Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
March 29, 2006

PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE OCCASION OF THE RETURN
OF THE SOC DELEGATION FROM THE USA

A press conference on the occasion of the return of the delegation of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which visited the United States of America with the blessing of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle and met there with senior representatives of the U.S. Government and officials of the United Nations, a press conference was held on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. in the Patriarchate in Belgrade.

Speakers at the conference included His Grace Bishop Jovan of Sumadija, a member of the Holy Synod of Bishops, who headed the delegation; His Grace Bishop Grigorije of Zahumlje and Herzegovina, a member of the advisory body of the SOC Kosovo and Metohija Committee; His Grace Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan, the vice-chairman of Kosovo and Metohija Committee and the abbot of Visoki Decani Monastery; Rev. Fr. Irinej Dobrijevic, the special advisor on international and inter-religious issues to the Holy Synod of Bishops and the head of the Office of the Kosovo and Metohija Committee; and Prof. Dr. Bogoljub Sijakovic, vice dean of the Orthodox Theological School of the University of Belgrade.

At the beginning of the conference, Bishop Jovan briefly outlined the delegation’s visit. He emphasized that the delegation was received in the U.S.A. at the highest level and that all discussions were in fact continuations of last year’s talks. “Everyone wanted to hear the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Kosovo and Metohija. At all the meetings the delegation presented its collocutors with a copy of the Ten Basic Principles of the Holy Synod of Bishops, which we reduced to the four most important ones during the talks: protection of churches and monasteries and the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, the issue of returns, restitution and decentralization. Everyone in the U.S.A. understands that Kosovo and Metohija are an important factor for the stability of the entire region. We expanded on that knowledge with facts from the history of this centuries-old Serbian region.” In his further remarks, Bishop Jovan emphasized that all members of the delegation acted as representatives of the Church and that their speech was the speech of the Church but they had embarked on their trip to the U.S.A. with the knowledge of Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and President Boris Tadic. The bishop emphasized that the positions of the Serbian Orthodox Church were identical with the positions of the Serbian state. At the end of his introduction, Bishop Jovan turned the podium over to Fr. Irinej Dobrijevic.

Fr. Irinej listed all the U.S. institutions where the delegation held important meetings and the names of its collocutors. He placed emphasis on the visits to the White House, the State Department and the National Security Council. Fr. Irinej emphasized that the SOC delegation also met with the ambassadors of the Contact Group member countries, and that during its stay in New York it visited the United Nations, where talks on the security of the Serbian people and its holy shrines in Kosovo and Metohija were discussed. Finally, Fr. Irinej emphasized talks with representatives of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), especially the head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, His Beatitude Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, head of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church in the U.S.A.

After Bishop Jovan and Fr. Irinej’s introductory remarks, the members of the delegation answered questions from the journalists in attendance, most of then related to the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in resolving the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the return of Serb refugees, restitution of property, inter-faith cooperation in Kosovo and Metohija, and whether anything had changed since last year when a delegation of the SOC visited the U.S.A. for the first time. Vicar Bishop Teodosije, Bishop Grigorije and Prof. Dr. Bogoljub Sijakovic answered most of these questions.

Prof. Dr. Bogoljub Sijakovic emphasized that the goal of the delegation was not to prejudice the resolution of status and that the delegation did not go the U.S.A. for political purposes but in the capacity of a church delegation of interest to the collocutors in the U.S.A. before religion is an important factor for them. They assessed that the Serbian Orthodox Church has a large influence on society. In the U.S. religion is respected because it can be useful in politics only if it is defined as responsible activities for the benefit of the community. Prof. Sijakovic emphasized that the U.S. respects the Serbs in the sense of the integration of the entire Balkans, which as such would enter into Europe. The potential of the Serbian Orthodox Church is enormous by the very fact that it has a well-organized infrastructure of about 6,000 parishes in the Balkans.

