| Information
Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
May
13, 2005
CANONIZATION OF SERBIAN SAINTS
IN
RESTORED MONASTERY OF ZITOMISLIC
 On Sunday, May 15, 2005 this year’s first regular session of
the Holy Assembly of Bishops will begin with Holy Hierarchal
Liturgy in the monastery of Zitomislic near Mostar, Diocese of
Zahumlje and Herzegovina with His Holiness Serbian Patriarch
Pavle officiating with the concelebration of all Bishops of the
Serbian Orthodox Church.
On this occasion the restored monastery of Zitomislic will be
consecrated and the holy act of canonization of the newly illuminated
confessors and holy martyrs entered into the Diptych of Saints
of the Orthodox Church, who perished for the Living Faith in
the time of the First and Second World Wars, and later at the
hands of the Godless Communists.
After Holy Hierarchal Liturgy a Formal Academy will take place.
These prayerful festivities will also be attended by senior
officials of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska,
members of the Royal House of Karadjordjevic, and a large number
of eminent public and cultural figures.
HAGIOGRAPHY
OF THE NEWLY ILLUMINATED CONFESSORS AND HOLY MARTYRS
 ZITOMISLIC
MONASTERY – Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos
from the 15th century, restored in 1563. In historical records
from 1583 and 1599 mention is made of the first abbot of Zitomislic
Jovan and Milisav Vukasinov from the village of Crnici. From
the year 1602/1603 there is a preserved record by Master Vukasin
from the monastery of Orahovica, hewed into the base of the south
pillar of the Zitomislic church. In 1609 the fresco of Zitomislic
church was completed upon order from Abbot Sava through the effort
and expense of Hieromonk Maksim. The monks of the monastery of
Zitomislic in the 17 century become abbots of Chilandar. This
was followed by centuries during which the brotherhood was strong
and influential upon the lives of Serbs in the region.
In June 1941 the Ustashe slaughtered the entire brotherhood
of the monastery of Zitomislic and threw the monks into the Vidonje
abyss on the right side of the Neretva River. The monastery was
abandoned. At the end of 1941 the monastery dormitories were
set on fire by the Ustashe and the Germans after they first looted
the treasury, the archive and the library. By the grace of God
the monastery church was preserved at that time.
On Sunday, February 3, 1991 in Zitomislic the holy relics of
the Zitomislic New Martyrs were formally buried. In mid-June
1992 the Croatians burned and destroyed the monastery. The sisterhood
with Abbess Evpraksija and their spiritual father, Abbot Jovan
(Nedic) fled from the monastery a few weeks before the Croatian
aggression.
HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH PAVLE RECEIVES STUDENTS OF BELGRADE,
NOVI SAD AND PRISTINA UNIVERSITIES  On May 13, 2005 His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle, together
with His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa, received students from
the Universities of Belgrade, Novi Sad, and from Kosovo and Metohija
in the Belgrade Patriarchate. His Holiness told his guests that
they should be worthy of their forebears and presented all of
them with an edition of the Holy Scripture of the New Testament
(translation by the Commission of the Holy Synod of the Serbian
Orthodox Church) as a gift. The students from Kosovo and Metohija
complained that they were studying under extremely difficult
conditions, all the more so since they have been expelled from
Pristina to Kosovska Mitrovica. Patriarch Pavle told them that
he was well aware of how they are living and studying as he served
34 years as the Serbian Orthodox Bishop in Kosovo and Metohija
and knows how much the Serbian people in this region have suffered
and are still suffering today. Patriarch Pavle advised the students
to persist on the narrow path to the Kingdom of Heaven. At the
conclusion of a very warm and sincere conversation, Patriarch
Pavle answered all the students’ questions regarding matters
of faith and life in the modern world. The students presented
His Holiness with several books issued by their respective faculties.
MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR VICTIMS OF BANJICA CONCENTRATION CAMP HELD
IN JAJINCI MEMORIAL PARK On Sunday, May 15, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. a delegate of His Holiness
Serbian Patriarch Pavle and several priests will serve a memorial
service for the victims of the Banjica concentration camp in
the Jajinci Memorial Park. The choir of the church of St. Mark
will be singing at the service.
STUDENTS OF ST SAVA SEMINARY WIN FIRST PLACE AT RED CROSS COMPETITION The Palilula Municipality Red Cross in Belgrade has organized
a art and writing contest on the theme “Blood means life” for
students of elementary and secondary schools in Palilula municipality.
The students of the St. Sava Seminary in Belgrade took part for
the first time in a contest of this nature like the students
of other secondary institutions. Three students of the St. Sava
Seminary won first place in the municipal contest and thus gained
the right to compete in the city-wide competition. The seminary
students achieved outstanding results there as well. The first
prize winners in the arts section were third-seminary students
Vojislav Atanasov and Djordje Vukovic, who were tutored by Goran
Janicijevic.
The participation and success of the young seminarians in this
competition clearly suggests that the level of instruction in
our seminaries is at an admirable level and that students of
these schools are by no means lagging behind their peers but,
on the contrary, achieving outstanding results.
[Serbian
Translation Services]
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