Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
December 15, 2005

DELEGATION OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES FROM SERBIA-MONTENEGRO VISITS BRUSSELS

A delegation of Christian churches from Serbia-Montenegro, including representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is presently on an extended visit with German political factors and institutions of the European Union, met with representatives of Christian churches in the European Union on December 12, 2005 in Brussels. The meeting was organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The meeting was attended by Bishop Athanasios of Achaia, representative of the Church of Greece to the European Union; Anton Ilyin, secretary of the representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European institutions; Monsignor Noel Treanor, general secretary of the Commission of European Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conferences; Rev. Rudiger Noll, the director of the Conference of European Churches; and other representatives of Christian organizations in the European Union.

Talks primarily conveyed the experiences of the Russian and Hellenic Orthodox Churches with respect to their activities in European and international organizations with emphasis on the importance of dialogue both with European political structures as well as essential inter-Orthodox talks. His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa, the head of the delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, informed all collocutors with the suffering of the Orthodox in Kosovo and Metohija. Bishop Irinej emphasized that this issue should be resolved in accordance with the religious and ethnic spirit of the region.

On this occasion the Konrad Adenauer Foundation organized a reception in honor of the senior delegation from Serbia, which was also attended by Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium.

HOLY BEARING DYNASTY OF NEMANJIC EXHIBITION OPENS

An exhibition of selected works by children submitted for the art contest “The Holy-bearing dynasty of Nemanjic” was opened on December 14, 2005 in Manakova Kuca in Belgrade. The competition was organized by the Orthodox children’s magazine “Svetosavsko Zvonce” for students of primary and secondary schools in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska and lasted throughout the 2004/05 school year.

His Grace Bishop Porfirije of Jegar opened the exhibition in the presence of representatives of the Serbian Ministry of Education and Sports, the Ministry for Religions and a large number of guests. The visitors were welcomed by Dragana Stojkovic on behalf of the Ethnographic Museum, which hosted the event, and Radmila Misev, the editor in chief of “Svetosavsko Zvonce”, which organized it.

Some 350 of the best works from 10,000 received fro the competition were displayed. All the works create a glorious gallery of our historic rulers and saints. For our children, the members of the holy Nemanjic family are no longer just names about which they learned all too little in history class or distant figures who appear in icons and frescoes; they have become what they are, our ancestors, both near and dear to us.

This is attested to by the pictures, poems, essays and videos composed by the children. Although the guidelines for the contest did not ask them to depict or describe endowments, the children did just that, for the endowments are inseparable from their founders. The value of these works lies in the fact that most of them were created in schools during classes in religious instruction. They captivate by their sincere faith, warmth and love. The pictures reflect the quiet faith of children, purity and longing for God.

With a pure heart and more or less adroit motions of the brush or pen, the children left a record of beauty, of what our ancestors were like, what we should be like and what model we should follow. This is not turning toward the past but a creative motion into the future.

This wonderful gathering was enhanced by the presence of Mr. Aleksandar Gajsek, who recited the first-awarded “A word to St. Sava” of Kristina Jockovic, a student at the Transportation-Communication Technology Secondary School in Zemun, and by the singing of the youngest members of the Kockica Kindergarten Choir in Borca, and the Laza Kostic Primary School in Kovilj. Recognitions and awards were presented to pre-schoolers, junior and senior primary school students and secondary school students for literary writing, painting and music.

The exhibition is accompanied by a very nicely prepared and comprehensive catalog, which includes reproductions of 90 works, including three essays and about 20 poems. It also lists the names of all 351 participants whose work is on display. The forward is written by our well-known writer and member of the editorial staff of “Svetosavsko Zvonce”, Dragan Lakicevic.

Events such as this are an excellent way of encouraging children’s creativity on Orthodox topics but they are also a reflection of the work of religious instructors, art and writing teachers, whose efforts are reflected in the works of their students. The realization of the exhibition was assisted by the Ethnographic Museum, the Serbian Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Services, and Slobodan Jankovic, the owner of the restaurant “Perper”.

CONFERENCE OF ICON AND FRESCO PAINTERS IN DIOCESE OF ZICA

With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Hrizostom of Zica, a conference of icon and fresco painters was held at Zlatibor from December 5-15, 2005, which was organized by Father Nenad Bajic, the parish priest of Zlatibor. Participants in the conference included professional icon painters and fresco painters from the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Academy for Arts and Conservation, together with Goran Janicijevic, professor of fresco painting at the Academy.

Works created in the studio of the Palisade Hotel will be exhibited in the gallery at Cigota on January 8, 2006. All proceeds from sales will be used for the creation of an iconostasis for the church of the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord at Zlatibor.

[Serbian Translation Services]