Historic Globville Church to Hold 108th Annual Balkan Festival.

On Sunday, 29 January, the congregation of Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, 349 East 47th Ave. in the "Globeville" neighborhood of Denver, will hold its 108th annual "Slava" or "Day of Glory and Celebration" in honor of St. Sava of Serbia, a 13th Century Balkan Prince. As always, the event will include a special Slava service following the Sunday Divine Liturgy, A childrenšs program, a wonderful meal featuring roast pork and cabbage rolls stuffed with spiced meat and rice as well as many other traditional foods, an ethnic bake sale by the women of the parish Sisterhood and entertainment and music for dancing provided by live musicians. "This year, "Archpriest Joseph Hirsch, the Cathedral Dean, says, we will have two special treats: an accordionist to serenade us during our banquet and a Serbian musical ensemble, who will provide accompaniment for our dancing. As always, some of our dances will be Kolos or circle dances, which express the unity and equality of all of the members of the Orthodox Christian Community. Tickets are $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for children from 6-12 years of age. Children 5 and under are free. Tickets will be available at the door while the food lasts.

The Festivity honors Prince Ratsko of Old Serbia who gave up the wealth, comfort and power of his royal station to pursue the life of simple monk at the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. Young Ratsko, named "Sava" at his monastic clothing, was later blessed by his Abbot to visit the Holy Land and the Byzantine Empire. While visiting in Asia Minor, he was urged by the Patriarch of Constantinople to accept ordination as a Bishop and to assume the direction of the newly converted Church of Serbia as its first Archbishop. He was a tireless pilgrim and missionary, visiting every monastery, village and town in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia as well as parts of Macedonia and Bulgaria. He preached, settled ancient conflicts among peoples and instructed the faithful, especially the young. He died on 14 January in 1237, from pneumonia, which he acquired while celebrating the annual outdoor Epiphany Water in Bulgaria, where he had just succeeded in an effort to end a blood feud. For centuries, he has been the Serbian patron of the young and of schools. He is also beloved by all Balkan Christian people.

Fr. Joseph Hirsch, the Dean of Holy Transfiguration, speaks of the trains of horse carts and, later, of model Ts which would stream into Denver from the mining camps of Leadville, Trinidad, Ludlow, Lafayette and such far off places as Cheyenne, Wyoming and Butte, Montana to celebrate the last weekend in January in honor of the beloved Balkan Saint.

"In good years", he comments, "they would roast pigs and chickens. I bad times, such as during the Miners strikes and the Great Depression, they would boil hot dogs with sour cabbage. But always, they had Sarma (stuffed cabbage leaves) and, always they had hearts full of joy and of thanksgiving for God's blessings."

"Life was hard and short for these tough immigrants", Fr. Hirsch continues. "Many a family lost one or more members to Black Lung disease which often afflicted the very young who sat at the mouth of the mine and sorted coal as they breathed in the dust. Others succumbed to mining accidents and cave-ins and, during the coalfield strike, to the machine guns and carbines of the strike breaking militia. Many a young man who came here to make a life and to start a family, suffered a premature death the depths of the earth or in one of the Denver boarding houses where the infirm lived out their last days."

He goes on to explain that, although they were numerous and played an important part in the founding and growth of the Transfiguration Parish, their high mortality rate meant that, only a handful of their descents remained to carry on their traditions. Fr. Joseph goes on to say, "It is part of our debt to these stalwart souls that we visit and bless their graves every year, keep their flag and memorials and observe their national and Holy days." After W.W. II, a new group of Serbs arrived as refugees from the murderous brutality of the "Ustashi" and "Skandar Aqbar" Divisions (Native Balkan SS troops allied with the Nazis) and the antireligious persecution introduced by the Yugoslav Communists. "Together with these and more recent refugees from Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo", Hirsch continues, "We continue to honor the memory of that first generation of Colorado miners and smelter workers who struggled to build their own lives, the life of the new State and a Church in which to Worship God according to the traditions of their ancient faith."

This year has special importance to the parish, because, it is the kick off for a Parish Historical Preservation Project aimed at assuring the structural integrity of the tiny 108 year old Cathedral for another century or more. At the conclusion of the anticipated three year restoration and preservation project, planned with a grant from the Colorado Historical Society, the parish strategic plan calls for the construction of a new larger Orthodox Temple on land adjacent to the present Church. "One of the possible Names for the New Church", Fr. Hirsch mentions, "Saint Sava's. Well, it would be a fitting and paramount tribute to our heroic Balkan Pioneers".