Monastery Mostanica was not spared after the uprising in 1809 which had been bloody crushed by Turks. Prior Genadije with his son Stojan, deakon Avakum and his mother left the monastery in 1811 and went to monastery Trnova to prior Pajsije.Many Serbs were arrested by the Turks during the Hadzi-Prodan uprising in 1814 and among them were Pajsije, Genadije and his son Stojan and deakon Avakum. All those people were put in chains and sent to Belgrade where they were put into the prison. Pajsije, with a lot of other Serbs, was first impaled and then was Geandije, his son Stojan and deakon Avakum's turn. Genadije wanted to save his and his son's life and both of them agreed to become Moslems. They asked Avakum to join them in this decision but he rejected. Genadije and his son were immediately released by the Turks and father got the name Mula Salija and the son's name was Redzep.
    Deakon Avakum was a young man of an indiscribable beauty. The Turks really wanted to make him a Moslem and they tried to convince him to change his religion with nice words and promises but without any success. After all, when the time came to execute him, Avakum was given to carry a pole on which he was to be impaled alive and he was carrying it along Belgrade streets singing from the top of his voice:

There isn't better religion than Christianity!
Serb belongs to Christ and looks forward to death;
The last judgement is waiting for you Turks, too.
And you do whatever you want!
But Turks will be exposed soon.
God is the witness and his justice!

    His poor mother approached him at this very moment and started begging him to become a Moslem and to save his life saying that God will forgive him, since he would do this because of the greatest necessity! Having heard her words the brave young man started singing again and replied his mother with the following song:

My mother!
Thank you for your milk!
But I can't thank you for those words
You will soon be happy with your son
When we see God's face;
The death saves us from all misfortunes,
Spring flowers come after the winter only.
The one who dies early is a happy one,
There are less pain and sins
And whatever God and faith give you
There are more brothers in this world!

    When they had come to the execution place the Turks again started to persuade Avakum to become a Moslem since it would be bad if such a young man died before his time had come.
    And really, said the young man, smiling, do the Turks ever die? Yes, they do, of course. Then it is all the same, sooner or later: sooner I die there will be less sins. Seeing such a strong determination in his faith and such lack of fear of death the Turks showed mercy and decided not to impale him alive but stabbed him through heart and impaled him dead and erected him with the rest of martyrs by the road that led from Stambol-gate to Terazije. That was a heroic end of young deakon Avakum's life. May he rest in peace forever!