Protosyngellos Simeon Vilovski deprived of the monastic status and office and excluded from the church community

The Church Court of the Diocese of Budimlje-Niksic on its session on May 22 in Berane reached a verdict by which protosyngellos Simeon (Vilovski), ex-head of the monastery of Banjska, was deprived of the office and monastic rank and brought back among laymen with a secular name Dejan [1] and excluded from the church community in three years.

The great Church Court of the Serbian Orthodox Church by its decision and according to the rules, the case of protosyngellos Simeon (Vilovski) transferred to jurisdiction of the Church court of the Diocese of Budimlje-Niksic. The court prosecutor of the Diocese of Budimlje-Niksic, based on the evidence collected against protosyngellos Simeon, raised charges. They were personally brought to him in the extradition custody in Greece, where he dwells due to criminal charges of the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia, which requested his extradiciton from the Greek authorities. Protosyngellos Simeon refused to receive the verdict and to talk with the person who has come to deliver it to him.

Also it is necessary to emphasize that the accused protosyngellos Simeon (Vilovski) has not used the right that within fourteen days since the receipt of the indictment of the Church court to submit his response to it, so the Trial Chamber, pursuant to Article 66, The Rules and procedures for the church courts (OCC) SOC, concluded that the accused admitted the committed acts.

After a thorough and conscientious examination of all evidence in the aforementioned case, the Church court of the Diocese of Budimlje-Niksic came to the unanimous conclusion that the accused protosyngellos Simeon by its non-monastic and secular activities, self-will and disobedience to the competent ecclesiastical church authorities, as well as by spreading of falsehood and slander, caused the great offence and damaged the reputation of the Church and its hierarchy.He did this for his own promotion, obtaining personal material benefit and providing possibilities to his own associates and cousins to exploit at the expense of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, its clergy and the faithful, while trying to avoid responsibility for the flagrant violation of the sacred canons and based on them religious decrees and regulations.

The Holy Assembly of Bishops of the SOC on its regular session in May 2006 brought the decision - and it was accepted by all the members of the Assembly except Bishop Artemije, who had different opinion, - that protosyngellos Simeon (Vilovski) " because of the former offences of the church-canonical order, also because of the untruths said in front of the certain Commission of the Holy Synod of Bishops on May 17 2006 and because of bringing the unrest among the clergy of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren, to remove him from all administrative and religious duties, and to take a church court action against him" until September 1 of that year. Unfortunately, then the competent diocesan hierarch, Bishop Artemije, did not execute this decision of the Assembly. This decision was repeated at the session of the Assembly in November 2008 and in May 2009,and the Holy Synod of Bishops was entrusted to put into practice this decision through the competent bishop. In the meantime, against the decisions of the Assembly, Bishop Artemije of Raska-Prizren promoted Simeon Vilovski to the rank of archimandrite, and then he put him for his hierarchal deputy although he had vicar bishop, who is actual hierarchal deputy.

The Church court, besides collected evidence, took into an account also the fact that the accused had committed the offences for many years subject to the intervention of the Church court and that, despite all the patience and condescension towards him, he did not repent nor invoked the right track. Moreover, the accused even more engaged in open defamation public accusing of the Holy Synod of Bishops and the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the SOC, persisting in anti-canonical and antichurch activities, which showed in the most impudent way by recent filling lawsuits to the civil courts of the Republic of Serbia against the Holy Synod of Bishops and Bishop Atanasije, retired Bishop of Zahumlje-Herzegovina, which violated the 9th Rule of IV Ecumenical Assembly and Article 60 of the Regulation of inner and outer monastic life of the SOC.

The indictment and the collected evidence clearly showed that the accused still as a student of theology in Thessaloniki, not mentioning the church services of the competent Bishop (of Ecumenical Patriarch), served on Antimins consecrated by the Bishop Artemije, which he violated Articles 14 and 17 of the OCC of the SOC, which entails a sentence of 2 the priesthood rank. This offense caused serious problems in our relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and caused enormous damage to the reputation of the SOC. Besides the evidence of this offense, protosyngellos Simeon on the occasion of this issue gave a false statement in 2006 before the Commission of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the SOC, which he further demonstrated disrespect to the competent church authorities (Art. 19 OCC SOC).

