Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
December 13, 2004

HOLY SYNOD EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR BISHOP JUSTIN OF TIMOK

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox church expresses its full support for His Grace Bishop Justin of Timok in his efforts to preserve the sacrosanctity of canonical law and order in the Diocese of Timok, and to resolve existing differences of opinion and violations of canonical order in jurisdiction in the Diocese in the spirit of Christian love.

At this time, as we prepare for the most joyous holiday of the Nativity of the God-Child Christ, the Holy Synod of Bishops reminds all Orthodox faithful who live in the Republic of Serbia that the domostroy (rules of the house) for salvation in the Serbian Orthodox Church has been, and will always remain, equally accessible to all, regardless of whether they are Serbs, Vlachs, Romanians, Roma, Bulgarians or of any other nationality.

METROPOLITAN AMFILOHIJE SERVES IN POLJE DRAGOVICA
IN GORNJA MACVA

His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy on Sunday, December 12, 2004 in the church of the Holy Prophet Elijah in Polje Dragovica in Gornja Macva. Addressing the faithful present, Metropolitan Amfilohije said in his sermon that every person on earth is called upon to bear fruit, and that fruit is the virtues of faith, love, hope and compassion. “The chosen are those who are close to God, and there have always been relatively few true Christians,” said the Metropolitan. He emphasized that “baptism is equivalent to the grafting of fruit”. “Baptism is the grafting of the human soul. The true Christian is one who crosses himself in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one who keeps the holy fast and restrains himself from unclean thoughts and actions, as well as from excessive food and drink,” said Metropolitan Amfilohije. He added that everyone who lived in the region of Gornja Moraca was once baptized. “May God grant that Gornja Moraca again gather around one vessel of the blood of Christ, grafted, as it has been for centuries,” stressed the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral in his sermon.

BISHOP IRINEJ OF BACKA ATTENDS CELEBRATION
OF HANNUKAH, THE JEWISH FEAST OF LIGHT

Upon the kind invitation of the Jewish community in Novi Sad headed by Dr. Ana Frenkel, the president of the community, His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa and his delegation attended festivities on the occasion of the celebration of Hannukah, the Jewish feast of light, on Sunday, December 12, 2004 in the Novi Sad Synagogue. Bishop Irinej wished all members of the Jewish community a happy Hannukah, which is a commemoration of the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem in the time of the Maccabees brothers, which our Church celebrates on August 1 according to the Old Calendar and August 14 according to the New Calendar. After the program in the Synagogue, the celebration continued in the Jewish community building, where the hosts and their guests attended a formal cocktail reception.

SERBIAN LITERARY COOPERATIVE IN BAR RESUMES WORK

In the overflowing main hall of the Palace of King Nikola in Topolica on Saturday, December 11, 2004 the Serbian Educational Society of Bar organized the reactivation of the Serbian Literary Cooperative in Bar. On that occasion a public forum was held on the significance of the Serbian Literary Cooperative for Serbian spirituality. Lecturers included His Grace Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje and Niksic, historian Predrag Vukic and the secretary of the Serbian Literary Cooperative, writer Predrag Dragic Kijuk. Poets Acim Visnjic and Bozidar Filipovic also took part in the program.

The Serbian Literary Cooperative was founded in 1892 in Belgrade, and in the same year a branch was also opened in Cetinje. Only one year later other branches were founded in Podgorica, Bar and Niksic. “At that time any Montenegrin of sophistication was a member of the Serbian Literary Cooperative,” said Deacon Jovan Plamenac at the opening of the public forum.

Bishop Joanikije blessed the conference, emphasizing that in Bar he “always has the sense that the first Serbian saint Jovan Vladimir, who lived in this region and made great personal contributions to the beginning of the cultural history of the Serbian people, is still present, and that is of tremendous significance for all Serbs today”.

METROPOLITAN AMFILOHIJE HOLDS LECTURE IN PODGORICA

His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral delivered a lecture on the evening of Sunday, December 12, 2004 in the Spiritual Center in Podgorica on the theme “Prophetic premonition of the coming of God into the world”.

METROPOLITAN AMFILOHIJE: RENAMING OF THE LANGUAGE – SEPARATION FROM COMMUNAL BEING

“Since time immemorial words have been written that language may speak from an excess of heart. The Hellenic sages already observed that there is an internal and a spoken word. There is far more in the mind and remaining in the person. However, what comes out and is spoken by the human tongue, whether oral or written, is that by which the human individual is measured both as an individual and as a communal being, a part of a community,” said His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije in his address to hundreds of local residents of Kolasin, Rovcani, Moracani and Vasojevici in the overflowing auditorium of the Culture Hall in Kolasin at the public forum “In defense of the Serbian language”.

“If everything we know and have known is contained in our language, then to lose that language, to change and rename it, means sooner or later to separate ourselves from our internal fabric, from our communal being,” said the Metropolitan, commenting on the renaming of the language.

S.Z./M.R.

[Serbian Translation Services]