Holy Assembly of Bishops’ Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Opens Its Office at Pec Patriarchate

His Holiness Irinej,  Serbian Patriarch opened the Office of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija. International Conference “Tthe Balkans and Middle East: Do They Reflect Each Other? “ also started at the Pec Patriarchate.

On the Feast day of the Patriarchate of Pec, on October 14, 2012, His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch  yesterday opened the Office of the Committee of the Holy Assembly of Bishops for Kosovo and Metohija. This Office was moved from Belgrade to the Patriarchate of Pec by the decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops in September 2011, in order to assume additional duties (apart from its formal ones)  of documenting and preparing the work of the Committee, as well as collecting archival and library materials about the life and suffering of the Serbian Church and people in Kosovo and Metohija.

The opening ceremony was attended by Their Graces: Bishop Teodosije of Raska-Prizren, vice-president of the Committee; and Bishop Jovan of Lipljan, secretary of the Committee. Mr. Mirko Krlic on behalf of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Vasiliki Hadzikamari on behalf of the OESC, and Michael Jelonek on behalf of the UNMIK addressed the representatives of the people, representatives of the Serbian Ministry of Culture, diplomats, scientists and the KFOR representatives.

The attendees of the International Conference The Balkans and the Middle East: Do They Reflect? also attended the opening ceremony. The Conference was organized by the Office of the Assembly’s Committee for Kosovo and Metohija as its first significant  activity, and it  followed immediately after the opening of the Office.

Тhe participants of the Conference were also addressed by the representatives of the co-organizers:Mr. Predrag Milasinovic - the Dean of the Belgrade’s Faculty of Security Mr. Predrag Milasinovic, Mrs. Vesna Djukic- the Director of the Belgrade’s Open School  and Mr. Saul Shai - the Associate of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies from Tel Aviv . The prominent military Mr. Martin Van Creveld historian held an introductory lecture.

 On the occasion of this festive office opening and conference launching,  a photo exhibition of the recently departed great Serbian photographer Milinko Stefanovic also took place at the Patriarchate of Pec. This exposition consists of photographs that late Stefanovic took in Metohija during the tragic summer of 1999.