Traditional procession in Berane on St. George’s
Traditional procession on St. George feat-day led by His Eminnce Mark, Archbishop of Berlin and of all Germany, and the Diocesan Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje-Nikšić, in honor and glory of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George, went along the city of Berane, Montenegro.
The procession with a huge number of faithful people, clergy, monastics and guests of this ceremony started from the church-yard of the Cathedral monastery church of the Diocese of Budimlje-Nikšić, an ancient Nemanjic endowment, the Đurđevi Stupovi monastery, and while chanting troparia and reading Gospel portions, the festal procession passed through Berane and returned to the monastery itself.
Bishop Joanikije delivered a sermon, whereupon he greeted with warm Paschal words his dear guest, Mark Archbishop of Berlin, whom he applauded as a great friend of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The distinguished hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad studied at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Belgrade and defended his second doctorial theses in Slavic Studies in Heidelberg. And what is most important, as Joanikije marked, Archbishop Mark is a man of fervent prayer.
In his address His Eminence Mark expressed his great joy seeing many young people, many children taking part in the Liturgy, “which shows that the Orthodox faith is alive here. Many tried to extinguish it in the heart of the people, but they failed, thanks God. We see that this country with this people has a future and I am looking forward to it. I will bring this news to Europe, to Germany, where I will say how much you all love your Lord. Therefore, I am glad that the entire city of Berane participates in this testimony of living faith, said the Archbishop Marko of Berlin.
Mr. Miodrag Linta, President of the Association of Serbs from the Region and Diaspora and a Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia, expressed best wishes on the occasion of the monastery patron saint-feat, Holy Great Martyr George, and estimated that the Serbian people in Montenegro were in a difficult situation, which has been manifested by numerous aspects:
- Serbian national and human rights are being violated in many areas. The Serbs in Montenegro do not have the constitutionally envisaged status. Serbian language and Cyrillic alphabet, however, are not recognized as an official language and alphabet. Our Serbian Orthodox Church has been exposed to numerous and brutal pressures and threats. The Serbs have big problems in providing job civil services and tin a public sector. We testify daily to it how history is being twisted out in textbooks. Famous Serbian writers have been dropped out from school textbooks, noted Mr. Linta, stating that the State of Serbia is helping its people in Montenegro, which, in his opinion, is not enough.