Vicar Bishop Teodosije emphasized that there have been inter-faith meetings with representatives of all religions in Kosovo and Metohija but only on neutral terrain. The Serbian Orthodox Church offered to organize a conference in the Pec Patriarchate, which was accepted with enthusiasm by the U.S.A. but the Albanian side delayed the holding of this very important conference on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. As far as restitution was concerned, Bishop Teodosije emphasized that this painful issue will be addressed during meetings between Serbs and Albanians taking place in Vienna. All collocutors were aware of the fact that Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church owned a large number of land parcels. The bishop stated by way of example that the land confiscated from Decani Monastery can be returned very easily and quickly. The issue of restitution should be resolved in harmony with International Law.

When asked by reporters to reduce the four most important topics into one, Bishop Grigorije replied that this was impossible because each one followed from another. “You cannot consider restoration without refugee returns, nor refugee returns without guaranteed security.” Bishop Grigorije emphasized that with respect to decentralization members of the delegation proposed that Serb local self-administration have direct ties with Belgrade and Serbia. The bishop underscored the proposal of Prof. Sijakovic that corridors with Serbia connect the enclaves, which is nothing new because similar examples exist in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation where Gorazde, even though geographically separated, is connected by a corridor to the Federation.

For the U.S. collocutors the survival of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija means the survival of multinational Kosovo and Metohija and the survival of Serbs in the region, which would ensure the survival of the churches and monasteries, and mean that the traces of a Christian culture and civilization will not be destroyed. If there is no multiethnic Kosovo and Metohija, then no European troop presence is necessary.

Bishop Grigorije also addressed the talks with the ambassadors of the Contact Group member countries, especially with the ambassador of England, who wanted the chief topic of the talks to be cooperation with the Hague tribunal. The bishop emphasized that the churches of the Serbian Orthodox Church are open and that anyone can visit them at any time, and that the accusation that the Serbian Orthodox Church is supporting Hague indictees in inexcusable. By the same token, it is paradoxical that the West accused the Serbian Church of cooperating with the Communist regime of Slobodan Milosevic while, on the other hand, no religious service or service for the deceased took place at his funeral. The biggest mistake of the West is attempting to find the Hague tribunal indictees through the tabloids, and that is what resulted in the fateful attack on Orthodox priest Jeremija Starovlah and his family, during which Father Jeremija and his son were severely beaten. At the end of his exposition, Bishop Grigorije repeated the position of U.S. officials conveyed to the SOC delegation, which is that Serbia-Montenegro has a leadership role in the Balkans.

At the conclusion of the press conference Bishop Jovan thanked all those in attendance and emphasized that the visit of the Serbian Orthodox Church delegation to the United States of America to testify regarding the situation in Kosovo and Metohija was very important because everything the delegation said on that occasion has been taken into consideration.

SERB YOUTH STABBED WITH A KNIFE IN KOSOVSKA MITROVICA

The night of March 28, 2006, two young men stabbed Milisav Ilincic (19) with a knife in the northern, Serb part of Kosovska Mitrovica near the Ibar River Bridge, which immediately provoked a protest gathering of Serbs.

Ilincic was operated on in the hospital and physicians said that the wounds that he sustained are life threatening. Witnesses testified that the two young men who attacked the Serb youth afterwards fled to the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, inhabited exclusively by Albanians.

According to witnesses, at the moment of the attack Ilincic was near the Ibar River bridge with his girlfriend, and he was attacked suddenly. On the bridge that separates Kosovska Mitrovica into Serb and Albanian parts were members of the Kosovo Police Service and international police but they did not react after the attack.

The attack has caused indignation among Serbs in the north part of the city, who gathered near the bridge in great number. They are protesting and demanding that representatives of the international administration and police ensure peace and security. Military and police units quickly arrived at the bridge and launched an investigation.

MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF BISHOPS OF SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DIOCESES IN CROATIA

The Council of Bishops met on Thursday, March 23, 2006, in the residence of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana. All the bishops from the territory of the Republic of Croatia participated in this important meeting. His Eminence Metropolitan Jovan of Zagreb-Ljubljana and All Italy, the chair of the Council, and Their Graces Bishop Lukijan of Osijek Polje and Baranja, Bishop Sava of Slavonija, Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia and Bishop Gerasim of Gornji Karlovac discussed allocation of state funding to the dioceses, changes and amendments to the Agreement of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia, and the restoration of parish homes. During the second part of the meeting the hierarchs spoke about the issue of church marriages and its legal validity before the state, and the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla.

