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Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
May 19, 2004
FEAST OF THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD – PATRON SAINT'S
DAY OF THE CITY OF BELGRADE
 On the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord (Vaznesenje Gospodnje
– Spasovdan), on May 20, 2004, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch
Pavle with serve Holy Archierchal Liturgy in the Church of the
Ascension of Our Lord at Admiral Geprata Street 19.
On the occasion of the celebration of the patron saint's day
of the City of Belgrade and the Church of the Ascension of Our
Lord, His Holiness will cut the slava cake for the Belgrade City
Assembly and the Church of the Ascension of Our Lord.
The festal religious procession will start in front of the Church
of the Ascension of Our Lord at 11:30 a.m., pass through the
city to the Orthodox Cathedral, and return following the same
route.
We invite all residents of Belgrade to celebrate their city
patron saint's day by attending Holy Liturgy and taking part
in the festal procession.
PROMOTION OF COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMPS DEDICATED TO THE COMPLETION
OF CONSTRUCTION OF ST. SAVA CATHEDRAL IN VRACAR  A promotion of commemorative postage stamps dedicated to the
completion of construction of St. Sava Cathedral was prepared
on May 19, 2004 in the parish home of St. Sava Cathedral in Vracar
(Belgrade). Participating in the promotion were His Eminence
Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral, the president
of the Council for the Building of St. Sava of the Holy Assembly
of Bishops; master builder professor Dr. Vojislav Milovanovic;
Mr. Slobodan Mileusnic, the director of the Serbian Orthodox
Church Museum; Mr. Milan Jankovic, the director of Jugomarka;
and protojerej stavrofor Stevan Vlacic, the church priest of
St. Sava Cathedral.
 Master builder professor Dr. Vojislav Milovanovic thanked all
the workers and others who invested many years of effort and
work in building the heritage cathedral. Mr. Slobodan Mileusnic
emphasized that the spirit of St. Sava has spread throughout
the world and is embodied in churches dedicated to St. Sava and
that postage stamps, too, bear his message to every corner of
the planet. This is not the first organized effort of this type;
the national postal service PTT and Jugomarka have already issued
several series of commemorative postage stamps.
 Mr. Milan Jankovic, the director of Jugomarka, emphasized that
the 1,300,000 stamps are to be issued and that will be a means
of collecting significant revenue to help in the interior appointment
of the Cathedral.
His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije thanked the people who
dedicated themselves to the building of the cathedral so that
110 years after the conception of the idea to build it, our Patriarch
Pavle and the Ecumenical Patriarch formally opened its doors
after reconsecration. It is a great blessing that the celebration
marking the completion of work brought together the highest representatives
of all Orthodox churches. St. Sava, whose holy relics were burned
at this location so that he might disappear from the Earth and
vanish from our memories, gathers around his dust, which has
been transformed into this cathedral, all of his people.
The Metropolitan
also thanked all those who built a part of themselves into
the Cathedral: the builders, workers, architects,
engineers, donors, as well as the journalists who kept the public
informed, expressing the wish that "the Lord repay them
with His gift, which is the Kingdom of Heaven".
Professor Dr. Vojslav Milovanovic also hailed Mr. Dusan Ckrebic,
a man in the top rungs of power 20 years ago who nevertheless
had the courage and strength to make the decision to continue
building the cathedral when the request to do so was submitted.
Recognitions were then awarded to journalists and builders of
the cathedral.
At the closing
of the promotion, protojerej stavrofor Stevan Vlacic, who has
been church priest of the Cathedral for the past
22 years, said: "We thank God and St. Sava for granting
us the honor to be the ones who completed this Cathedral."
FORMAL ACADEMY DEDICATED TO BLESSED FATHER JUSTIN POPOVICH OF
CHELIJE A formal spiritual academy dedicated to the work and image of
the late Avva Justin Popovich organized by the Srpski sabor DVERI
(Serbian Assembly of the Portal) was held on May 18, 2004, in
the large auditorium of the Syndicate Hall.
Speaking at the spiritual academy were His Grace Bishp Irinej
of Backa, His Grace Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren, His
Grace Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje and Herzegovina (retired)
and His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and
the Littoral. The academy began with the introductory homily
of Bishop Irinej, who spoke to those present regarding his
personal experience of Avva Justin, who was his spiritual father
and teacher for many years.
Bishop Artemije then spoke of Father Justin's contributions
to contemporary Serbian and Orthodox culture and Bishop Atanasije
Jeftic spoke about the real and the pragmatic in the person and
works of the Blessed Father. His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije
then made an excellent presentation in which he combined his
own memories of Avva Justin, whom he called the greatest Serb
of the 20th century, and Father Justin's liturgical contributions.
The Metropolitan's speech concluded the two hour long ceremony
before the overflowing auditorium of the Syndicate Hall.
FORMAL CELEBRATION OF PATROL SAINT'S DAY OF ST. SAVA SEMINARY
IN BELGRADE  Due to the main celebration of the Bicentennial of the Serbian
Rebirth, the patron saint's day of the Belgrade Seminary, the
memorial day of the Burning of the Holy Relics of St. Sava
was celebrated this year on May 16, 2004. In keeping with the
image of this eminent educational institution, the celebration
was the occasion for a well-prepared program.
 Guests were welcomed by a homily by Dr. Dragan Protic, the rector
of the Seminary, while the presentation was made by protodeacon
Milan Kovacevic. Participating in the musical part of the program
were the St. Sava Seminary Choir, The Serbian Chamber Choir and
the Rastko Choir, while poems by our poets were recited by Bosko
Savic, Milorad Stevanovic and Andjelka Ristic. The soloists were
deacon Nenad Radakovic and Vuk Jovanovic, and the choirs were
directed by Djordje Pavlovic, Jasmina Bouali-Stanojkovic and
Milan Milijanovic. The program itself was prepared by Zoran Raicevic,
Milan Radovanovic and Milan Milijanovic.
Drawing the great attention of all those present was the exhibition
of works by the students, whose demonstrated talents and efforts
under the tutorship of Goran Janicijevic, professor of fresco
painting at the Academy of Fresco Painting and Restoration of
the Theological Faculty of the Serbian Orthodox Church, proved
that the icon is a living expression of Christian faith.
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