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WITH THE BLESSING OF THE SYNOD OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

BELGRADE, SERBIA FEAST DAY OF SAINT PARASKEVA

ALEKSANDRIJA FILM PRESENTS FIRST SERBIAN-JORDANIAN CO-PRODUCTION

FILM BY HADZI-ALEKSANDAR DJUROVIC

BASED ON NOVEL PETKANA BY LJILJANA HABJANOVIC DJUROVIC

Through life,

God gives you temptations,

suffering and pain

to help you see and fulfill your destiny.

He leaves them as marks by the road,

to help you follow that road

and choose the best direction when you are at a crossroads.

Therefore,

be equally thankful

for everything God gives you.

For the pain,

as well as for the joy

Just as she was.

Inspired by true story

JORDAN DESERT, 969. A.D.

Hey girl, where are you going?

A CROSS IN THE DESERT

Every soul is thirsty for God.

That's why it is wandering

and searching,

unsettled.

It calls that thirst by various names,

because none of it is the right one.

I was blessed by Lord's mercy

to recognize my soul's thirst on time.

Hey, Whitey!

Hey!

Oh, there you are. You strayed again.

I would say that I've seen you here, before.

I like to be alone here and in peace.

It's not good for a girl to wander alone through these fields.

Many perils lurk here. Evil people, wild animals.

Be careful.

Just as you watch over your sheep,

my Shepherd takes watches over me, wherever I go.

That is why I have no fear.

My Lord

You showed me the way,

and I went there.

Please, guide me,

so that I don't follow myself,

believing that it's Your path.

(foreign language spoken)

Give me strength so I could serve You.

All that we've got from God,

and what we face with,

can be a sign given by His hand,

that shows us the way.

We just have to learn to listen,

watch

and recognize it.

The bird will not return, will it?

So, this must be the home You chose for me...

Owl carried out her obedience...

Now it is my turn to carry out mine to You!

Zainab!

Zainab! Come on!

Let's go!

I'm coming.

Petka, find me!

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight,

nine, ten. Ready or not, here I come!

EPIVATES, BYZANTINE 15 YEARS EARLIER

Petka!

Petka?!

Mother.

Father.

Brother Euthymius..

-Where are you?! -What happened?

-I can't see! -You don't see?

Mother, I see nothing... -Oh, my child!

Mother. Where are you?

I can't see.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jes--

Thank you!

Thank God! I'm Zainab.

I am Paraskeva. Petka.

Strange name.

What are those?

Those are icons.

May I have a look?

And who's this?

That is our Lord Jesus and his mother.

She's pretty.

My father told me that sometimes Christians would live in this cave,

devoting their lives to God. Are you like one of them?

I would like to be.

Our tribe lives on the other side of the oasis.

An hour's camel walk from here. But don't worry,

as long as you are here, I will make bread and sew your dresses.

I have to go back now. It will rain.

God be with you.

One owl went away and you sent me another.

Thank you, Mother.

I know that you watch over me.

I always knew that.

I always believed.

I see!

I can see!

You can see?

What do you see?

Everything!

I see you also, mother!

Oh, my child!

Euthymius!

Euthymius...!

Wake up! Your sister can see again.

"The world is God's miracle,

but sight is His grace."

I was thinking when I recovered my sight...

...and repeated that thought like a prayer, ever since.

These hands...

If only God would be so graceful

and let me see those hands embracing your children.

Oh, Mother...

I worry much, Petka.

Your father went to heaven.

Euthymius became a monk.

I will not be with you for very long...

I am afraid, you will be left alone.

Don't worry, Mother.

I will not be alone.

My other Mother will always be with me.

(foreign language spoken)

Zainab's late.

When will she be here?

Will the breads be tasteful like before?

Will she bring enough?

What if she doesn't show up today, nor tomorrow?

What if she never returns?

Why didn't she show up?

Zainab's late.

Why didn't she show up?

