Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
February 19, 2007

THE NEED TO PROTECT THE CYRILLIC ALPHABET

His Grace Bishop Irinej (Bulovic) of Backa stated yesterday that the Serbian alphabet is in danger of becoming extinct and that the task of the government is to protect it. “All European nations nurture their alphabets and it is only the Serbian people that act ruggedly towards Cyrillic. However, this suicidal, uncivilized madness cannot be prevented with only directives but with examples,” said the bishop in his opening address at the annual assembly of the “Cyrillic” Society held at the Matica Srpska Library.

The Latin alphabet, which we are using more regularly, is in fact, according to the Bishop, the Croatian alphabet. “Of course we need to know all the forms of the Latin alphabet but not to commit a spiritual genocide on our own. In this specific instance, therefore, we are not being endangered by others but we are working against ourselves,” Bishop Irinej pointed out. The assembly was opened by the President of the executive board of the society Mr. Dragoljub Zbiljic. After taking a moment to remember the first president Vera Davidovic who passed away in February of last year, reports were heard of the work of this organization in the previous year as well as plans for the current one.

In his opening remarks Zbiljic pointed out that Serbs are the only people in Europe that do not have a sufficiently equable standard language and have not resolved the question of the alphabet.