The new church in “St. Erasmus” was not painted. Iljo Zimbo and the priest Klime Dzepar called me. I told them that it is not possible to paint on the wall because of the big moisture. The solution was for the fresco to be made on a wooden base and mounted on the wall.
The work on the fresco was given to me in the autumn of 1976. The hardest thing for me is to negotiate for a price for a church. I told them to give me money only to cover the costs of the material, and not for the work. Others were asking for more than three times of the price.
I worked intensively on the fresco from the autumn of 1976 to April 1977. There are 9 saints on it: St. Clement, St. Naum, St. Erasmus and six of the old saints. I installed the fresco in late April 1977. Again Zimbo and priest Dzepar asked me, besides the given for the material, how much to pay me.
– Now, in May, in my adult years, I am going to the army. My request is: Saint Erasmus to take care of me there and alive and well to bring me back! – I told them.
And St. Erasmus really took care of me.
I served Dedinje (Belgrade). On April 13, 1978, we had an exposition of the fleet. On returning with the trailer truck, as an elder, I was the last with the driver of the truck. When we came to the hill in front of the ramp of the garages, I told the driver that I would come down to lift the ramp. From respect for me as an elder, he took off as well, and he didn’t raise the handbrake.
For a moment, I turned around and I saw a terrible sight: the truck went down, and under the road, there is the military canteen, in which at 10:30 there is the full army. It will become a disaster, and I will be at a military court.
I just said:
“Golden Saint Erasmus, save me!”
In the same moment, a military bus was rolled out of the bend only with the driver. The truck hit him and stopped. I run out quickly and through the window I put it at a certain speed, to look like that it was a technical malfunction of the vehicle, and not our fault.
From a safe accident, saved me St. Erasmus, he “paid me” for the fresco in his temple, told us Mr. Klime Niceski on 12 February 2015.
