The cover of this brochure shows the Church of the Blessed Virgin, which, completed in the early 1190s, forms an integral part of the splendid Studenica monastery complex. Seen from the east, as it is bathed in the gentle morning light of the rising sun, the Church of the Blessed Virgin admirably reveals the symbolic significance of a house of God: as the bearer of the Light of the World, the herald of Truth, and the embodiment of the Light of Christ. The monastery buildings themselves are laid out in such a way that their central point, the mystical center of the universe which is ruled by the Lord, also forms the very center of the Church of the Blessed Virgin. In the thirteenth century, skilful medieval Serbian artists decorated Studenica with some of the finest mural paintings found in Eastern Christian churches.

According to the story told by St. Sava, the origins of the monastery date to his father, the Grand Duke Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjic dynasty and ruler of the Serbian lands. During one of his hunts in 1180, he chanced upon "this deserted spot which pleased him" and seemed a most appropriate site "for building a monastery to pursue a life of peace and promote the growth of a monastic community." After the completion of Studenica, in the spring of 1196, Nemanja abdicated his secular authority and, retiring from the worldly life, entered the monastery. For the Grand Duke, the pursuit of the monastic way of life meant the fulfillment of an even greater obligation placed on man than that of earthly rule. Indeed, he viewed such spiritual dedication within the confines of the monastery as the most urgent task in striving toward the path of light and truth and toward the salvation of the world.

During the next fifty years, Nemanja's successors expanded both the original monastery and its role as an educational force. New buildings were added and the foundations for Studenica as a center for art and learning were laid. Like so many of the outstanding medieval monasteries in eastern and western Christendom, Studenica became renowned for its monastic life as well as the high level of its artistic and literary productions.

Architecturally, Studenica represents the successful synthesis of west and east, of the Romanesque and Byzantine styles. The interior too, resplendent with a series of thirteenth-century frescoes that depict biblical themes, reflects the skilful blending of western and eastern elements. But although the models may be old, or borrowed from elsewhere, these magnificent mural paintings are unique for their freshness of style and composition, their vibrant color, intense feeling, and luminous spirituality. Like many other religious edifices emerging in this high period of Serbian medieval culture, the Church of the Blessed Virgin at Studenica was decorated by master artists who could justifiably claim the most important place for themselves next to Byzantine art. Well preserved and restored, Studenica remains an enduring legacy of Serbia's past accomplishments in the field of religion, learning, and the arts, a legacy, from which we can still draw our own inspiration for generations to come. Nestled in the

I. THE RATIONALE FOR A FOUNDATION

Ideas are often the product of the human mind which is inspired or compelled by the reality of the present to find ways to deal with current problems or with predictable issues of the future. A nation's potential intellectual energy can be put to the best of uses only within a solid institutional framework that promotes education and learning and puts a premium on the advancement of knowledge. There is hardly a better way to activate a nation's collective mind than to support the comprehensive education of its individual members.

Both our Serbian and American experience attests to the invaluable and irreplaceable role education plays in the progress of society. The Serbs revere St. Sava not only as a creator of peace but also as an active inspiring educator. Similarly, for America's Founding Fathers, education and learning were at the cornerstone of the nation's development. Indeed, the productivity of knowledge at America's distinguished centers of higher learning, the universities, together with the ability to find practical application of this knowledge in a wide variety of fields, are a hallmark of American civilization.

The twentieth century, with its brutal world and local wars, totalitarian ideologies and economical determinism, its vicious economic and environmental imperialism, has led to the destruction of both material and spiritual values. As we approach the new century we are more than ever in need of recovering, as well as vigorously promoting, those moral and spiritual values that have been ravaged yet are the most fundamental prerequisites in the pursuit of life, liberty, and the just and equitable progress for all humankind.

II. THE VISION

As a non-profit organization, the Studenica Foundation is rooted in the conviction that the regeneration of the Serbian nation is only possible if the excellence and integrity of its educational system are restored. Its primary aim is to support and promote all endeavors, individual or institutional, that lead to the rebuilding of education in the Serbian lands. A subsidiary aim is to assist talented young Serbian men and women to pursue their education in this country, in the hope that they will benefit from America's rich ethnic diversity, its high quality of science and technology, its lively and variegated culture, and, not least, its tolerance and generous "habits of the heart."

The founders, together with their families, wish to initiate the Studenica Foundation in the spirit of universally shared values: the love of God, truth and honor, justice and fairness, liberty and equality.

III. ORGANIZATION

There are three major principles underlying the Studenica Foundation:

1. The control of the activities of the Foundation is to remain in the hands of the founding families who constitute the Board of Trustees.

2. Each founding family is to donate at least the sum of $ 100,000. (This amount may be given as a lump sum or in installments spread over a period of two years.) Each family has the right to determine, if it so wishes, how much and to whom and at what time and in what manner it wishes to donate income generated by its principal bequest.

3. In order to be able to also provide future generations with Studenica grants, only income will be donated. By means of intelligent and careful investment, the original capital amount of a grant can be preserved in Studenica Foundation which, in time, will become enlarged so as to serve many more future candidates.

Studenica is a private foundation exempted from all U.S. taxes.

Founding Trustees:

Victor Chelovich
Michael Djordjevich
Boro M. Vukovich

Studenica Foundation
San Francisco, California, USA