Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
June 7, 2005

SERBIAN PATRIARCH CONSECRATES ST. PARASKEVA BAPTISMAL HALL IN KALEMEGDAN

On Sunday, June 5, 2005, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in Ruzica Church in Kalemegdan with the concelebration of church elder, Protopresbyter Radomir Popovic and Protopresbyter Predrag Puzovic. After Holy Liturgy His Holiness consecrated the newly built baptismal hall. On this occasion, the Serbian Patriarch said that the times we live in are extremely difficult and that it is necessary for us as a people to repent and listen to the voice of him who cries in the wilderness. The Patriarch praised the efforts of the church elder and all priests of the church of St. Paraskeva (Sv. Petka).

The baptismal hall was built with the blessing of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle during the course of 2003-04 within the architectural complex of the chapel of St. Paraskeva build prior to World War II in Belgrade Fortress. The baptismal hall has been dug into the side of Kalemegdan Hill and is located between the newly restored living quarters St. Paraskeva from 1990 and the chamber for the lighting of candles, built in 1996.

The interior of the baptismal hall is a rectangular room over 38 square meters in surface area. In the center is the bath-pool for baptism. Above the pool and the flat ceiling is an octagonal dome with eight windows. The external walls of the structure are embedded with natural hewn stone. At the top of the dome is a stone cross in one piece. The dome is similar to that on the chapel of St. Paraskeva, the difference being that it is covered in stone tiles. The baptismal hall and dome and the restored external stairwell fit in well in appearance with the existing buildings of the chapel of St. Paraskeva complex, and one has the impression that everything was built all at once, even though the complex in its present form has been 80 years in the building.

One enters the baptismal hall from a plateau in front of the chapel of Sv. Petka from the northern, lower side. In the middle of the room is the buried bath-pool made out of light cream colored marble brought from Danilovgrad. The Holy Altar Table adjacent to the east wall of the baptismal hall is made of the same marble. Hewn into the facing edge of the Holy Altar Table are the words “You have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27), the first words the newly baptized sees upon rising from the bath-pool. In front of the Holy Altar Table an eagle is depicted in relief according to the words of the prophet Isaiah: “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:31) – “Your youth is renewed like the eagle's” (Psa. 103:5). The eagle as a model was taken from the polielei of the monastery of St. Mark (originally from the monastery of Zica). A small baptismal bath for the baptism of children is placed next to the west wall of the baptismal hall.

The baptismal hall was built with funding by Ruzica Church and the chapel of Sv. Petka, as well as by donations from the faithful. Among the many generous donors, special thanks goes to Ana Jurisin of Belgrade (age 96) whose name and the names of her family are hewn on the plate of the donors at the entrance to the baptismal hall. Protopresbyter Radomir Popovic, the church elder, and all priests and employees of Ruzica Church and the chapel of Sv. Petka oversaw and assisted with the construction project from beginning to end.

ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY VISITS RUSSIAN CHURCH IN LONDON

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, attended a service of Vespers on Thursday, June 2, 2005, in the Russian Orthodox Cathedral at Ennismore Gardens in London on the occasion of his installment as the Patron of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius. The Fellowship, which has existed for seventy-five years, works to foster good relations and mutual understanding between Eastern Orthodox and Western Christians. It maintains an information service, publishes a journal, organizes conferences and other events, and grants financial support to projects aimed at promoting eastern-western Christian contact.

The Archbishop of Canterbury was welcomed by Archbishop Anatoly of the Russian Orthodox Church and at the end of the service, Archbishop Rowan addressed the faithful in attendance, speaking about the light of Resurrection that saves the world. The service was attended by representatives of all Orthodox Churches in London, including Bishop Theodorit, Bishop Kallistos and priests of the Romanian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches. The Serbian Orthodox Church was represented by Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Milun Kostic.

[Serbian Translation Services]