Serbian Orthodox Church

Gathering of the clergy of the Osijek-Polje Diocese

With the blessing of the His Grace Lukian, Bishop of Osijek-Polje and Baranja, clergy from the Borovo and Vukovar deanaries approached the Holy Sacrament of confession in the church of the Ascension in Trpinja, Slavonia, Croatia, on the 3^rd of  April 2017.

The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was served by Bishop Basil of Srem, with the concelebration of the clergy of the Diocese of Osijek-Polje and Baranja: Protopresbyter-stavrofor Cedo Lukic, Bishop’s Dean of the Borovo Deanary; Protopresbyter Jovan Kovacevic from Mirkovci and Protodeacon Dragan from Borovo and Deacon Slobodan Vujasinovic from the Diocese of Srem (Syrmium).

First Great Lenten Clergy Seminar and Confessions

Priests from around the Eastern Diocese gathered at the St. Sava Cathedral in Parma, Ohio on Thursday, March 23^rd for their first Lenten Seminar under the leadership of their recently-enthroned hierarch, His Grace Bishop Irinej.

Clergy from Florida to Maine, and as far west as Cincinnati, Ohio, began their multi-day gathering in prayer, celebrating Vespers on the eve of the feast of St. Sophronius of Jerusalem. The solemn, Lenten Vespers service was a fitting beginning for this seminar, which not only included discussion, lectures and a practicum, but also clergy confession.

20th Annual Diocesan SKSS Retreat, Alhambra, CA

The 20th Annual Diocesan Kolo Srpskih Sestara Lenten Women's Retreat was held at the Saint Steven's Serbian Orthodox Church in Alhambra, California on Friday, March 31st and Saturday, April 1st, 2017.

Participants included women from the Greek, Russian, and Serbian Orthodox Churches from nearby parishes and from parishes as far away as Phoenix, Arizona. On Friday, March 31st, the weekend festivities began in the early evening with the Akathist Service followed by dinner and a warm welcome and engaging introductory talk on Fasting, Confession, and the Eucharist, given by V. Rev. Predrag Bojovic, the new Spiritual Advisor of the SKSS and parish priest of the Saint Sava Church in San Gabriel, California.

2nd Annual Lenten Workshop in Canton, OH

On Saturday, April 1st, parishioners from several Orthodox churches in Stark and Summit Counties of Ohio gathered at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church for the 2nd annual Lenten workshop, sponsored by the parish’s women’s auxiliary group - the Circle of Serbian Sisters.

This year’s theme was “Fasting in the Fast Food Nation”. Participants began gathering around 9:30am, enjoying fellowship over a light, Lenten breakfast.  The workshop began at 10am, with a discussion that offered a great deal of back-and-forth between the facilitator, Rev Presbyter Aleksa Pavichevich, and all those present.

10,000 Paschal eggs to be blessed and distributed at Christ the Savior Cathedral

Volunteers of the “Rus’” Food Foundation together with the pupils of children’s homes are painting and gathering eggs from April 1 to 14 for the gigantic Paschal “Basket of Kindness,” to be presented on Holy Saturday in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral for His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to bless and distribute. The foundation is planning to give out more than 10,000 eggs, according to its site.

Hierarchal Liturgy in Monastery Ostrog, Montenegro

On the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent, on the 2^nd of April 2017, Divine Liturgy was concelebated by  Bishop Emeritus Atanasije of Zaholm and Herzegovina and Bishop Jovan of Pakrac, Slavonia, in the Upper  Ostrog Monastery.

The Fifth Sunday dedicated to Venerable Mary of Egypt was prayerfully marked in the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin in the Upper Ostrog, in presence of the relics of St. Basil of Ostrog. The Divine Liturgy was performed with the concelebration of the Ostrog brother hieromonk Sergius, Archpriest-staurophor Miroljub Stojanovic from Nis and deacon Crsta Avdalovic.