Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
October 18, 2005

DESTRUCTION OF FOUNDATION OF CHURCH AT PARDUS – BRUTAL VIOLENCE AT THE HANDS OF THE LAW

The manner in which the government attempted to destroy the foundation of the church of the New Martyrs in Ljesanska district in Montenegro is brutal violence at the hands of the law and sign that the government is capable of committing such violence against the entire people in order to preserve its own position, assessed attorney Mladjen Micovic, a member of the Legal Council of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral.

"According to the information I received from the committee for the construction of the church of the New Martyrs, the building inspection team arrived without warning, without any sort of documents and without previously conducting a process to destroy the partially built church,” said Micovic.

He said that the first reaction was spontaneous resistance by the people who are on the committee for the construction of the church and local residents. The operatives carrying out the destruction simply ignored their requests to be shown a document on the basis of which they were carrying out their violence against the church. “They told me they didn’t have any papers with them, and that they simply had the task of destroying the foundations. This is truly an indication of the most brutal violence at the hands of the law.”

The member of the legal council of the Metropolitanate asked who needed such violence and why an armed unit was sent to provide security for the destroyers. “One could conclude that certain powerful figures in the government need to provoke conflicts. These conflicts probably had their function in either the short-term or long-term plans of the government because as soon as violence and repression is being carried out, it is a sign that the government is preparing something, not against the Church but simply for the purpose of defending its own position against the entire people,” concluded attorney Mladjen Micovic.

Source: Svetigora Press (R.V.)

PATRONAL FEAST CELEBRATED IN KNIN

On the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, October 14, 2005, His Grace Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the Saborna Church in Knin on the occasion of its patronal feast. At the same time he ordained Father Jovan (Kovacevic), a brother of the monastery of Dragovic, a hierodeacon.

In his address to the gathered faithful, Bishop Fotije emphasized that Orthodoxy throughout its entire history has been crucified on the cross but that this is the very way that Our Lord Jesus Christ passed on his way to Golgotha and to the Resurrection. Without suffering there can be no resurrection, that is a law of evangelical love, which to the people of this world appears to be the path of irrationality or madness but to those who follow Christ is the path to life eternal.

CHURCH-PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY HELD IN BITELIC

On Sunday, October 16, 2005 His Grace Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in Bitelic, where a church-people’s assembly is traditionally held on the occasion of the church’s patronal feast.

The restoration of the holy shrine of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (originally built in 1809) in Bitelic has been underway for several years. Almost all local residents of Bitelic are involved in the restoration effort under the administration of the Diocese of Dalmatia and local parish priest Father Dragan Mihajlovic. They want to contribute to the restoration of this important holy shrine in the Cetinska region, whether by donating money or contributing volunteer work.

[Serbian Translation Services]