When he returned from the studies, protosyngellos Simeon imposed himself as the highest administrative authority in the Diocese of Raska-Prizren, strengthening his status by persecution, threats and various forms of pressure exercised on the clerics of the Diocese, of which there are numerous statements in the evidence. The acquired status he used to obtain personal material benefits and to give privileges to his relatives and loyal associates. Violating Articles 22 and 34 OCC SOC, protosyngellos Simeon illegally took the church money, and during his last departure (or escape) to Greece, on February 12, 2010, the accused, as the Court found out, took with him also part of the documentation of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren.

Contrary to the canons (10th rule of the IV Ecumenical Council and 15th rule of the VII Ecumenical Council), the accused protosyngellos Simeon was also heugomen of several monasteries (Banjska, Devine Vode) although in the mentioned monasteries he neither nor took care of the basic needs of the monastic brotherhoods for a normal life in the monasteries. In spite of such irresponsible behavior, Vilovski usurped benefits which were intended for the brotherhood of the Banjska monastery, by the Serbian Ministry of Religion, and there is the evidence for this.

Protosyngellos Simeon - contrary to the sacred canons, which explicitly prohibit (19th rule of Carthaginian Council, 11th rule of the Constantinople Council) - took part in a series of lay affairs and creation of companies, like the Rade Neimar company, where he used his monopoly position for achieving personal use and benefit of its employees. About this case an extensive documentation was collected. At the same time, the accused person had no fear to personally appropriate part of the money collected for the needs of the poor and the hungry in Kosovo and Metohija, by which he caused revolt of the faithful people and caused the embarrassment to the competent Bishop and the whole SOC.

The Church court particularly examined the branched activities of protosyngellos Simeon in a goal of slander and the creation of the conspiracy against Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan by spreading lies in the press, especially through the official website of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren, writing political statements and pamphlets on behalf of the Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija, as well as in public appearances, by which he violated 55th rule of the Holy Apostles, 18th rule of the IV Ecumenical Council and 34th rule of the VI Ecumenical Council. In addition he demonstratively refused to concelebrate with Bishop Teodosije, which culminated in removing garments and leaving the Holy Liturgy in December 2009 (against 8th and 9th rule of the Holy Apostles). With his destructive behavior protosyngellos Simeon caused great harm to the reputation of the Church and its bishops, not just before the people but also the state (Article 39 and 45 OCC SOC and Art. 47 OCC SOC).

One of especially serious canonical offences of protosyngellos Simeon was the transfer from Diocese of Raska-Prizren to the Metropolis of Piraeus in January 2010, in which, by using lies,knowingly deceived Metropolitan of Piraeus that he was actually the "collateral damage" of the alleged political pressures that were being implemented with the alleged collaboration of the church structures, and all that because of his "heroic resistance", ecumenism, globalization, plunder of Kosovo and Metohija and so on. In this way, the accused using lies and defamation directed against hierarchy, caused the great damage to its Church and burdened the inter-church relations.

Besides his admission to the diocesan clergy of the Metropolis of Piraeus, protosyngellos Simeon continued to serve as hierarchal deputy of Bishop of Raska-Prizren, in whose name he convoke meetings of the clergy, acting simultaneously as a cleric of two local Churches, which he made a serious violation of the canon. After exposing this slanderous deception, to which he exposed the Metropolis of Piraeus and the part of the Greek public, Metropolitan Seraphim withdrew his canonical reception to protosyngellos Simeon.

During the church court proceeding the regulations of the Rules and procedures for church courts of the SOC were consistently respected, and the verdict is sent to the Great Church Court to its jurisdiction jurisdiction because the former protosyngellos refused to receive it.

We remind also that against Vilovski was filed the criminal lawsuit to the High Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade on suspicion that he is personally responsible for several criminal offenses punishable under the laws of the Republic of Serbi. After the accused was located on the territory of Greece, the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia requested his extradiction from the Greek authorities. After the decision of the Court in Thessaloniki to extradite Dejan Vilovski to Serbia, the accused is now located in the custody until the decision of the extradition is confirmed by the high court in Athens.

[1] Former protosyngellos Simeon changed his original civil name Dejan to Simeon.

Prizren-Gracanica, Juny 3, 2010