Bishop Hrizostom Reposed in the Lord

On the Feast day of the Venerable Sabbas the Sanctified, on 5/18 December 2012, His Grace Bishop Hrizostom (Stolic) of Zica reposed in the Lord at the Episcopal Residence in Kraljevo.

Bishop Hrizostom was born in 1939 in Ruma, where he finished primary and secondary school.  After graduating from High school he went to Decani monastery, where he became a monk and was ordained a hierodeacon and hieromonk by the then Bishop of Raska-Prizren Pavle, later Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1966 he went to the United States, where he graduated from the Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Morganville, New York, with a degree in the liturgical theology.  After the graduation he served as a parish priest in Serbian parishes in the Chicago area. Fulfilling his monastic vows, he went to Mount Athos – to the monastery of Hilandar, where he spent twenty years.  There he was elevated into the rank of Archmandrite by Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios. As a notable monk he was the Protos (first monk) of Mount Athos in two mandates. In Hilandar monastery he was librarian. The fruit of his work in the library was the book Svetacnik (Life of the Saints) in two volumes, and the Liturgy of Holy Apostle James.

Bishop Jovan of Sumadia - Administrator of Diocese of Zica

On the occasion of the death of Bishop Hrizostom of Zica, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on today's extraordinary session brought the decision to elect His Grace Bishop Jovan of Sumadia as an administrator of the Diocese of Zica. 

Svetionik - an Apple mobile device app with the Orthodox Christian Calendar and Reminder

With the blessing of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Diocese of Raška and Prizren has made available SVETIONIK - an Apple mobile device app with the Orthodox Christian Calendar and Reminder  for 2013. A part of the profit from this app will be used for the reconstruction of the Serbian Orthodox Seminary of Sts Cyril and Methodius in Prizren. The app can be downloaded from the following link

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/svetionik-pravoslavni-kalendar/id568764170?ls=1&mt=8

For the time being the app is available in Serbian only. It is planned, though, that new updates will have an English version with useful information about our most important monasteries and churches in Kosovo and Metohija (addresses, contacts, history, fresco-painting, holidays and important dates).

High Delegation from Russia visits Serbian Patriarch

His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, received at the Serbian Patriarch in Belgrade Mr. Andrei Kostin, president of the VTB Bank, Mr. Oleg Sienko, director general of Uralvagonzavod, as well as His Excellency Alexander Chepurin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Belgrade.

Recognition to the Charitable Fund Philantropy

The Kingdom of Norway awards Philantropy, 
the Charitable Fund of the Serbian Orthodox Church 

Awards for the best projects in 2012 which have been financed by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway were handed in on 10 December 2012 at the residence of His Excellency Nils Ragnar Kamsvåg, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Serbia. MSc Dragan M. Makojevic, Director of the Fund, received the award for the quality improvement of peoples who live in remote places.  

Western American Diocese is pleased to announce the publication of few outstanding books