Statement of the Holy Assembly of Bishops on Kosovo and Metohia

Statement of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church at the beginning of their regular May session on the current situation on Kosovo and Metohija.

From its historical seat, the monastery of the  Patriarchate of Pec, which with its faithful people has  passed  a crucifixion-resurrection path of suffering and renewal, thirty-seven years after a setting fire to a refectory of the Patriarchate of Pec, twenty-one years since the martyr's death of Hieromonk Stephan, spiritual father of this sacred convent, - the Holy Assembly of  Bishops,  presided over by His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Irinej, following visitations to our holy shrines - Patriarchate of Pec, monasteries of  Decani and Zociste,  and after conversations with the competent diocesan  Bishop, diocesan  clergy, monastics and faithful people in Pec, Prizren and Velika Hoca, issues  the flowing statement concerning the current situation on Kosovo and Metohija.

Hierarchal Liturgy in the Patriarchate of Pec

Serbian Patriarch Irinej officiated the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy at the Pec Patriarchate on 29 April 2018 with the concelebration of hierachs summoned for the regular session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Very Venerable Haritina, the new abbess of this royal stauropegial laura.

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  At the beginning of this prayerful gathering, His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, elevated mother Haritina to the rank of an  abbes of the Holy Laura of the Pec Patriarchate.

Sebastian Wine Begins New Chapter

The clergy of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America were recently invited by their spiritual father, His Grace Bishop Maxim, to take part in a project not typically given to clergy: to attend a wine tasting session, the results of which would produce liturgical wine to be used throughout this diocese and beyond.

In November of 2017 the bishop, together with a number of clergy, made the journey from the diocesan see in Los Angeles to the breathtaking 200+ acres of vineyards in Paso Robles, California known as Opolo Vineyards. Nestled approximately midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Paso Robles is known for its wineries and olive groves. This excursion would, in turn, result to another, most festive and invigorating visit to Opolo Vineyards on April 19, 2018, when Rick Quinn, vineyard owner and member of the St. Steven's Cathedral in Alhambra, presented to the bishop and all the clergy the final product: Sebastian Liturgical Wine.

The Serbian Patriarch received a high dignitary from EKD

His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Irinej received a high-ranking officer of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) with see in Hannover, Oberkirchenrat Dirk Stelter, an officer for ecumenical affairs and relations with parishes of this Church in Eastern and Southern Europe. The reception was held at the Serbian Patriarchate on April 23rd, 2018.

The conversations related to the current state of inter-Church relations and possibilities of their further development. His Holiness also praised the hitherto engagement of the Evangelical Church in Germany, as well as the Catholic Church in that country to assist Serbian parishes in Germany, and stressed the importance of granting scholarships to our postgraduate students for further studies at Theological Faculties in Germany.

Paschal Reception at Russian Consulate General in New York City

His Excellency Sergey K. Ovsyannikov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in New York, and His Grace John, Bishop of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, cohosted a traditional Paschal Reception at the Russian Consulate in New York on Thursday, April 18, 2018.

This annual reception is held at Eastertide for members of the Orthodox Consular Corps, Orthodox Hierarchs and distinguished members of the Russian Community. Representing the Serbian Orthodox Church was His Grace Bishop Irinej of Eastern America. Her Excellency Mirjana Zivkovic, Consul General of the Republic of Serbia, represented the Serbian Nation. Thus manifesting the traditional ties between the Russian and Serbian Churches, Nations and peoples, that share the same faith and Slavic blood and language.

Patriarch Irinej at Mlaka: Serbs must not forget their victims, but they must forgive

His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Irinej said at village of Mlaka, near Jasenovac, on April 22, 2018, that the Serbian people should not forget their victims, among whom more than 20.000 killed children at Mlaka and within the Ustasha system of the Jasenovac camp, but that the Christian people must forgive.

- The most innocent ones were killed here - children. This is a holy land, soaked with the blood of the Holy Martyrs of Jasenovac, said Patriarch Irinej after having  consecrated the restored church of the Holy Prophet Elijah at Mlaka and after having officiated the Divine hierarchal Liturgy. The Patriarch emphasized that it was important for the Serbian people to have a church at Mlaka resurrected.