Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
July 9, 2004

SPIRITUAL EVENING COMMEMORATING BELGRADE’S SEXCENTENARY IN RUZICA CHURCH

On Sunday, July 11, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. a spiritual evening will take place on the plateau in front of the church of St. Kyriakos and the Ruzica Church in the Kalemegdan Fortress in Belgrade. The event is dedicated to the 600-year anniversary of the Serbian capital of Belgrade and will include a keynote address by Jovanka Kalic of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Also participating in the program will be Ljubivoje Tadic, the Vrelo vocal and instrumental ensemble from Ruma, the Mokranjac Choir of the St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade, the Ruzica Church Choir, the Pirg group, and several Serbian poets.

CHURCH OF ST. JOVAN VLADIMIR BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE

On the feast of St. John His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the medieval city of Svac on the remains of the church of St. John the Forerunner for the first time in five hundred years. In his sermon Metropolitan Amfilohije emphasized that Svac is a location that has been seasoned with divine light, holiness and strength throughout many centuries. “Even today after so many centuries since its destruction there are still some 10 church sites and we are serving Holy Divine Liturgy in one of them today. In present day Montenegro they have forgotten that this location where we stand was the former center of Montenegro, of the medieval land of Zeta. In this field, on this hill where Jovan (John) Vladimir created his state, where a church was built, where thousands of souls experienced rebirth only the Lord knows how people lived, were baptized and anointed, took communion and lived in accordance with the law of God. All those who built this city, regardless of whether they came from the East or the West, were pupils of Christ. All of them built themselves into this city. All that was holy and honorable was built into the eternal holy city of Jerusalem. And one of the golden cornerstones of this city is this city of Svac,” said Metropolitan Amfilohije.

Source: Dan daily, Podgorica, July 8, 2004

ORTHODOX RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION TO BE OFFERED IN NORTH RHINE- WESTPHALIA FROM SEPTEMBER

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populated and economically developed German state Orthodox religious instruction will be offered in state schools from September 2004 as a mandatory subject for Orthodox students until the age of 18. A commission comprised of representatives of Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Georgian Orthodox Churches has been negotiating and harmonizing plans for the launching of Orthodox religious instruction in German state schools for the past five years. The result of their efforts is that mandatory Orthodox religious instruction is to begin in September in all larger cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, including Dusseldorf, Koln, Bielefeld, Aachen, Dortmund and Essen. Classes will be taught in German and the German province will finance the entire program, including texts authored primarily by Russian and Greek theologians and instructors. North Rhine-Westphalia will become the second German state where Orthodox religious instruction will be taught in state schools.

Source: Nacional weekly, Belgrade, July 9, 2004

KRAGUJEVAC CATHEDRAL MARKS 120-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

The Orthodox Cathedral in Kragujevac marks its 120-year anniversary this year. At this time it remains uncertain whether a grand celebration will be held on September 30 to mark the occasion because the church lacks sufficient funds to complete comprehensive work on its reconstruction now in progress. So far a total of 5.5 million dinars has been collected and spent on the restoration of the facade and the placement of the copper roof plating. His Grace Bishop Jovan of Sumadija thanked all donors to date whose contributions helped to complete this valuable work on the restoration of the cathedral. He also expressed the hope that new donors will be able to assist in completing the cathedral’s restoration.

Source: Glas Javnosti daily, Belgrade, July 9, 2004

[Serbian Translation Services]