First spiritually scientific Symposium on female monasticism opens in the Zica monastery

In the Zica monastery, the endowment of Saint Sava and Saint Simeon (king Stephen the First Crowned) yesterday, on September 1, 2011 the first international spiritually scientific Symposium on female monasticism has solemnly commenced. The Symposium that began yesterday will last until September 4.

Basics of Religion and Secular Ethics likely to be introduced in all Russian schools next year

Course of Basics of Religion and Secular Ethics is likely to be introduced in all Russian schools next year, Russian Deputy Minister for Education and Science Maxim Dulinov said. "We're collecting information about readiness of all regions to introduce the course next year," Dulinov said on Wednesday at a Moscow press conference.

He reminds that today this course is introduced in 21 Russian regions. Pupils study religion in the last quarter of the forth form and the first quarter of the fifth form. Dulinov stressed that to the moment "there are problems rather with methodic textbooks for teachers than for pupils as they are worked out pretty well."

Turkey to return religious minorities' property

The Turkish government said it would return hundreds of properties that were confiscated from religious minorities by the state or other parties over the years since 1936, and would pay compensation for properties that were seized and later sold.

Ordination of newly-elected Bishop Jovan (Culibrk) of Lipljan

The Holy Assembly of Bishops, on the session of May 26/13 brought this decision: " Regarding the article 69 section 18 and article 105 of the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Holy Assembly of Bishops have chosen Venerable Protosyngellos Jovan (Culibrk), a Ph.D candidate of the University in Jerusalem, for Vicar Bishop of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch, with a title: Bishop of Lipljan". The ordination of Venerable protosyngellos Jovan as Bishop will be performed on Sunday, September 4, 2011 at the Monastery of Pec Patriarchate. 

Biography of Archimandrite Jovan (Culibrk) elected for Vicar Bishop of Lipljan

Archimandrite Jovan (Culibrk) was born on April 16, 1965 in Zenica. He finished a high school and the grammar school in (Bosanska) Gradiska. He studied South-Slavic languages and literatures  at the universities in Banja Luka and Zagreb, where he graduated at the  Department for stylestics  with a work on Milos Crnjanski for which he received the Branko Award of Matica Srpska in 1991 (today this work is within the book Black Sun, and a circle around it - Stvaranje, Podgorica, 2001 - it is being used at posdgraduate studies). He studied theology at Faculties of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade and Srbinje, where he graduated with a work on Nikon the Jerusalemite.  He  attended postgraduate  studies on Jewish culture at the Yad Vashem Memorial and at the Jewish University in Jerusalem; he was the winner of the 2004 Golda Meir Award.  He defended his master thesis at Dr David Bankier, the chief of the International Institute for holocaust research at Yad Vashem. He is preparing now a PhD thesis on the same subject together with Dr Yoav Gelber. He speaks English, Russian and Hebrew, also knows German, Greek and several Slavic languages.

Symposium on female monasticism in Zica monastery

The monastery of Zica, the endowment of Saint Sava and St. Simon (king Stephen the First Crowned), formerly the seat of the first Serbian archbishopric and the coronation site of the first Serbian king, today is the greatest female monastery in which sisterhood, led by heugomene, mother Jelena, continues with the tradition of the Serbian spirituality, which was based here by the holy brothers. Marking the 800th anniversary of the monastery, its sisterhood organize the first international spiritually  scientific Symposium on female monasticism, which is held from September 1-4, 2011, with a participation of thirty lecturers and 250-300 guests from Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Izrael, France, Poland, Romania, Syria, Georgia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, Croatia and Serbia.