Information
Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
April 29, 2004
CENTRAL CHURCH AND BELGRADE CELEBRATION OF BICENTENNIAL
OF FIRST SERBIAN UPRISING
The Serbian Orthodox Church will celebrate a great national
and church holiday, the Bicentennial of the First Serbian Uprising
with a cycle of liturgical and prayer ceremonies and cultural
events to take place from May 8 to 10, 2004. As part of the commemoration
of this important anniversary, the Serbian Orthodox Church and
its faithful people will also celebrate and formally mark the
completion of the first phase of construction of St. Sava Orthodox
Cathedral in the Belgrade quarter of Vracar, and the renovation
of St. Sava Square.
Upon the invitation of His Beatitude the Serbian Patriarch Kyr
Pavle and the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church,
the following have kindly consented to magnify the celebration
by their presence: His All Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of
Constantinople and New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople;
His Holiness Maxim, Patriarch of Bulgaria; His Beatitude Teoctist,
Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlachia, Patriarch
of All Romania; His Beatitude Sawa, Metropolitan of Warsaw and
All Poland; and His Beatitude Nicholas, Archbishop of Preshov,
Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. All Orthodox churches
will send their high delegations to be led by the most eminent
bishops.
The arrival of senior representatives of the Roman Catholic
Church and all Christian communities living on the territory
of Serbia and Montenegro has also been announced.
Liturgical and prayer ceremonies will begin with the serving
of the Doxology and the Evening Service in St. Sava Cathedral
on Saturday, May 8, 2004 at 5:00 p.m.
On Sunday, May 9, 2004, one of the central events will take
place: the St. Sava religious procession, which will set out
at 6:00 p.m. from the location Stambol Kapija, the present-day
Republic Square. The religious procession will be led by His
Beatitude the Serbian Patriarch Kyr Pavle with His All Holiness
the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Kyr Bartholomew,
followed by the Patriarch of Romania Kyr Teoctist, the Patriarch
of Bulgaria Kyr Maxim and other highly distinguished guests,
all bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and all Belgrade
priests and deacons. The religious procession will include
forty church choirs, music school students, and cultural and
artistic societies in folk costumes. This prayer procession
is expected to include representatives of all Christian churches.
Religious procession prayers with readings from the Holy Gospel
will be offered at three locations: at Terazije Fountain, on
the plateau in front of the Belgrade Palace and in front of
St. Sava Cathedral.
The Second Assembly of Serbian Choirs will be held this year
as part of the great St. Sava religious procession and a formal
concert in St. Sava Church to be held immediately following the
religious procession and beginning at 7:00 p.m. At the concert
the selected and best Serbian choirs will sing Byzantine, Serbian
and Russian church songs. After the concert all choirs participating
in the Second Assembly of Serbian Choirs will perform a brief
musical program in the central streets of the city. The organizer
of the Second Assembly of Serbian Choirs is the Serbian Choir
Association, founded in 2003.
On Monday, May 10, when the Serbian Church marks the Burning
of the Relics of St. Sava, Holy Archierchal Liturgy will be served
in St. Sava Cathedral by all Orthodox archbishops and bishops
from sister Orthodox Churches and all members of the Holy Synod
of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who will begin this
year's regular assembly with this act of prayer.
The Homily of His Beatitude the Serbian Patriarch Kyr Pavle
and the Holy Synod of Bishops addressed to the faithful on this
great celebration will be read at the Holy Liturgy. After the
Liturgy His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Kyr Bartholomew will serve a requiem service for the Serbian
uprisings at the Vozd Karadjordje Memorial and will then consecrate
the cornerstone of the new building of the Patriarchate and formally
open St. Sava Square, which was built thanks to the efforts and
funds of the Belgrade Municipal Assembly.
During the course of these festal days, the eminent guests of
the Serbian Orthodox Church and representatives of local sister
Orthodox Churches will be welcomed and thus shown the highest
honors by the President of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro,
Mr. Svetozar Marovic; the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia
Government, Mr. Vojislav Kostunica, the President of the Executive
Council of the Belgrade City Assembly, Mr. Nenad Bogdanovic;
and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Aleksandar II Karadjordjevic.
PRESS CONFERENCE HELD ON CENTRAL CHURCH AND BELGRADE CELEBRATION
OF BICENTENNIAL OF FIRST SERBIAN UPRISING On April 28, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. the Holy Synod of the Serbian
Orthodox Church, in cooperation with the Belgrade Municipal Assembly,
presented the program for the Central Church and Belgrade Celebration
of the Bicentennial of the First Serbian Uprising take place
from May 8 to 10, 2004 in Belgrade.
