PART OF THE MONOGRAPH "GOJKO JAKOVLEVSKI" BY SLAVE KATIN
God's Temple "St. Apostle Thomas" is another precious Christian religious temple and third church in Zubovce that is unique in Macedonia.
This religious temple is named after the Holy Apostle Thomas, and as a holy day, on the calendar of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, it is celebrated on October 19th. In this temple services are held on the occasion of the holidays and the happiest moments in human life: the baptism of newborns and the marriage of young couples.
On July 30, 2004, the day on which the inhabitants of Zubovce celebrate the village Saint's day of St. Marena, the cornerstone of God's temple "St. Thomas the Apostle" was laid, and consecrated by His Beatitude Stephen. While laying the cornerstone of this temple, a book of impressions has been opened which is kept in the Church of St. Mary. In it, the Metropolitan of the Polog-Ku manovo Diocese Cyril, among other things, has written: I am proud to be a bishop of a centuries-old blessed people. A people who can create permanent epochal works, like brilliant stones around our common church and nationwide Macedonian day.
Tome Serafimovski is a prominent Macedonian sculptor. He is the author of more than 500 sculptures made of durable material, 100 miniatures and design solutions in the field of fine plastic, a dozen of reliefs, as well as 40 staged monuments and memorials throughout the country and worldwide. Since 1988 he has been a regular member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He has held several solo exhibitions in his 50 year career in Macedonia and abroad and has won numerous awards and recognitions.
Academician Tome Serafimovski passed away on March 03, 2016. Academician Tome Serafimovski has for years been eager to build a monastery church and lodgings in his native village of Zubovce. Many welcomed his idea, especially his friend Mane Yakovleski, who not only welcomed the idea but also got involved in its realization. He was engaged in finding a suitable location, a place where the church would be built.
St. Thomas
His organization was the laying and consecration of the foundation, the consecration of the monastery church and he participated in the organization of the celebration of the patron day of the monastery church "St. Apostle Thomas," on October 19th. Consecration of the foundations of the monastery church "St. Apostle Thomas" was performed by the Head of the MOC-OA, His Beatitude Stephen accompanied by Metropolitans Cyril and Gorazd on July 30, 2004.
Before this holy act, the newly built bell tower was consecrated at the cemetery church of "St. Nicholas", whose donor was also the Academician Tome Serafimovski. The reconstructed Zunina fountain was also put into use, and a memorial plaque for the inhabitants of Zubovce fallen during the National Liberation War was unveiled.
After four years of stone carving, the monastery church "St. Apostle Thomas" was fresco painted and the iconostasis made by the donor himself was placed. On July 30, 2008, at the village Saint's day of St. Marena, the monastery church was consecrated, and the donor - academician Tome Serafimovski, solemnly handed over the keys to the Church Board. The message was to guard the church and use it for joyful occasions, for liturgies, baptisms, and weddings.
Sunday, October 12, 2008, in the summer of Lor's Day, will be determined to be the brightest day for the church "St. Apostle Thomas" in honor of the memory of St. Theophan the Merciful, when in the Gostivar sub-mountain village of Zubovce was performed the act of consecration and evangelization of the newly built Holy Church. The act of consecration and evangeliza tion of the newly built church in Zubovce was performed by the diocesan hierarch the Metropolitan of Polog and Kumanovo HE Cyr il accompanied by several clergymen from the Gostivar and Tetovo Vicariate, as well as the professor at the Faculty of Theology "St. Clement of Ohrid" in Skopje, the Protodeacon Ratomir Grozdanoski.
Characteristic of this newly built and newly consecrated church is that its iconos tasis and icons are made of bronze, person ally by the skillful hands of the God-loving academic painter and sculptor Mr. Tome Ser afimovski. This artistic and sacred work of our renowned artist is actually the only and hitherto unusual example in this area.
St. Thomas the Apostle to whom this church is dedicated is one of the twelve great apostles. Through his doubt in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the world has been given new confirmation of that miraculous and saving event. Thus, the holy apostle Thomas, with his unbelief, established faith in the resurrection of the Lord, and in the dormition and burial of the Most Holy Theotokos, with his being late, revealed to the world the miraculous glorification of the Mother of God.
The Apostle Thomas preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the people of India, where he also organized a Church and appointed bishops and priesthood. The Macedonian Orthodox Church celebrates the sacred memory of Apostle Thomas on October 6th, according to the old calendar style.
The chapel "Holy Mother of God and the Savior Jesus Christ"
To be continued
By SLAVE KATIN
