Communique

Regarding a statement that monk Antonije, brother of the Crna Reka monastery in the Diocese of Raska and Prizren,  will hold a press conference tomorrow on February 24 2010 at the Media Center in Belgrade, regarding, as announced in the Media Center  "events in the Diocese of Raska-Prizren which cause mischief in public”, we consider our duty to explain who is the monk Antonije and what are his intentions and those who stand behind him.

Monk Antonije Davidovic, a former "deputy heugomen" of the monastery Crna Reka, known to the public  because he was previously involved in the protest, which disabled Anglican celebration of Christmas on December 24, 2002 at the Patriarchate. On that occasion, the monk Antonije and gathered pseudozealots verbally on roughest way insulted Patriarch Pavle of Serbia of blessed repose and Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral . Only a month later, on January 29, 2003, monk Anthony with a group of thirty like-minded individuals organized a protest before the new building of the Patriarchate. Then Patriarch Pavle of blessed memory, who personally went down among the gathered, warned monk Antonije that "his zeal is not according to reason" and that "he can address only through his competent Bishop." Antonije then replied to Patriarch: "I do not need anyone's blessing to defend the Church from a demolition and Orthodoxy from heresy " and warned Patriarch Pavle " not to go to heretics because with those departures renounce all canons. "( Already this procedure  eloquently testifies to the absence of any ecclesiastical awareness, and especially monastic conscience and spirituality of this man.)

Serbian cathedral in Chicago hosts Sunday Of Orthodoxy celebration

On the evening of Sunday, February 21st, 2010, a Pan-Orthodox celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy was held in the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois. Present at the service were Metropolitan Christopher of the Libertyville-Chicago, the host of the event, as well as Metropolitan Iakovos of the Greek Archdiocese, Archbishop Nikolai of the Romanian Archdiocese, Bishop Peter of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Bishops Sava and Demetrios of the Greek Archdiocese and Bishop Daniel of the Ukranian Orthodox Church. Hundreds of Orthodox faithful from the local churches gathered, along with about sixty priests and ten deacons.

Orthodox christians marked the historic celebration of the Restoration of Icons

An historic gathering took place at Saint Stevan's Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Alhambra this Sunday, February 21, 2010. For the third consecutive year, the Canonical Orthodox Christian Bishops on the West Coast con-celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the first Sunday of Great Lent. This year, the event was hosted by the Right Reverend Bishop Maxim, Bishop of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America at the See of the Diocese, Saint Stevan's Cathedral in Alhambra.

Bishops Atanasije, Joanikije and Teodosije take part in celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy in Prizren

Today on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Administrator of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija, His Grace Bishop Atanasije, served the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the Orthodox Cathedral of St.. George in Prizren with the concelebration of Their Graces Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje and Niksic, Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan and twelve priests including Protopresbyter Stavrophor Milutin Timotijevic (Rector of the Prizren Seminary), Protopresbyter Radomir Nikcevic from the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Coastlands, Archimandrite Sava, the hegumen of Tvrdos Monastery, and ten priests from the Diocese of Raska and Prizren. Before the beginning of Hierarchal Liturgy, Bishop Atanasije reconsecrated the restored church.

Celebration of Theodore's Saturday at Belgrade Seminary

On a day when our Holy Church prayerfully remembers  St. Theodor of Komogovo, at the churches of the Archbishopric of Belgrade-Karlovac  Holy Liturgies were served during which a large number of people partook of the Holy Bread. Particularly formal was in the Belgrade Seminary of St. Sava, where with the blessing and on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, His Grace Bishop Atanasije of Hvosno served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy. Bishop administered the sacrament to professors, theologians, academicians and all the present friends of the Belgrade Seminary.

Patriarch of Constantinople’s new encyclical defends Catholic-Orthodox dialogue

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople's newest encyclical encourages dialogue between the Orthodox Church and other Christian churches and laments those who are "unacceptably fanatical" in challenging such dialogue. He specifically condemned the false rumors spread about Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. Patriarch Bartholomew's patriarchal and synodal encyclical was dated Feb. 21, Orthodoxy Sunday, when the Orthodox Church celebrates the defeat of the iconoclastic heresy.