Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
November 26, 2004

REPORT 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
HELP THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRANSFIGURATION IN ZABARI

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

The Conference on the Contribution of the Churches to Religious, Cultural and Inter-National Cooperation on the Path to European Integration with the motto “I give you my peace” spoken by Our Lord, took place from November 22-24, 2004 in Subotica and Becej with the organization of the Diocese of Backa of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Subotica, with the support of the Reform Christian Church, the Slovak Evangelical Church and the Evangelical Christian Church.

This pan-Christian meeting began in Subotica with a formal Doxology in the church of the Ascension of Our Lord served by His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa in honor of the visit of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle to this northernmost Serbian city. The religious service was attended by Roman Catholic Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar of Belgrade and Bishop Ivan Penzes of Subotica; Bishops Istvan Cete Semesi, Arpad Dolinski and Samuel Verbovski of the Reform Churches; Republic of Serbia Ministers Milan Radulovic and Dr. Bojan Dimitrijevic; ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps; as well as a large number of faithful of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. After the Doxology, hundreds of faithful, together with the participants of the Conference, led by the Patriarch, the Archbishop and the other Bishops took part in a religious procession to the nearby Franciscan monastery. Roman Catholic Bishop Ivan Pezes conducted services in the monastery church.

In his welcoming remarks Bishop Pezes emphasized the upcoming talks between sister churches and their representatives, the state, local administration and international institutions.

The ceremony in the City Hall began with the anthem “God Grant Us Justice” as Serbian Patriarch Pavle and Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar stood at the honorary podium. Subotica mayor Geza Kucera welcomed the participants in the gathering as people of goodwill who came together in a city distinguished by its religious and national tolerance. In his sermon at the conference opening Bishop Irinej of Backa emphasized that this is the first pan-Christian gathering of its kind, not only in Serbia and Montenegro but also in all of Southeast Europe. The motto of this Conference is taken from the Holy Scripture – I LEAVE YOU MY PEACE, I GIVE YOU MY PEACE. Bishop Irinej answered the eventual question why peace is the key word when those of us here live in peace – I GIVE YOU MY PEACE. Everyone talks about peace and there is no peace. Peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit among us. Through it mutual love and willingness to build everything that is good is revealed. Churches do not exist for their own sake but for the world. Our contribution is true community between individuals and peoples. Peace belongs to all those who are near Christ, to those who are far from Christ, to those who believe and to those who do not believe. He, who is the Creator of humanity, is the primary and only peacemaker. All who follow His path build peace. The task of cooperation is the essence of our life and that is why true unification must have a corner stone, and that is Christ Himself. This is not the first time Europe has been unified. This unification can be repeated but not without spiritual encouragement and inspiration. The Churches have this task and goal. That is why we have chosen the message I GIVE YOU MY PEACE. This message is necessary for us as pastors and faithful to witness our internal resolve of heart and conscience, and to contribute our unique peace among the Churches, the nations and the cultures. By our love we will be recognized as belonging to Christ.

The Conference was then also opened by Bishop Ivan Pezes, who emphasized that “we are all aware of the value of peace and what a gift from God to us all it is. Peace is specific, not by its content but by its strength that can be established among people only if the foundation of society is the principle that every person belongs to God, that nature is bequeathed with reason and free will. From human nature follow personal rights and wisdom, which are inseparable. All people of every age have longed for peace on earth. Led by Christ and His protection, let all people embrace like brothers that peace may reign among them for all time.”

Those present were then addressed by His Holiness Patriarch Pavle, who said that true faith is not just in words, spoken and written, but also in attitude and actions. Speaking about the role of the Churches in religious, cultural and inter-national cooperation, Patriarch Pavle said that only a person who respects the principles of faith and truth fulfils the purpose of his or her existence. He concluded his presentation with the words: “May the light of your existence shine before all people. I wish you the peace, justice and freedom so necessary to us all.”

On behalf of the Roman Catholic Church, those present were welcomed by Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar of Belgrade, who reminded that every life is a calling and if we are in peace in Christ, then we are called upon to build peace in the world.

Participants in the conference were then greeted by the bishops of the Reform Churches, the ministers of the Republic of Serbia, Milan Radulovic and Dr. Bojan Dimitrijevic, Nicholas Hercules, representative of the United Nations Development Programme, and Eduard Hofman, European Union expert for social and economic issues.

