Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
October 10, 2005

SERBIAN PATRIARCH MEETS WITH SERBIAN PRESIDENT

His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle, together with His Grace Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan, today received the President of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Boris Tadic in the Patriarchate in Belgrade.

President Tadic informed His Holiness regarding his recent visit to the Vatican and conveyed the fraternal greetings of Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI, as well as expressions of respect and best wishes for the enhancement of cooperation with the Serbian Orthodox Church sent by the Pope.

Patriarch Pavle emphasized that cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church is becoming increasingly important as the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church as confronted with the same challenges which to a large extent demand a joint response.

Patriarch Pavle and President Tadic also exchanged views regarding the most recent developments connected with the resolution of the Kosovo and Metohija crisis.

The talks were also attended by Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Savo B. Jovic, the chief secretary of the Holy Synod of Bishops; Hieromonk Irinej Dobrijevic, consultant to the Holy Synod of Bishops; Protodeacon Momir Lecic, the Serbian Patriarch’s chief of cabinet; and Dr. Dusan T. Batakovic, Nebojsa Krstic and Damjan Krnjevic, advisors to the Serbian president.

ATTACK ON SEMINARIANS IN KISTANJE

On Sunday, October 9, 2005, a group of some twenty young men, Janjevci* from Kistanje, stopped a group of students of the seminary of the Holy Three Hierarchs in the monastery of Krka, who were returning from Kistanje to the monastery. On that occasion the seminarians were insulted with regard to their religion and nationality without any provocation on their part. The administration of the seminary of the Holy Three Hierarchs informed the police regarding the incident and an investigation is in progress.

* The town of Kistanje, situated in the hinterland of Dalmatia and completely abandoned during the past war by its Serbian population, was settled in the mid-1990s by the displaced Croatian population of the town of Janjevo in Kosovo, thus called Janjevci.

[Serbian Translation Services]