Christians in Turkey

Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim but hosts several ancient Christian communities -- dwindling remnants of sizeable populations that prospered for centuries in the Muslim-led but multi-ethnic, multi-faith Ottoman Empire.

They include Syriac Christians, Greek Orthodox, Armenians and Catholics. Modern Turkey was founded as a secular republic by Kemal Mustafa Ataturk on the empire's ashes in 1923.

Meeting between Metropolitan Jovan and representatives of the Ministry of Science and the City of Zagreb

On January 12, 2009, Metropolitan Jovan held a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport (Republic Croatia) and representatives of the city of Zagreb. On behalf of the Ministry, the meeting was attended by Secretary of State Prof. Zelimir Janjic; Secretary of State Prof. Dr Sci. Diana Vican and Josip Ujevic, advisor of the minister; and on behalf of the city of Zagreb: Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandic, Dusko Ljustina, a member of the City Hall foreducation, culture and sport; Jelena Pavichic Vukichevic, Head of the City bureau of education, culture and sport; Deputy Head of the City bureau for finance Vera Salopek; Sanja Pavlovic, a chief of the department for administrative and legal affairs.

New police violence against the Church

Heavy police forces prevented this morning priesthood of the Hierarchal Chaplaincy ofCetinje from serving the Holy Liturgy on occasion of a holiday of St John, aPatron Saint day of the church in Bajice near Cetinje. Priests have tried toenter the church but the police cordon prevented them by force.

After that few followers of the sect of defrocked priestDedeic. The priesthood of Cetinje currently is in front of the police cordon,which is still preventing any entry into the church, and is serving the ferventprayer to Saint John the Baptist and the Mother of God.

More information about these events in Cetinje can be found HERE / video, photo - Svetigora Press/

Source: Metropolitanat of Montenegro and the Littoral

Children's camp at the New Kalenic Monastery in Canberra

Saturday the 17th of January, 2009 marked the end of yet another successful children's camp at the New Kalenic Monastery in Canberra. The camp, for children aged 7-12 years, lasted one week, with over 20 children participating. Blessed with beautiful weather all week, the monastery grounds were covered with little footsteps that just couldn't get enough of the sun!

Each day started with a morning church service at 8am, followed by the raising of both the Australian and Serbian flags and the singing of each national anthem. Breakfast was then served and after a short break, camp organisers treated the kids to either a lesson by one of our spiritual leaders or an activity like making prayer beads or colouring in pictures of bishops, priests and deacons. Following lunch and even more activities, the children and their counsellors headed back up to the church for the evening service.

The Past and Future of Liturgical Theology: Celebrating the Legacy of Father Alexander Schmemann

Renowned liturgist The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Robert F. Taft, S.J. will present the keynote address at an international academic symposium titled “The Past and Future of Liturgical Theology: Celebrating the Legacy of Father Alexander Schmemann,” to be held at St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS), from January 29–31, 2009.

SVS seminarian carries scholarship aid to "Pearl of Africa's Crown"

British statesman Winston Churchill once referred to Uganda as "the Pearl of Africa's Crown," with its equatorial snow-capped mountains, breathtaking waterfalls originating from the headwaters of the Nile at Lake Victoria, and over 3,400 species of birds and magnificent mountain gorillas. Today, Uganda secures Churchill's epithet by offering tourists white water rafting through turbulent rivers and exotic treks around shimmering lakes, creating an almost mythic lost kingdom for visitors.

But 3rd-year St. Vladimir's seminarian Troy Hamilton saw another, more circumspect view of the country when he visited the northern region around the small town of Gulu over his winter semester break, January 1-12, 2009. Snubbing the superlative camping spots and spectacular national parks, he saw people. People recovering from a civil war that had decimated villages and forced their resettlement in United Nations refugee camps where they lingered for decades. People without ambition. People reluctant to rebuild their hometowns after their kinfolk and children had been beaten, raped, maimed, forced to march to exhaustion, or sold into virtual slavery as concubines and soldiers by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).