Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
November 24, 2004

MESSAGE FROM THE CONFERENCE ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHURCHES TO RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL AND INTER-NATIONAL COOPERATION ON THE PATH TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
JESUS CHRIST IN THE DARKNESS OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM

MESSAGE FROM THE CONFERENCE ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHURCHES TO RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL AND INTER-NATIONAL COOPERATION ON THE PATH TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

The Serbian Orthodox Church’s Diocese of Backa and the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Subotica, with the support of the Reform Christian Church, the Slovak Evangelical Church and the Evangelical Christian Church, organized a Conference on the Contribution of the Churches to Religious, Cultural and Inter-National Cooperation on the Path to European Integration from November 22-24, 2004 in Subotica and Becej. Participants in the Conference included the clergy and theologians of the aforementioned Churches, representatives of the state government, local administration and national councils, officials of the United Nations and European institutions in our country, as well as truly impartial and responsible intellectuals.

All participants in the Conference agreed on the following:

1. The Christian Churches gathered at this Conference call for fruitful dialogue and fraternal cooperation, such as they themselves traditionally nurture, among all persons and institutions that have the need and the possibility of making a contribution to the furthering of religious, cultural and inter-national cooperation among people individuals and peoples. At the same time, participants of the Conference encourage all servants in the Church, as well as all faithful, to encourage mutual dialogue and concrete cooperation within their communities in keeping with their Christian mission.

2. Keeping in mind the fact that the process of integration of European peoples is primarily unfolding in accordance with economic and political principles, we wish to remind of the historical and spiritual truth that Christianity is the source and the original inspiration of the spiritual unity of Europe. Consequently, the Christian Churches of the East and the West are witnesses and bearers of the fundamental values of Europe. Without authentic life in the spirit of Christian values, it is impossible to establish consensus and unity among the different peoples, traditions and customs of Europe.

The identity of Europe in essence is comprised of the triptych of Jerusalem, Athens and Rome, i.e. Christian faith, the Greek cultural model and the Roman sense of law and justice. We share the conviction that Europe is not limited to the countries of the European Union, or of Western and Central Europe, but that Europe is a great open continent and spiritual concept.

3. In the community and interweaving of confessions, nations and cultures in Serbia, first and foremost, in Vojvodina, we recognize united Europe in miniature and our own responsibility in the process of European integration.

4. We wish to emphasize that those who believe that their nationality, faith and culture can develop fully in isolation are not correct nor those who believe that in order to join the family of democratic peoples of Europe it is necessary to renounce one’s own heritage and identity.

5. Cognizant that the Churches base their life and their mission on love toward God and their neighbor, we call on all Christians and people of goodwill to examine their own conscience and to [demonstrate] responsible and proactive love toward their neighbor that transcends customary tolerance. Christians do not live merely next to each other or with one another, they live for each other because every person, regardless of faith, skin color or social status, recognizes the living icon of God and in it loves his or her brother or sister [created] in God’s image. From this standpoint we jointly condemn every form of violence and extremism such as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and similar.

6. We remain faithful to the values of which modern Europe remains proud and counts among its accomplishments such as individual dignity, peace and social justice.

7. Aware of the precious centuries-old experiences of the Church, which have also come to be expressed at this Conference, we are prepared to offer society our support and assistance in resolving concrete problems, such as human and minority rights issues, bioethics, economic and social stratification, threats to the environment and others.

8. Evangelical principles and the expectations of the faithful people of God give us the right to expect and ask for the possibility of more open and effective inclusion of Christians in the course and resolution of the problems of the society in which we live. We believe that we as Christians have the right and the responsibility, like all other citizens, to use the mechanisms of public action to contribute to the general good. At the same time, we emphasize the necessity of enabling the Churches to provide testimony about themselves and their mission in the modern world through the public media.

Given in Becej,
On November 24, 2004

On behalf of the participants of the Conference:

Bishop Irinej
of Backa (signature)

Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar
of Belgrade (signature)

JESUS CHRIST IN THE DARKNESS OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM

The editorial office of Pravoslavlje, the official publication of the Serbian Patriarchate, and the Udruzenje Srpski Sabor Dveri are organizing a public forum on the theme of “Jesus Christ in the darkness of historical criticism” following the publication of Predrag Samardzic’s new book. The lecture will be held at the Faculty of Machine Engineering on Thursday, November 25, 2004 at 6:00 p.m.

Speakers at the public forum will include His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa and His Grace Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje and Herzegovina (retired).

[Serbian Translation Services]