During the course of the talks the Council concluded that changes and amendments to the Agreement of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Government of the Republic of Croatia are necessary. With respect to this issue it is important to prepare well and hold talks for harmonizing the required changes with the appropriate officials. The restoration of destroyed churches and other church sites is unfolding rather slowly, the Council concluded, although quite a few things have been done and it cannot be said that nothing is being done with regard to this issue. With respect to the issue of church marriage and its legal validity before the state, the Council concluded that it is necessary to submit a list of all priests by diocese to local registrar’s offices and clarify the administrative procedure involved for registration and necessary documentation to do this. In the year of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla, the Council decided that the Church would celebrate this important event in prayerful gathering.

Source: Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION PRIMER

The president of the Council of the Serbian National Minority of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vukovar and Srem Mr. Jovan Ajdukovic and Council secretary Mr. Milos Eric presented His Grace Bishop Lukijan of Osijek Polje and Baranja with 1,500 copies of “Azbucnik Veronauke” (“The Religious Instruction Primer”). The books were presented to the bishop at the end of last month in the offices of the Patriarchal Residence in Dalj and are intended primarily for pupils attending Orthodox catechesis. This small booklet of religious instruction is published with the financial support of the Council of the Serbian National Minority of the City of Zagreb.

Bishop Lukijan expressed his thanks for the donation and emphasized that this is a sign that Serb institutions are thinking of children and the Orthodox faithful. At the same time the bishop announced the publishing of another booklet explaining the Holy Liturgies, which will be published with his blessing and given to faithful of the Diocese of Osijek Polje and Baranja. The printing of this book is planned before Easter so that on that great feast day it can be presented to all the Orthodox faithful on the territory of the Diocese.

Source: Diocese of Osijek Polje and Baranja

COUNCIL OF THE SERBIAN NATIONAL MINORITY OF VUKOVAR-SREM CELEBRATES ITS PATRONAL FEAST, ST SIMEON THE MYRRH-GUSHER

The Council of the Serbian National Minority of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vukovar and Srem celebrated its patronal feast, St. Simeon the Myrrh-Gusher on February 26, 2006. This year’s celebration was held in Negoslavci and was hosted by Mr. Dusan Jeckov, the mayor of Negoslavci municipality.

The Council of the Serbian National Minority of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vukovar and Srem has decided that the Council’s patronal feast will be celebrated in a different Serb village every year.

The cutting of the slava cake and the blessing of the slava wheat were carried out by Abbot Isaija Lukic and Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Dusan Markovic. Prof. Sretenka Caovic, the chairwoman of the Board of Education of the Council of the Serbian National Minority of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vukovar and Srem, then spoke about the Council’s protector and patron, St. Simeon the Myrrh-Gusher. Students of the Economic Secondary School and the Negoslavci Primary School prepared a recital for the occasion.

Source: Diocese of Osijek Polje and Baranja

ST PETER OF CETINJE CHAMBER CHOIR IN CONCERT IN NIKSIC

St. Peter of Cetinje Seminary in Cetinje and the brotherhoods of Orthodox youth from Podgorica and Niksic organized a concert by the St. Peter of Cetinje choir with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje and Niksic. The concert took place on Saturday, March 25, 2006, in Niksic, which also served to promote the compact disk of the St. Peter of Cetinje Chamber Choir.

The compact disk by the St. Peter of Cetinje Chamber Choir includes twenty liturgical songs. It was published in 2005 with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral.

During the concert in Niksic the choir performed liturgical chants as well as several authentic Serbian folk songs. The audience had an opportunity to hear songs celebrating God and His love with which the choir achieved significant results under the direction of Prof. Mihailo Lazarevic. Recently the Chamber Choir took part in the “Choirs among the Frescoes” event in Belgrade, the Yugoslav Choir Festival in Nis, the Festival of Chamber Choirs in Kragujevac, the Assembly of Choirs of the Homeland and Abroad in Belgrade, and the Days of Mokranjac event held last year in Negotin.

Source: Svetigora (S.C./ S.K.)