Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
July 3, 2004

DECANI MONASTERY ON UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE LIST
COMMUNIQUE
Orthodox Diocese of Backa - Following the publication of the article “Assistance to Churches and religious communities” published in “Dnevnik” on July 2, 2004

DECANI MONASTERY ON UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE LIST

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee added the monastery of Visoki Decani to UNESCO's World Heritage List during a Committee meeting in Souzhu, China

On July 2, 2004 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at a meeting held in Souzhu, China, decided to add the monastery of Visoki Decani to the World Heritage List. The proposal to include Visoki Decani on the list was made by China, Benin, the Russian Federation, Great Britain, Columbia, Nigeria, Norway and Lithuania.

The Serbia and Montenegro delegation at the 28th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee was comprised of the Serbia and Montenegro ambassador to UNESCO, Dragoljub Najman, and Sanja Kesic-Ristic of the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, who prepared the nomination proposal. After the nomination proposal was adopted, Ambassador Najman received congratulations from the ambassadors to UNESCO of France, Germany, China, India and Switzerland.

The nomination proposal was praised by the UNESCO World Heritage Center, ICOMOS (a non-governmental organization providing an expert opinion of all proposed sites) and by the members of the World Heritage Committee as being exceptionally well prepared.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia previously proposed Visoki Decani Monastery for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. However, the Committee decided at that time not to consider the nomination proposal for political reasons (Yugoslavia was suspended from the UN system at that time.) The most recent monument in Serbia and Montenegro added to the World Heritage List prior to was the monastery of Studenica, added in 1988.

For more on Visoki Decani Monastery see http://www.kosovo.com/decani.html

ORTHODOX DIOCESE OF BACKA
In Novi Sad on July 2, 2004

Following the publication of the article “Assistance to Churches and religious communities” published in “Dnevnik” on July 2, 2004, p. 4, the Orthodox Diocese of Backa is compelled to issue the following

COMMUNIQUE

The Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Secretariat for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities published a bid for assistance to Churches and religious communities in Vojvodina. The Orthodox Diocese of Backa requested a copy of the list of all churches and religious communities to whom the aforesaid assistance would be provided. Upon reviewing the list it determined that in addition to the traditional Churches and religious communities, this assistance would also be distributed to sects or, as formulated in the aforementioned list, other registered religious communities active on the territory of Vojvodina. The Diocese of Backa immediately reacted and wrote a letter to the Provincial Secretary for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities Mr. Tamas Korhec, requesting that assistance be granted exclusively to traditional Churches and religious communities. Otherwise, the Diocese would have to decline assistance and discontinue all further interaction with this Secretariat.

The Orthodox Diocese of Backa soon received the support of all traditional Churches and religious communities on this issue and to this day has not restored its relations with this Secretariat.

Consequently, the Diocese of Backa did not take part in the aforementioned bidding during the past year nor did it accept any material assistance form the Secretariat for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Furthermore, it is highly inappropriate to publish texts listing the Diocese of Backa among those who will be recipients of assistance.

Enclosure: Letter of the Executive Council, document number 22 dated February 11, 2004 to the Provincial Secretariat for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities

Orthodox Diocese of Backa

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX DIOCESE OF BACKA
Number 22
February 11, 2004
In Novi Sad

To the Provincial Secretariat for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities
Attention: Secretary Dr. Tamas Korhec
Novi Sad

Respected Secretary Korhec:

In regard to your correspondence dated January 26, 2004 in which you inform us that the Provincial Secretariat for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities has issued a bid for awarding assistance to Churches and religious communities active on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and provide us with the grant documentation, we wish to inform you of the following:

From your above referenced correspondence we learned that the Provincial Secretariat for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities expects to award material assistance to sects or, as they are referred to, “other registered religious communities active on the territory of Vojvodina”. As this decision was made without consultation with the traditional Churches and religious communities and is contrary to our prior agreements and knowing that sects are a parasite on the body of the Church and a great danger to all people regardless of their religious or national affiliation, we cannot overlook your attempt to reduce traditional Churches and religious communities to the level of miscellaneous sects, that is, to give sects the epithet of Churches or traditional religious communities. No people living on the territory of Vojvodina has any historical ties to any sect; on the contrary, the respective histories of all of us who live here are bound exclusively to the life of traditional Churches and religious communities. We wonder why and for what purpose you are trying, under the guise of tolerance and human rights (as though they were being denied to anyone!), to give sects epithets that do not belong to them while at the same time taking from us, the traditional Churches and religious communities, what has belonged to us for centuries and will, God willing, continue to belong to us. After all, on the territory of Vojvodina the total number of people who are members of a sect does not exceed one percent of the total population. We ask ourselves and we ask you what gives you the right to take money from the taxpayers – who largely belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church or one of the other traditional Churches or religious communities – and give them to suspect organizations representing the least number of taxpayers?

For all the reasons cited above, we wish to inform you that the Orthodox Diocese of Backa will not take part in the bid of the Provincial Secretariat for Regulation, Administration and National Minorities under these conditions and that we are discontinuing all cooperation with your Secretariat until further notice. Our decision, naturally, is also supported by the Dioceses of Banat and Srem, and we believe that it will also meet with the support of the appropriate officials of the other traditional Churches and religious communities.

Chair of the Executive Council of the Diocese
Bishop of Backa
(signature)

[Serbian Translation Services]