ARGJIPESHKVI MJEDA NË DOKUMENTET MALAZEZE TË VITIT 1913
ARCHBISHOP MJEDA IN MONTENEGRIAN DOCUMENTS OF 1913

Summary/Abstract: Archbishop Lazër Mjeda is one amongst most prominent patriots as well as entirely devoted spiritual shepherd which with whole his being was dedicated to the service of his holy mission in preservation of his and his flock’s religious and national identity. One of his really difficult tasks was dealing with horrible violen-ce practices toward Albanian nation in order to convert in orthodoxies.Conversion of Catholic and Muslim Albanians in orthodoxy in Kosovo and broader, during Balkan war and until the First World War, represents a peculiar form, entirely drastic and brutal of state terror and genocide, which Montenegro and Serbia applied by the support of their soldatesque. The main purpose of conversion was denationalization and assimilation of that part of Albanian population in occupied terri-tories of those who would accept conversion of religion and those who wouldn’t would be expelled. This way was planned ethnic and religi-ous cleansing from ‘foreign element’ and creation of clean Slavic and orthodox Kosovo. Forceful conversion was becoming a method of spiritual and physical genocide. Only by the march of 1913, in the district of Gja-kova Montenegrins converted over 1200 Albanians of catholic rite into eastern orthodoxy, 36 of those who resisted were killed, as is the case with the monk Luigj Pali, together with 50 other Albanians, in 22. 02. 1913 in the village of Janosh near Gjakova. In order to make greater pressure, leaders of the villages and heads of the families who resisted would be captured, nevertheless the others succeeded to make armed resistance. Crimes exceeded every measure: population required salvation. Endeavors of Lazër Mjeda as a catholic bishop in their defense were continuous. He had decided to remain in defense of his devotees and entire Albanian population even if he were to pay that with his head and the fate of Luigj Pali. Lazër Mjeda was followed and each step of his was under complete supervision of Montenegrin state bodies. It was more than natural that cruel actions would be undertaken against him by the governmental order. This is testified also by a telegram which was written by investigative commission from Peja to the minister of internal affairs Gojniq in Cetina on June 9th 1913 where among other things wrote that the bodies of Gjakova informed him that catholic archbishop Mjeda was in Gjakova and he thinks that tomorrow, on 27th he will travel to Pejë and from there would go in Zllakuqan, over the Drin, where was places catholic church. Same bodies inform that archbishop appealed to Catholics who had left the territory and went in Serbian territory to tell if they have been converted into orthodoxies voluntarily or by force. According to the present days rapports Catho-lics replied that they had been converted by force and that they are ready to turn back to Catholicism again.

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