Shën Vlashi Cave, Laç

The Cave of Saint Blaise (Albanian: Shpella e Shën Vlashit) is a small cave in Laç, Albania. It is thought to have been the place where Saint Blaise lived, and remains a popular pilgrimage site.[1]

According to Robert Elsie, this Saint Blaise is not to be confused with Saint Blaise of Armenia, but is a local person, who was tortured in Durrës and died in Ragusa.[2]

He is regarded as a continuation of the pre-Christian deity Veles, who guarded the flocks of the early Slavs.[3] In Yaroslavl, the first church built on the site of Veles's pagan shrine was dedicated to St Blaise, for the latter's name was similar to Veles and he was likewise considered a heavenly patron of shepherds.[4]

The cave is close the Saint Anthony Church, dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua and built in 1556.

References

  1. ↑ Murzaku, Ines Angeli. Monasticism in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics, Routledge, 2015, p. 258 ISBN 9781317391050
  2. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2001). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture. New York University Press. pp. 41–. ISBN 978-0-8147-2214-5.
  3. ↑ Elsie, Robert. "The Christian Saints of Albania", Balkanistica, 13 (2000), p. 48
  4. ↑ Boris Rybakov. Ancient Slavic Paganism. Moscow, 1981
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