Christian world

Parallels and Reminders: Beside Serbian Holy sites and cemeteries in Kosovo Albanian extremists desecrated the old Jewish cemetery in 2011

31. January 2013 - 11:13

Parallels and reminders

Editorial comment as a memorial prayer at the desecrated tombstone of Jelica Stevanovic, the mother of Fr. Atanasije of Decani Monastery.

Looking at the scenes of vandalism at the Orthodox cemeteries from Prilužje to Prizren, including those which are deeply overgrown with weeds and covered with garbage and rubbish, any normal person would ask the question – What kind of society this is and in which direction it is going when such vandalisms are becoming a part of everyday life. It is true that a number of old Serbian churches and cemeteries have survived until our own days in Kosovo, indicating that old Albanians and Ottomans, regardless of their known lack of affinity to Christians, were not systematically destroying their shrines and desecrating their graves. According to the codes of the Albanian society from those times desecration of graves was considered a cowardice because the dead could not defend themselves. After all, even for those who did not believe the Koran which teaches that the harassment of the deceased is a sin, a superstitios fear of desecrating cemeteries is a powerful deterrent.

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Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation visiting Australia

24. January 2013 - 13:44

Dear friends in Australia and New Zealand, we are very happy to have a chance to see you again this year! We are coming to Melbourne and Sydney this weekend. Many of you joined our team last year and helped us to improve lives of refugees in Serbia. This year we will present results that we have jointly achieved in 2012. We invite you to join us at several events that will be organized during our stay in Australia and support our continuous efforts to change reality in Serbia.

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"Struggle for the faith"

16. January 2013 - 9:47

A group of priests from Cacak, in their disagreement with the regulations of the Church and the spiritual authority of the leadership in the Church, have formed an electronic forum known as “Borba za veru” (“Struggle for the faith”), so that by means of this site they might allow the public to know of their opposition to the Serbian Church. Here we must instantly cite the words of the Apostle Paul from Holy Scripture which are compulsory to all, which state: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (Rom. 13:1-2). This was said during the time of pagan rule. It was meant directly for the governing rulers, and all the more to the spiritual, church rulers. What rulers are these? The Church is, by succession from Christ our Lord, apostolic. And by its conformation, through the Apostles, it is episcopal, under the leadership of the bishops.

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Construction to resume on new St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church

27. December 2012 - 11:14

Construction stopped earlier this year when the builder hired by the church when out of business. But new subcontractors may resume work in late January. The construction of the new St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church at 18870 Allendale Avenue hit a snag early this year when the builder the church hired went out of business. Since then all work has been halted on the large structure located on busy Allendale.

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Long path to reach spiritual home

27. December 2012 - 11:04

AMBROSE JACKSON, PRIEST, TEACHER, 10-12-1935 — 4-8-2012

TWO funeral services for the Very Reverend Archpriest Ambrose Trevor Jackson, one in Adelaide and the other in rural Victoria, were attended by clergy and parishioners from the Serbian, Greek, Russian, Antiochian and Romanian Orthodox as well as Coptic, Anglican and Catholic churches.

The diverse congregations demonstrated the connections Father Ambrose had made in an unusual life journey.

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Orthodox Scripture Classes at Dee Why Primary School

25. December 2012 - 10:03
Orthodox Scripture Classes at Dee Why Primary School

As 2012 draws to a close, the Year 6 children who attend Orthodox Scripture classes at Dee Why Primary School bid farewell to Father Sasha, as they venture off to High School.

 Father Sasha has been teaching the children at Dee Why School Scripture every Thursday morning for the past eight years.

Father Sasha commenced teaching Scripture in 2004 at which time; there were 36 Serbian children in the school, which comprised a thick density of the total number of students enrolled in the school.

Earlier this year Father Sasha was presented with an award from ICCOREIS (Inter-Church Commission on Religious Education in Schools-NSW) at Parliament House for recognition of his dedication to teaching Scripture to Orthodox children.

Today, for some children, was their final scripture lesson with Father Sasha, the children, said their prayers and sang "Oj Badnjace" as an item for the combined Scripture school assembly. The children were beaming with pride, given the prayers and song they had learnt with Father Sasha

Recently, when Father Sasha was unable to attend Scripture one morning last month, the proxy stepped in, she took the children for Scripture for the 45 minute session to avoid them being placed in non-scripture classes.

Their little faces were so disappointed that Father Sasha couldn't make it. One of the children said, "You know we love when Father Sasha comes." (Then, also quickly added), "We like you too, "but when Father Sasha comes we're really special 'cause, you know, he's the Pop"

As that particular morning was St Demetrius / Mitrovdan, I asked the class if anyone could tell me about Feast Days / Patron Saint's Days. The children quickly corrected me and said, "You mean Slava, because that's what it's called in Serbian, "Father Sasha said". The children were very thorough and detailed, with all their responses about Slava, the traditions, the spiritual / religious importance, family connections and what was needed to celebrate Slava.

However, what continually flowed through was that every response throughout that 45min session commenced with "Father Sasha said", or "Otac Sasha told us, or Pop Sasha said"

We continued our Scripture lesson and together we read the Bible story of one of the miracles that Jesus Christ performed, when Jesus feed five thousand people with two fishes and five loaves of bread.

After we read the story, one of the children raised his hand quickly, and inquired directly, "Are you sure this is our religion and are you sure you're Serbian?" "Cause I've never heard this story before!" And, "I'm going to tell Father Sasha next week about this story you read!"

I assured the children, that this indeed was a story from the Bible. However, I was quite bemused of the "dobbing me in" threat to Father Sasha.

Overall, the reality is, Father Sasha may think he simply comes once a week for a 45 minute Scripture class and it's no big deal. But the truth of the matter is, the 45 minute lesson Father Sasha has with the children, leaves a lasting impact on them, as sadly, some of the children seldom attend church, whilst for others it may be the only foundation and path to our faith. What is also prevalent, is how much the children love and adore their Father Sasha and the positive impact he has on the children is priceless.

Angela Bubalo

Source: soc.org.au

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