Soldiers' Church in Nis
In the Army, over the last few months, worship places have been opened in the Command, the First, Second, Fourth, and the Special Brigade, but the special attention was drawn to the consecration of the soldiers' church of St. Simon the Monk in the Third Brigade. It is located in "Prince Mihajlo" barracks in Nis and represent a unique religious temple, during which construction, renovation and remodeling all conditions and requirements for bringing a religious object to its intent and purpose have been met, starting from the size of the church and position of the building in east to west direction, to the cross, bell tower, altar table and the necessary relics.
The team of the Third Brigade Command led by Lieutenant Colonel Radenko Markovic, Assistant Commander for Support, has developed a dynamic plan for adaptation and renovation of the existing building.- It might seem that the project of renovation and adaptation of the building and facilities for military church was easy, but there were many problems that had to be solved, in which we had help from the members of the Third Brigade from the garrisons out of Nis, Nis diocese, "Pantelej" municipality, Directorate for City Land Development and numerous businesses and individuals - Lieutenant Colonel Markovic said.
The landscaped area around the soldiers' church of St. Simon the Monk, the bell tower and cross, that has not only religious and aesthetic value but also a remarkable historic and symbolic significance because, as a donation of the Niš Eparchy, it was transferred from the burnt Cathedral of Nis, significantly contribute to its beautiful appearance. Architect Dragana Dragovic and Nis Eparchy, who supervised the work and donated icons on the iconostasis, liturgical objects and literature, had a decisive role for the architectural solutions and interior design, while members of the 37th Mechanized Battalion from Kursumlija provided walnut wood for the iconostasis. The monolithic stone for the Holy Table in the soldiers' church was acquired by officers and soldiers of 310th Engineering Battalion from Prokuplje, who collected funds for the stonemason's work.
Soldiers' Church of St. Simon the Monk in the "Prince Mihailo" barracks in Nis continues the tradition of soldiers' churches and chapels in the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Army. At the entrance to the Sicevo gorge from the direction of Pirot, there is the church of St. Petka, which the people of this region call "military church" because it was raised by the officers and soldiers of the engineering units who worked in 1898 on breaking the railway and the road through the Sicevo gorge.
