Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
November 28, 2002

A commemorative volume dedicated to the 40^th anniversary of archpastoral work of His Grace Dr. Sava Vukovic, Bishop of Sumadija of blessed memory, was presented in the Diocese Centre in Kragujevac. Many church and state officials attended this important event: Their Eminences Amfilohije - Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral and Nikolaj - Metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia, His Grace Constantine - Bishop of Central Europe, priests and monastics of the Diocese of Sumadija; Dr Vojislav Kostunica - President of the FR Yugoslavia, the Mayor of Kragujevac, academicians and scientists: Prof. Jovanka Kalic, Prof. Sreten Petkovic and Danica Petrovic - the editors of this commemorative volume; cousins of the Bishop of blessed memory, professors and pupils of the Seminary of Kragujevac as well as a great number of friends and admirers of Bishop Sava, one of the greatest Serbian hieararchs in the last two centuries.

The host of this gathering, Bishop of Sumadija Jovan, delivered the introductory word and pointed out the great contribution of his predecessor to the Church life in general, saying: "We can only pray to God that Bishop Sava represents us before the throne of our Jesus Christ, since Bishop Sava comprehended the time in which he lived and knew what to do for the benefit of his Church and his people".

Prof. Jovanka Kalic commented on the commemorative volume and reminded that:"….Bishop Sava started everything with a prayer. He always had a gentle word for everyone, the serene word. He left an enormous heritage and that is how the idea came about to edit this commemorative volume. The first part of the volume is dedicated to the work and biography of Bishop Sava; the second part contains bibliography starting from 1954 till present; the third part includes works dedicated to the church education, church art as well as texts relating to the church history; finally, the fourth part includes historical texts important for all of us." Professor Kalic finished her review saying: "At the road of great predecessors I see Saint Sava, Bishop Nikolaj and Bishop Sava of Sumadija".

After this, Prof. Dr. Danica Petrovic, the editor, addressed the people present and, showing visibly her emotions, said: "What can I say more after such notable speakers? Bishop Sava gave us faith, persistence, wisdom and this is a small gift for all the bridges that he built between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Academy and other scientific institutions. He impressed a stamp of spirituality by common creation, multiple one and of multiple meaning in this hard period. Time will show who Bishop Sava was and what he meant. How he bore and how he completed bearing his cross we, his flock, know best". Then Ms Petrovic thanked all the authors who contributed to this commemorative volume, its donors, translators and proofreaders.