The
gathering began with the chanting of the Resurrection hymn "Christ
Is Risen" as performed by the Dinarka Women's Singing Group.
The large audience was first addressed by Mr. Dusan Stokanovic,
the secretary of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church,
who introduced the speakers at this presentation.
As part of the presentation, those present were first greeted
by the President of the Executive Council of the Belgrade City
Assembly, Mr. Nenad Bogdanovic, who expressed the conviction
that, thanks to its beauty and the monumental presence of St.
Sava Cathedral, the Vracar plateau will be the trademark of the
capital and the spiritual center of Belgrade.
Those present were addressed by the following high dignitaries
of the church: His Eminence the Metropolitan of Montenegro and
the Littoral, Kyr Amfilohije; His Grace the Bishop of Backa,
Kyr Irinej; and His Grace the Bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina,
Kyr Grigorije. The visit of His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch
of Constantinople Kyr Bartholomew was announced, followed by
the patriarchs of all neighboring Orthodox countries and envoys
from all Orthodox Churches, as well as the Metropolitan of Warsaw
and All Poland, Kyr Sawa, the Metropolitan of the Czech Lands
and Slovakia, Kyr Nicholas, as well as the visit of high representatives
of the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian Churches, and
representatives of all Christian communities living on the territory
of Serbia and Montenegro.
His
Eminence the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Kyr
Amfilohije,
reminded those present of the significance of
the First Serbian Uprising for our people: "Our entire fate
was sealed in 1804 by the personality of Karadjordje, known as
'the whip against the tyrant'." The Metropolitan reminded
that on the centennial of the First Serbian Uprising the cornerstone
was laid for the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts; on the
150 year anniversary the cornerstone was laid of the National
Library; and on the bicentennial the cornerstone will be laid
for the Patriarchate. At the end of his address, the Metropolitan
reminded that all the times are difficult, our people have always
been ready for the greatest of undertakings in the most difficult
times.
His Grace the Bishop of Backa, Kyr Irinej, who is the chairman
of the Organization Committee for the celebration, emphasized
the all-Serb, all-Orthodox and all-Christian dimension of this
event. The Bishop emphasized that because of tragic events in
Kosovo and Metohija and Chilandar, the celebration will not have
scope as originally planned; however, the goal and essence of
the celebration is gathering in prayer. Such a gathering of the
most eminent representatives of all Orthodox Churches will show
the whole world a different picture of us. The messages from
this unique Christian gathering will certainly have their effect
in the world, and will attest and show to all Serbian history
and culture in the best possible light.
His Grace the Bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina, Kyr Grigorije,
emphasized that representatives of local Orthodox Churches are
gathering in our land for the first time in this number and at
the highest church and state level since 1920, the year of the
reestablishment of the Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Master builder and professor Dr. Vojislav Milovanovic advised
with great satisfaction and joy that the first phase of construction
of St. Sava Orthodox Cathedral in the Belgrade quarter of Vracar
has been completed, that is, that all exterior work is completed
and work on the plateau is in the final phase so that the church
will be shining in its full glory. The next phase will consist
of handcrafting of the iconostasis and the interior of the church.
Representatives of the Government of the Republic of Serbia
Ministries of Religions and Culture have expressed the desire
to participate in the celebration to the extent of their ability
and they have called on the faithful to join in the religious
procession that will set out from Stambol Kapija, i.e., the present-day
Republic Square on Sunday, May 9, 2004, at 6:00 p.m.
Mr. Sava J. Miric, the secretary general of the Serbian Choir
Association informed the public of the convocation of the Second
Assembly of Serbian Choirs. This year the Assembly will include
participation of a large number of choirs who are members of
the Association in the great religious procession and a concert
in St. Sava Cathedral. Mr. Miric explained that the organizers
would like to see the revival of the old tradition of choral
religious processions, which were held until 1941 when they were
banned by the regime of that time.
The music director of the concert is Professor Aleksandar S.
Vujic and liturgical chants at the Holy Archierchal Liturgy will
be conducted by Ms. Jelena Jez.
The conference included the presentation of the logo, advertising
spot and audio jingle to broadcast the upcoming celebration
through the media. The director of the advertising spot and
audio jingle is Mr. Ivica Vidanovic.
Copyright © 1999-2004 by
The Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
11000 Belgrade
Kralja Petra I no.5
+381 11 3282 596
e-mail
|