Bishop Longin in South St. Paul, Minnesota

Over the weekend of November 10-11, 2012, His Grace Bishop Longin visited St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in South St. Paul, Minnesota, accompanied by Diocesan Deacon Nikolaj Kostur. Vladika Longin was greeted on Saturday evening in front of the church, at which time Vespers began. After the service, Parish Priest Slobodan Spasic warmly welcomed His Grace to the parish, commenting that this was the first visit of Bishop Longin to the parish. A dinner was then served in honor of the Bishop’s arrival.

On Sunday morning, Bishop Longin served Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, with Priest Slobodan Spasic and Deacon Nikolaj Kostur concelebrating. At the end of the Liturgy, Vladika Longin spoke to the congregation about the importance of active life in the Church and its Divine Services and explained the meaning of the Sunday Gospel.

Following the Liturgy, a banquet was held in the parish hall in honor of the Bishop’s pastoral visit, It also marked the unity of Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Minneapolis with St. Sava Church in South St. Paul. Since the Holy Trinity parish building was sold and the parish itself was united to St. Sava Church, His Grace presented St. Sava Church Board President, Mike Pavlovich, with a check from the sale of the parish building in Minneapolis. This was done in accordance with the rules prescribed in the Constitution and Rules and Regulations of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America. Vladika once again spoke about the meaning of unity for the churches in the Twin Cities and how the Serbian Orthodox community of the area will be able to flower with a unified parish.

Source: newgracanica.com