"...When you fast,

do not look somber as the hypocrites do,

for they disfigure their faces

to show others they are fasting..."

"...And he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass;

and he took the five loaves, and the two fishes,

and looking up to heaven, he blessed,

and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples,

and the disciples to the multitudes.

They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets

full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces."

"...Therefore I say unto you,

Be not anxious for your life,

what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;

nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on..."

"...For your Heavenly Father knoweth

that ye have need of all these things..."

Petka!

Petka!

Petka?

Petka.

Petka?

Petka?!

Just eat.

If you wish, I can bring more tomorrow.

Don't!

Lord, I am not a perishable body.

You reside in me.

If each bite of bread reminds me of the pleasures of food

and brings up the desire for it

and makes me stop my fast and my feat then I shall eat no more.

If death is my weapon and the sign of my victory then I shall die.

Take this.

You'll feel better.

Take it.

Don't you want this sweet fruit?

What are you eating?

This?!

Grass is not for humans.

Humans eat and animals graze.

Prophet Elijah ate grass, too.

I know, I know.

Also John the Baptist, and Mary the Egyptian, too...

Were they not humans?

Those who were closest to God.

And so, with the help of God,

she conquered hunger -

the first enticement that assaults those who seek God.

But the Prince of all human weaknesses

knows many ways of slaying pure souls.

And he never gives up.

No, no! Follow me if you can.

You know, I will not follow you, I'm not going in!

Come on!

Come come, let me tell you... Give me your hand and come...

No way.

You know I will go and leave you alone here.

No, you won't!

-Come here. -You come here.

I love you Zainab, come.

I love you too.

-I really love you Zainab. -I love you too, very much.

I promise you to stay with you for life.

You are so different from any other girl I know.

And I know a quite few of them.

You are so special and wonderful,

you appear as if you are not from this world.

Forgive me for following you for some time now...

...but I love you.

I will pray for you.

Farewell.

So, you're back?

Yes, I am.

Everyone needs some company sometimes.

There's nothing there. I checked.

Who did this?

It was already like this when I came inside.

It must have been some kind of animal.

It must be very hard for you to be alone.

I'm not alone.

I don't see anyone else here.

The Lord is with me.

Oh...

God

created Eve,

so Adam wouldn't be alone,

so they could complement each other.

Get it?

Love...

God, too, is love.

Maybe.

But you've seen how good it is for Zainab...

Petka!

Petka?

It's been a long time since your last visit.

Forgive me.

I've got something to tell you.

They got me married. Look.

Great! Good luck.

Lord, li--

Lord, light--

...light up--

Lord, light up my darkness.

Watering that

although you know it will never grow?

It will.

Believe me, it won't.

It will dry out.

Just as you are drying out.

What about your little Zainab?

How many children does she have?

Give him to me.

I brought you some figs.

Look, Ismail started to walk.

So what?

What's wrong with him? Why does he snivel?

I don't know. He's been quiet all the way here.

I cannot listen to him!

I'm really sorry.

You think you can come here anytime you want?!

But, I came to take the mat.

Take him away.

What do you think,

why Zainab needs you to make

so many mats and basket for her?

I don't know.

I don't think about that.

Well, maybe you should.

Who knows how many of those you weaved during all these years.

I wonder...

...what does she do with all those?

I need to do something with my hands,

I must not give way to sloth.

You work like a slave.

That's why she gives you clothes and food,

not because she loves you or she pities you.

And then...

...and then, her husband...

...her husband sells all that on the market

and buys her scarves and necklaces.

Right.

Too bad you didn't think that way

when you gave away to the poor all the wealth

you inherited from your parents.

I gave away with love.

And now, I am resentful because of some mats.

This is not me speaking, this is you.

No.

This is you, too.

This is you!

This is you...

"You work like a slave."

"That's why she gives you clothes and food...

...not because she loves you or she pities you."

Zainab deceives you.

Even if she does, I forgive her.

Oh, God almighty, please forgive her, too.