WORKING PART OF THE CONFERENCE IN BECEJ

Before the beginning of the working part, morning prayers were served in the Orthodox church of the Holy Great-Martyr George in Becej.

His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa presided over the introductory plenary session in the Bela Ladja Hotel. First Becej mayor Djordje Predin and the municipal assembly president Pal Sandor welcomed the Conference. His Holiness Patriarch Pavle and Metropolitan Emmanuel then spoke about the significance of the Conference, the latter conveying the message of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew emphasizing that “we can only build Europe by a path of peace and reconciliation”. “We can achieve this with the help of political and spiritual leaders,” Metropolitan Emmanuel emphasized the role of the media in presenting information about multicultural and multiconfessional Europe. “We cannot enter the Europe of the future without Serbia,” said the Metropolitan, reminding that Southeast Europe should be a model of coexistence with other religious communities and peoples.

The plenary session continued with the presentation of Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar, who reminded of the Encyclical of His Holiness John Paul II where it is said “the Christian faith is a calling of its Creator but also of the time in which we live”. “Our calling is to make it possible for one another to live in accordance with the law of faith urging us to peace and community”.

Bishop Irinej then explained the significance of these messages, reminding of the initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Church calling for dialogue between fraternal Christian churches. Bishop Irinej added that “the Christian Churches should be the carriers of new dialogue and returning the soul of the European continent”.

Dr. Andrija Kopilovic, the Prorector of the Institute of Catechism and Theology in Subotica, Bishop Porfirije of Jegar, and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus then gave the introductory presentations.

The work of the Conference continued in work groups on religious cooperation, cultural cooperation, inter-national cooperation, and European integration. Moderators included Fr. Andrija Kopilovic, Archimandrite Andrej (Cilerdzic), Dubravka Valic, and Marija Janjatovic. Each group included approximately twenty participants, including theologians, state officials, representatives of national councils, foreign states and international organizations, and experts provided highly informative presentations and took part in discussion.

On Wednesday, November 24, 2004, the concluding plenary session began with presentations on the work of all the groups. Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica joined the Conference at this time, who addressed the plenum and emphasized that the time has come for the Churches to independently express their understanding of their own role in society, and that the period when religion was marginalized is now over. Where religion is not free, neither are the people. Serbia is vitally interested in freeing the Churches and religious communities of their inherited ideological tutelage and political manipulations as in the case of Kosovo and Metohija. Emphasizing the importance of a pan-Christian meeting for the process of European integration, Prime Minister Kostunica concluded that the religious structure of Serbia is already completely European. The Church is aware of its role and future accountability in the building of a modern Christian society as witnessed by this Conference. Dr. Kostunica sincerely thanked the organizers for their efforts and goodwill in making a contribution in these difficult times because the role of the Church in democratization and harmonization processes in society is incontestable. The government has decided to establish free, full and effective cooperation with the Churches and religious communities.

The first version of the Conference Message was then read.

Participants of the Conference enriched the content of the Message with their suggestions and it was then unanimously adopted. Bishop Irinej and Roman Catholic Archbishop Hocevar signed the Message before participants and numerous reporters.

Fr. Andrija Kopilovic then directed a press conference with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Bishop Irinej and Roman Catholic Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar among the speakers. Numerous representatives of local media from Vojvodina and correspondents and special reporters of daily newspapers and news agencies from throughout Serbia attended the conference.

By Gordana Gutovic

JESUS CHRIST IN THE DARKNESS OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM

On Thursday, November 25, 2004 in the amphitheatre of the Faculty of Machine Engineering, the editors of the Serbian Patriarchate’s publication “Pravoslavlje” and Udruzenje Srpski Sabor Dveri organized a public forum on the theme of “Jesus Christ in the Darkness of Historical Criticism” following the publication of Predrag Samardzic’s new book by that title.

Speakers included His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa, His Grace Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje and Herzegovina (retired), and Protodeacon Rados Mladenovic.

The forum was opened before a crowded amphitheatre by the dean of the Faculty of Machine Engineering of the University in Belgrade, Dr. Milos Nedeljkovic, who welcomed all present, especially the lecturers and eminent guests, including Serbian energy minister Radomir Naumov and deputy minister for culture and media Miroljub Radosavljevic.

