Statements

Press Release of the Inter-Church Commission of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Croatian Bishops' Conference

The fifth meeting of the Inter-Church Commission of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Croatian Bishops’ Conference was held at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica, Montenegro, on Wednesday the 7^th  and on Thursday the 8^th of June 2017, the task of  task was to jointly consider the role of Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac before, during and after the Second World war.

The theme of the meeting was "The Archbishop and Cardinal Stepinac and Communist persecution from 1945 to 1960."

Communique of the Holy Assembly of Bishops

The public communique of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church from their regular meeting held at the Patriarchate of Pec monastery and Belgrade May 14-24, 2017

The regular meeting of the Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church began at the Patriarchate of Pec monastery with the joint serving of the holy hierarchical Divine Liturgy and the invocation of the Holy Spirit and continued at the Serbian Patriarchate in Belgrade, under the presidency of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej. Participating in the Assembly were all diocesan hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church with the exception of Bishop Lukijan of Osijek and Baranja, who for health reasons was unable to attend.

Report from the meeting of the Joint Commission of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference and the Serbian Orthodox Church

The theme of the meeting was The attitude of Archbishop Stepinac towards the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1941 to 1945.

The fourth meeting of the Joint Commission of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference and the Serbian Orthodox Church was held at the Bishop's Palace in Pozega, Croatia, on the 20th and 21st April 2017, the task of which was to jointly consider the figure of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac before, during and after the Second World War. The theme of the meeting was "The attitude of Archbishop Stepinac towards the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1941 to 1945".

Patriarchal Pascha Encyclical 2017

The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Pascha, 2017

+IRINEJ

By the Grace of God

Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Paschal greeting:

Christ is Risen!

“Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
(Paschal troparion)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Resurrection of our Lord is the greatest Christian feast day. It is the feast day of faith, life and of every blessing from God. Our entire faith is in the Resurrection and the Resurrection is in our faith. The Holy Apostle Paul, the teacher of the nations, whom we unreservedly can call the greatest preacher of the Resurrection of Christ and our own, clearly said: “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (I Corinthians 15:20) Faith in the Resurrection of Christ is the essence of the apostolic preaching and teaching, the foundation of the Church and of her services and theology.

Resolutions of the Annual Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America

The clergy and church-school congregation representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America, gathered at the annual Diocesan Assembly hosted by the St. St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 10-11, 2017 under the omophorion of their Archpastor His Grace Bishop Irinej, adopted the following resolutions:

1. We greet His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej and all the hierarchs of our Holy Serbian Orthodox Church to which we belong, with prayers that God will continue to grant them the great grace of the Holy Spirit to powerfully proclaim the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, to lead us into doing His holy will in this world, and to guide us all to the safe harbor of God’s heavenly Kingdom.

Nativity Encyclical 2016

The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Christmas, 2016

+IRINEJ

By the Grace of God

Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Christmas greeting:

Peace from God! Christ is Born!

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!  (St. Luke 2:14)

We find ourselves, once again, before the Nativity Feast Day, before the feast day of immeasurable love of God, for today in the city of David Christ the Lord is born (cf. St. Luke 2:11), Emmanuel, which is to say, “God with us”. (St. Matthew 1:23) This great Mystery of the Incarnation of God the Logos, hidden from the beginning of the ages (cf. St. John 1:2), was first announced by the angels of God with their Christmas hymn of peace and love (cf. St. Luke 2:14). Then, they were joined by the shepherds and wise men from the east, gathering, therefore, both heaven and earth, angels and people, and all earthly nations, around the God-Child Christ in the Church of the Living God. (II Cor. 6:16)