And forgive wretched me, if I have sinned.

I made this for your daughter.

But I don't have a daughter.

Yes, you do.

But, I'm not even pregnant.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Go away.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Go away!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Petka!

Petka!

Over here!

Petka?

Close...

Euthymius, catch me if you can!

Try harder.

Father, mother, Euthymius.

Hey, wait... Where are you going?

Petka!

Is it possible to give one something

without taking something from him in return?

Please, talk to me so I can understand You.

How not to make a mistake,

I am not sure if I even hear You well?

How can I obey You,

if I don't understand You?

I gave up everything.

I gave You everything.

And who knows do You mind at all.

Do You hear me?!

What do you think,

how many of you are out there at this same moment,

crying for him?

He sees everything and He hears everything.

Oh...

...yeah, sure...

He's got better things to do.

Does that god of yours...

...see you...

...now?

If he does,

why doesn't he help you?

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not.

He sees me.

He sees me not...

You shut yourself in this cave

like in a grave.

I am the cave...

...and my heart is the cave.

"I am the cave...

and my heart is the cave..."

Yeah, I know that one.

"And only the Lord resides in you."

I've heard that so many times before.

You're not the only one

who ruined her own life like this.

Do you know at all what lies ahead of you?!

That saviour of yours,

wants only sacrifice.

He will never allow those who have faith in Him to fall.

But he will let you die here...

...alone...

...and forgotten?

Christ has conquered death.

I've got nothing to fear of then.

If you say so...

Help me, Mother, I am not worthy.

Give me strength, shelter me and save me.

Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on my sinful soul.

"Wash your sins,

not only your face."

Did you like the dress? Is it comfortable?

Yes.

Madina sewed the dress for you.

My sight became weaker.

She inherited your talent. And she is pretty like you.

Her father would be proud.

As soon as her brothers return from war, we will marry her.

That will be soon.

They are already on their way home.

God is generous,

and you are special to God, and He gave you a gift.

That is His grace.

Yes, but you deserved it.

Bless me Father Euthymius.

A group of pilgrims heads for the Holy Land, at dawn.

I would like to join them.

You've been a caring daughter to our mother.

Now, that she's gone, you are free to go wherever God guides you to go.

I believe that I'll not be coming back.

That is what I believe, too.

May His mercy follow you on your journey.

Farewell, Petka.

Farewell, brother.

My Lord

spent forty days in the desert.

And me...

...thirty years so far.

But what is time for those who seeks God

with all heart and soul?

Why God choose someone?

Does God chooses human,

or human chooses to serve God?

Euthymius, you've come, too.

My Petka,

Equal-to-the-Angles.

So many years have passed.

I'm proud of you.

You endured here - where challenges are the toughest

and evaded all demonic traps.

Everyone should know about your feats.

To see a role model and an inspiration in you.

That doesn't depend on me.

Yes, it does!

You have to go back into the world,

to teach the others how to be saved.

If you don't tell the people about the ways you conquered the Enemy,

only you will benefit from what you have done, and no one else.

Come back with me.

You have been here long enough.

People worship other devotees.

They sing troparia for them, they pray to them,

while no one even knows you exist.

It is God who gave them glory, not the people.

You deserve this, too.

He have you a gift of divination.

You can see both future, and the past.

It is given only to the greatest.

If you stay here,

nobody will know about that.

Yes, but maybe God wants

to leave my feats unknown to the world.

Is that God's justice?

That no one finds out about all your suffering and elevation?

The Lord knows.

The Lord?

And what do you have from this?

What is your benefit, if the Little Shepherd knows

that yet another sheep bleats at his feet?

You wasted your life for nothing, you fool!

Euthymius!?

You're dead, just like this desert!

Lord, shelter me from the greatest of all evils!

Pride means rejecting You, but I want to be only Yours

and serve only You.

I know that you are here. You won't fool me.

You are always here.

But my Lord is always here, too.

So, where is he?

I don't see anyone.

