Visit of Serbian Patriarch Irinej to Diocese of Middle Europe

The Diocese of Middle Europe is awaiting a great honour and joy: from September 10-14 in Vienna, His Holiness Irinej Serbian Patriarch will visit the city with the greatest number of believers in the Diocese. He will be accompanied by His Beatitude Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid and Their Graces Bishops Irinej of Backa and Fotije of Dalmatia.

The immediate cause of this important archbishopric visit is a jubilee of the Vienna Church Municipality: exactly 150 years ago this community was legally registered then at the Austrian government. The Church municipality in Vienna is also the oldest municipality of the Diocese of Middle Europe.

The Diocese of Middle Europe calls all Orthodox believers to following services at which His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch will serve or attend.

Friday, September 10, 2010:

17.00: doxology and a vesper service in the Church of St. Sava in Vienna, Veithgasse 3, 1030 Wien.

The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, Saturday, September 11, 2010:

9.00: Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Basil of Ostrog in Linz, Posthofstraße 41, 4020 Linz

19.00: Vesper service in the church of the Resurrection of Christ in Vienna, Engerthstr. 160-178, 1020 Wien

Sunday, September 12, 2010:

8.30: The Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Vienna, Engerthstr. 160-178, 1020 Wien; it is expected that Patriarch Irinej will be concelebration of ten metropolitans and bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Russian, Romanian and Serbian Orthodox Church, ten priests and four deacons.

Already on the first day of the visit of Patriarch, the Austrian foundation «Pro Oriente» dedicated to the cooperation with the Orthodox church and old oriental churches, will arrange a formal academy in honour of His Holiness in the premises of the Austrian National Library in the former imperial palace Hofburg and on this occasion it will give Serbian Patriarch a Charter of the Guardian of this foundation. The same day, His Holiness will meet the Director-General of the Austrian National Library Dr. Johanna Rachinger, who will show to Patriarch and the delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church the Serbian cyrrilic manuscripts which are kept in this library, among which there is a manuscript of the translation of the New Testament by Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic.

After the Divine Liturgy on the day of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, September 11 in Linz, His Holiness and his entourage will visit the memorial centre on a place of the former Mauthausen concentration camp and there he will serve a commemoration. In the afternoon on September 12, His Holiness is invited to a celebration «Maria-Namen-Feier» in the Vienna City Hall, after which a visit to the Franciscans is scheduled.

On Monday, September 13 Patriarch will visit the Austrian president, Heinz Fischer, in the Hofburg Palace. The same day Patriarch Irinej will visit also Vienna's mayor Michel Heupl and will sign the Golden Book of the city of Vienna. His Holiness will also visit that day a Greek church of Holy Trinity upon the invitation of Metropolitan of Austria Michael (Staikos) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His Holiness Patriarch will be also the guest of Roman Catholic Archbishop  Christoph Count von Schoenborn.

Information Service
of the Diocese of Middle Europe
of the Serbian Orthodox Church