are needed.

In addition to vegetables, the monastery also has fruit plantations, beehives, quails to harvest the eggs, and they produce mushroom vegetables. They formally give the land where the vegetables are grown to the Prokhorovo Agricultural Cooperative, which is located in the neighboring village of Klenike.

What sets this area apart is that the Pcjina Valley is that it is the only protected asset under the administration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, more precisely the Eparchy of Vranje.

The monastery of St. Prohor of Pcinj was built by the Byzantine emperor Roman IV Diogenes, who ruled from 1069 to 1071. He dedicated it to Reverend Father Prokhor. The monastery was restored in the 14th century by the Serbian King Milutin.

Today, it represents the largest shrine of Southern Serbia, which, together with the Pcinja Valley, is a place where numerous visitors come throughout the year, not only from Serbia but also from other Orthodox Christian countries.

(Telegraf Biznis/S.T.)