The first speaker was Bishop Irinej who briefly and succinctly described the purpose for the writing of Predrag Samardzic’s book. He defined the problem as one that has already existed for two thousand years and can be reduced to atheist attacks on Christ and Christians. The book Predrag Samardzic responded to in writing his book is Milan Vukmanovic’s “Early Christianity: From Jesus to Christ” in which the author attempts to analyze the early Church in an uncritical and pseudoscientific manner. Unlike Vukomanovic, Samardzic writes from a historical and Biblical critical perspective that does not interrupt the ecclesiastical and traditional context of the Holy Scripture. Samardzic’s tone is neither argumentative nor ideological but full of love and understanding. At the end of his inspirational presentation, Bishop Irinej emphasized that this book will not be forgotten anytime soon because of its valuable theological content.

The next speaker about Samardzic’s book was Protodeacon Rados Mladenovic, who emphasized that this book, by its systematic organization and mild evangelical expression, has outshined the book that inspired it. The theme of Vukomanovic’s book is nothing new but borrowed from the Protestant theologians, especially Bultman. What bother Vukomanovic and other sociologists of religion is the fact that Orthodox consciousness is liturgical and eucharistic, not political. Protodeacon Rados observed that Vukomanovic does not cite a single Orthodox biblical scholar, and approaches Greek and Latin sources without a critical spirit. On the other hand, Samardzic very clearly and rationally presents his criticisms of Vukomanovic’s book and transcends everything written.

The key speaker at the public forum and also the writer of the foreword to Samardzic’s book, His Grace Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje and Herzegovina (retired) immediately emphasized that Dr. Milan Vukmanovic’s book is written in the Roman alphabet [instead of Cyrillic] and uses what is for Serbs a noticeably foreign terminology. Bishop Atanasije cited the use of “Hrist” instead of “Hristos” (Christ), “Trojstvo” instead of “Sveta Trojica” (Holy Trinity), “sakrament” instead of “Sveta Tajna” (Holy Mystery), “Eusebije” instead of “Evsevije” (Eusebios), “monasticizam” instead of “monastvo” (monkhood), etc. Samardzic’s work is a book response to a book but is more profound than the book that inspired its writing. Bishop Atanasije compared this modern instance with one from the late third century when the great ascetic and theologian Origenes wrote a book response to a book by the philosopher Celsus (Contra Celsum) also more systematic and profound than its inspiration. The author of the book “From Jesus to Christ” has an unprofessional attitude toward the Church and the Holy Scripture, and consequently toward the very theme he elaborates in his book. This book and others like it whose content is directed to attack Christ and Christians are just the tendency of the tempter in the Garden of Eden. Predrag Samardzic’s “Jesus Christ in the Darkness of Historical Criticism” exudes an intelligent and scientific expression, criticizes superficiality and unprofessionalism, and, most importantly of all, is witness to living faith in the Resurrected Christ.

HELP THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRANSFIGURATION IN ZABARI

The church of the Holy Transfiguration in Zabari was consecrated in 1862 and is believed to have been built during the reign of Prince Milos Obrenovic. Prince Milos gathered his serfs from Arandjelovac, Gornji Milanovac and Zabari, and explained that his wish was for the largest church to be built in Arandjelovac, and two other identical churches to be built in Gornji Milanovac and Zabari.

The church in Zabari has a surface area of 408 square meters and stands 39.4 meters n height. It is one of the largest village churches in the Diocese of Sumadija, drawing the attention of passersby by its size and especially its height. The iconostasis is the work of Stevan Todorovic and his students from 1862.

The church has been placed on the list of historical buildings as an important architectural achievement of the 19th century and therefore certain repairs are necessary as per decree number 189 of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Kragujevac issued April 26, 2004.

We appeal to all those who are able and willing to help us in realizing this project. No donation is too small, regardless of its material value, as long as it is from the heart and given in kindness and love. By making a donation in this spirit, you can help us and yourselves: you can help us to repair the chair from fire damage and to grow spiritually and morally even better, and you can help yourselves and your souls by finding your place before God and demonstrating by your deed the greatness of your soul and the kindness of your heart.

Church elder
Tihomir Andjelkovic

Donations in dinars may be made account number: 150-10306-66.

CREDY BANKA AD Kragujevac
Topola branch
34310 Topola

Foreign donors are kindly asked to contact the SPC Info Service

[Serbian Translation Services]