Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
June 1, 2002

COMMUNIQUE

The regular session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, presided over by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle and attended by all the hierarchs, was held in Belgrade, from May 23 to 31, 2002.

On Sunday, May 26, 2002, the hieararchs and His Holiness participated in the Liturgy and solemn festivity in the Moraca Monastery, marking the 750^th anniversary of this Monastery. A great number of the faithful attended this ceremony, among who there was the Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic.

Discussing and considering with great responsibility and attentiveness the life of our local Church in general, both in the country and abroad, the Assembly especially attended to the issue of reform and improvement of the church educational system, as well as to the issue of religious instruction in schools. Greeting with joy the return of religious instruction into primary and secondary schools in Serbia, the Assembly expressed hope that the same would be done in Montenegro soon.

The Holy Assembly also greets the recent visits of the Archbishop of Athens Christodoulous and Patriarch of Alexandria Petros VII to our Church, as well as many other bilateral visits of this kind, as signs of pan-Orthodox unity, and also supports dialogues and meetings with other Christians, members of other religions and all the people of good will.

The Assembly accepted and approved the Draft Agreement on the Establishment of the Church Unity which the commissions from Belgrade and Skopje respectively made and signed in Nis, on May 17 this year. With prayer and love in the Holy Spirit does the Assembly expect the hierarchs of the Church in Macedonia to do the same. Such a gesture would be an exceptional contribution to the unity and profession of Christianity in the modern world, something which the pleroma of the Orthodox Church expects.

The Holy Assembly did not fail to observe the essential necessity of the protection and improvement of human and religious rights and freedoms, both in our country and in the whole world. As for that issue, the Assembly is of the opinion that it is highly necessary to do everything so that the voice of the Church be heard in international organisations which deal with the protection of human rights. This refers not only to human rights but also to the basic human right to life which have been jeopardised in the region of Kosovo and Metochia. In connection with that, the Assembly paid special attention to the exiled and refugees from all the regions of the former Yugoslavia. Therefore, the Assembly once again asks all the exiled and refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, and especially those from Kosovo and Metochia, to return to their hearths, expecting at the same time from our state authorities and representatives of the international community to help their return and create conditions necessary for their normal life.

The Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church expresses positive opinion on the agreement on the joint state of Serbia and Montenegro. Being of indestructible nature and having original unity, the Church invites everyone to fasten this unity, and requires that the unity should very soon be defined in suitable constitution, as state community of Serbia and Montenegro, with respect of God's and human laws both in our country and in the whole world. Unnecessary conflicts and irresponsible party discords just lead the people into new misery and humiliations, prevent the state from integrating into international community in a sound manner and hinder spiritual, cultural and economical progress of our society.

To the end of reconciliation of the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church with the canonical tradition of the Church and to the end of its modernising, helping the Church to realise its Evangelic mission in more effective manner in the modern world, the Assembly urges more intensive work of its Commission and various committees on the review of and supplements to the general Constitution of our local Church and of its Dioceses in America, Australia and Western Europe.

Being fully aware that the European and world environment changed radically and greatly after September 11, the attack on America, the Assembly reminds all the people of good will both in Europe and all over the world that it is essentially necessary to unite not only in economical and political sense but also on the foundations of the eternal spiritual and original Christian principles.

Since Bishop Sava of Sumadija of blessed memory passed away, the Assembly appointed His Grace Jovan, present Bishop of Western America, to perform this duty. Instead of Bishop Danilo of Budim also passed away recently, the Assembly appointed Bishop Lukijan (Pantelic) to perform the duties of the Bishop of Budim and Administrator of the Diocese of Timisoara. The Assembly appointed His Grace Joanikije, Vicarious Bishop of Budimlje, to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Budimlje/Niksic, while Bishop of America and Canada of the Metropolitanate of New Gracanica was appointed the Administrator of the vacant chair of the Diocese of Western America. Besides, the Assembly appointed His Grace Atanasije, the retired Bishop of Zahumlje-Herzegovina, to be the assistant to Bishop of Zica Stefan, for healthy reasons, as his deputy.