I don't hear a thing.

It's all just in your head.

You've never actually seen your god.

I've always seen Him,

and I've seen Him everywhere.

If you claim that He doesn't exist, then why do you fight Him?

You made it.

It is all over.

Finally.

You beat me, Petka!

Not me.

He beat you.

Oh, did he?

Yes...

...and He always will.

May your grandson's name be Abraham...

like the grandfather of us all.

Thank you.

This was all I could bring.

Even the Great Spring has dried up.

If it doesn't rain soon, our tribe will have to move.

Come with us.

I cannot. My place is here.

But, who will take care of you then?

God.

Zainab!

It will rain.

Ismail!

Hurry and tell everyone that it will rain!

Petka said so!

Praise You, Lord Jesus Christ, our Hope.

Praise You.

Praise You, Lord Jesus Christ, our Hope!

Praise You!

Who is the Greatest?

Who...

...is...

...the Greatest?

Who...

...is...

...the Greatest?

Who...

...is...

...the Greatest?

Who...

...is...

...the Greatest?

If you're not a gift from God disappear!

And who sent you?

Our Creator and Pantocrator.

What is His will for me?

To go back among the people.

Is the Almighty so displeased with me, a weak sinner?

It is time.

JORDAN RIVER, 1009. A.D.

Farewell, my little owl.

Farewell, Petka. Goodbye.

You think it's over, do you?

Well, it is not.

It is not.

It's not!

I got many souls in that last dying moment.

We are yet to hear your final words...

...Petka.

She said:

"Praise the God...

...for all."

She died just as she lived...

...devoted to God.

She did not raise a cross in the desert,

she built the Church.

EPIVATES, BYZANTINE, 30 YEARS LATER

George!

Don't be afraid.

George...

...this God's sacred soul is buried at shore by the sea,

along with the strangers and the poor.

God has decided to glorify her on Earth,

just as she is glorified in Heaven.

Go,

uncover her

and make known God's will.

Father? Where are you going?

My God.

George,

poor man,

hard worker and pious,

continued to live as before.

He worked, fasted and prayed to God.

Lord...

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us

and save us with the prayers of our Holy Mother Paraskeva.

Amen.

Until the end of his life, he was wondering

why he was chosen to make known God's will,

and how he can justify such grace.

Same question was asked by Princess Milica

who pleased Turkish sultan Bayasite to give her holy relics,

and brought it in Serbia.

No matter where they happened to be,

for centuries people could feel that the Holy was with them.

Just as she is always with the ones who call upon her with faith.

Your Mother, Holy mother Petka.

KING LAZAR'S FORTRESS OF KRUSEVAC, SERBIA, 1398. A.D.

PETKA WAS BORN IN 944 IN EPIVATES, THE SUBURB OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

SHE WAS 25 WHEN, AFTER PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM,

SHE WENT TO THE JORDAN DESERT.

AFTER 40 YEARS OF ASCETIC LIFE IN THE DESERT

SHE RETURNED TO HER HOMETOWN EPIVATES, WHERE SHE DIED IN 1012.

30 YEARS LATER, HER BODY WAS FOUND INCORRUPT.

HER REMAINS WERE KEPT WITH GREAT HONOURS IN THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND IN BULGARIA.

FROM 1398 TO 1521 THEY WERE IN SERBIA, IN KRUSEVAC AND BELGRADE.

SINCE 1641, THE RELICS RESTS IN THE TOWN OF IASI, IN ROMANIA.

Holy mother Petka

pray to God for us.

Lord asks for a pure heart.

It is said in the Gospel.

You were a pure virgin

You gave your pure heart to God.

Oh, you wonderful Saint,

our paragon Saint Petka.

TO THIS DAY, MIRACULOUS HEALINGS OF BODY AND SOUL

OCCUR ON THE RELICS OF SAINT PETKA.

TO GOD, SAINT PETKA AND MY PARENTS

A CROSS IN THE DESERT