Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
Avgust 12, 2004

DETERMINING AND INTEGRATING KOSOVO AND METOHIJA:
ETHNICITY, RELIGION AND CITIZENSHIP AS CAUSAL FACTORS

Fr Irinej Dobrijevic, consultant on International and Interchurch Affairs to the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, attended the Second Annual Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom, sponsored by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy (Washington, DC), which is headed by Joseph Grieboski (www.religionandpolicy.org), from 5-7 August 2004.

This Conference brought together members of parliaments from over 50 countries to deliberate on Human Rights and Freedom of Conscience violations throughout the world. Some of the topics discussed were: Responses to Anti-Semitism; Registration Laws; Domestic Abuse, Sexual Trafficking, and Women's Basic Rights; and Terrorism, National Security, and Religious Freedom. Fr Irinej presented the attached paper on a panel that deliberated on "Ethnicity, Religion and Citizenship", charged with the task of addressing the post-pogrom situation on! Kosovo and Metohija.

In order to facilitate the above, a plan for decentralization must be implemented, providing local autonomy within the framework of wider provincial autonomy for Kosovo and Metohija, within the Republic of Serbia, as foreseen in UN Security Council Resolution 1244. This would insure the territorial integrity of Serbia as the only guarantee for regional stability and provide for eventual EU accession for the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

The determination of final status can neither be seen as a reward for systematic violence and organized terrorism, nor undertaken without the full involvement of the democratic Serbian government in Belgrade. Ultimately, this will permit the International Community to implement a sustained effort towards an enduring peace while securing freedom and tolerance in a truly multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Kosovo and Metohija within an already multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Republic of Serbia.

OLYMPICS IN ATHENS

“Bravo, Greeks, bravo” was among the first statements for the press by the leaders of our Olympic team upon their arrival and placement in apartments in the Olympic Village in Athens. Neither Atlanta nor Sydney had this level of organization, our athletes unanimously told Father Nenad, a spiritual leader at the Olympics, who is also responsible for our participants. The welcoming ceremony and raising of our flag in the Olympic Village will be a moment to remember for all participants in this global event. The knowledge that they, too, have their priest has demonstrably brought joy to these wonderful people who, by their lifestyle and persistence in sports, embody the spirit of the Orthodox experience of faith and ascetic labor. Their interest in Orthodox religious services, which take place daily according to a fixed schedule, will give them the spiritual strength for the labors still before them.

His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All-Greece, in the presence of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and His Eminence Archbishop Anastasije of Tirana, blessed a bookshop opened on the plateau in front of the Cathedral in the Greek capital with many books in several foreign languages. The desire is to present Orthodoxy, Orthodox spirituality and the history of the Orthodox Church in the best possible manner to the many thousands of foreign visitors to the Olympic Games. There is also a multiconfessional gathering being held in the Olympic municipality of Marusa. Last night representatives of the monotheistic religions, led by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, planted two olive trees together as symbols of peace and unity. The Ecumenical Patriarch also read of message of peace at the gathering addressed to all of humanity against violence, injustice and oppression for political and especially religious reasons. The formal ceremony of the opening of the Olympic Games to take place on Friday, August 12, at 8:00 p.m. will be attended by His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos, as the host, His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, as well as by other high officials of the Orthodox Church and others.

RESTORATION OF DRAGOVIC MONASTERY

On August 10, 2004 His Grace Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia consecrated the new cross of the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in the monastery of Dragovic with the concelebration of the clergy and monks of the Diocese of Dalmatia

On this occasion Bishop Fotije said that the basic restoration of the monastery of Dragovic is nearing its end and, if God will it, on the monastery patron saint’s day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God, the monastery of Dragovic will be ready to receive its brotherhood.

The rejuvenation of the monastery of Dragovic, originally built in 1395, gives the Diocese of Dalmatia its third great holy shrine, in addition to the monasteries of Krka and Krupa.

[Serbian Translation Services]