Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
Avgust 23, 2005

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM ELECTED

In the church of Christ’s Resurrection in Jerusalem on August 22, 2005 a concave of the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate met and unanimously elected Archbishop Theophilos of Tabor as the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

In accordance with the Constitution of the Church of Jerusalem, three meetings of the hierarchs of the Church of Jerusalem preceded the election of the new Patriarch of Jerusalem. First, a list of 13 candidates for the patriarchal throne was prepared. Then the Holy Synod (comprised of the 14 members of the Sacred Synod, 21 archimandrites of Jerusalem monasteries and 12 diocesal representatives) chose three candidates. Finally, the members of the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate unanimously elected Archbishop Theophilos of Tabor as the Patriarch of Jerusalem, making him the 140th in the line of succession to the throne of the Holy Apostle Jacob, the brother of Our Lord.

Biography of the newly elected Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem:

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos (secular name Elias Yiannopoulos) was born in 1952 in Greece. He entered the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre in July 1964, and in the same year enrolled in the Jerusalem Patriarchate School, which he completed in 1970. His Beatitude Patriarch Benedict of Jerusalem tonsured him a monk on June 28, 1970 and he received the monastic name of Theophilos.

The same year he was ordained a deacon, and in 1975 the Archbishop of Hierapolis elevated him to the office of presbyter. After completing his studies at the Theological Faculty at Athens University, he became the Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod in Jerusalem. In 1978 he was honored with the title of archimandrite. During the period from 1991 to 1996 he became abbot of the monastery of St. George the Victory-bearer in Canaan Galilee, and from 2001 to 2003 he was the representative of the Jerusalem Patriarch to the Russian Patriarchate. In 2003 he became the exarch of the Patriarch of Jerusalem in Qatar, and the following year the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate appointed him skevofilax (guardian of the Sepulchre of Our Lord). He was ordained Archbishop of Tabor on February 14, 2005 and soon thereafter, on August 22 the same year, he was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Source: www.pravoslavie.ru

CELEBRATION OF THE FEAST OF THE HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
OF OUR LORD IN ZAGREB

The patronal feast of the church of the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord was formally celebrated in the Serbian Orthodox Church Parish in Zagreb. The prayerful celebration began with an evening service on the eve of the feast served by His Eminence Metropolitan Jovan of Zagreb and Ljubljana with his priests in Zagreb. Holy Hierarchal Liturgy was served on the Feast of the Holy Transfiguration itself, when a large number of Zagreb Serbs traditionally take communion. At the end of the Holy Liturgy the slava cake was cut and the slava wheat and grapes were blessed.

In his sermon Metropolitan Jovan welcomed all the faithful and wished them a happy slava. He also recapped the events of the past year and the activities that have taken place under the auspices of the Church Parish of Zagreb. Finally, the Metropolitan invited all those present to a festive banquet.

FEAST OF THE HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
OF OUR LORD IN KOMOGOVINA

Their Graces Bishop Sava of Slavonija and Bishop Gerasim of Gornji Karlovac served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy on the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in the monastery of Komogovina with the concelebration of the priests and monks. After blessing the slava cake, Bishop Gerasim delivered a sermon in which he emphasized the meaning and importance of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, a great religious holiday in the Orthodox Church.

On the same day in the afternoon, Bishop Gerasim consecrated the parish home in Kostajnica.

The village of Komogovina lies on the road from Petrinja to Kostajnica near the point where the Badusnica Brook flows into the Sunja River. The Komogovina parish church stands in the former location of the monastery. To the south are the foothills of Mt. Samarica. On Gradina Hill to the left of the brook there are traces of fortresses. To the north of the Sunja rises Kordic Hill.

King Matija bequeathed this region in 1482 to the Serbian Despot “Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk” Vuk Grgurevic-Brankovic. After Vuk, Komogovina was administered and ruled by the Hungarian house of Banf and the Croatian house of Zrinski. Komogovina is mentioned in 1696 as a town that has been abandoned and destroyed.

During the 18th century Komogovina was the center of activity for the Church and the people in Banija. The monastery was so developed for its time that it had a water line running from the Pualovac spring under Cardaciste Hill to the monastery. Komogovina was also the seat of the first three bishops of the Kostajnica bishopric in 1715-38: Ugarkovic, Dimitrijevic (Mitrovic) and Ljubibratic. Bishop Andrijevic moved the seat to Kostajnica. The episcopal church, at first built in wood, was like Mostanica dedicated to the Holy Archangel Gabriel. In 1728 there is mention of the church of the Ascension of Our Lord, which is now the Transfiguration of Our Lord.

For the monastery renowned artist Hristifor Zafarovic made in 1743 a copper relief of the Ascension, the monastery’s patronal feast, so that lithographs could be run off as gifts to the faithful. This plate with inscription is today located in the Croatian Museum of History in Zagreb where it is preserved with other treasures of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

CHURCH BELLS CONSECRATED IN OTISIC

On Sunday, August 21, 2005 His Grace Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in Otisic and on that occasion consecrated two new bells for the church of the Holy Archangel Michael. Bishop Fotije in his address to the gathered faithful said that this consecration is a visible sign of the beginning of the restoration of the church in Otisic, which hopefully will contribute to the restoration of the village itself where, unfortunately, the houses of the Orthodox Serb residents are still in ruins and crying to be restored.

[Serbian Translation Services]