Ecumenical Patriarch: Serbian Church knows to oppose to injustice and force with Sacrifice and Power of Cross

His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, accompanied by Their Graces Bishops Hrizostom of Zica, Irinej of Backa, Jovan of Sumadija and Andrej of Remesiana and deacon Aleksandar Sekulic, ends today its first peaceful visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate afther the election and the introduction to the throne of the Serbian Patriarchs.

After that there will be also visits to other Orthodox autocephalous Churches according to their canonical order, which is a usual praxis following the election of the first hiearch, by which the unity of the Orthodox Church is visibly expressed.

The delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, led by His Holiness Irinej,  at the airport in Istanbul on Friday afternoon, on behalf of Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, was welcomed by Metropolitan Emanuel of France who is also the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the European Union, along with Metropolitan Genady of Sasim and archdeacon Maxim.

Upon the arrival in Fanar, Serbian Patriarch was officially welcomed in the Cathedral church with sounds of the bells, glorification and many years, in the presence of many believers and pilgrims from Greece and other Orthodox believers.

Then there was an official reception at His All-Holiness Bartholomew and later in the evening, the solemn dinner in the most beautiful part of Bosphor, which was attended besides our delegation also by Katolikos and Patriarch Elijah of Georgia, Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Dura and All Albania and Archbishop Dimitrios - the first hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, and many officials from Greece who came to mark the 20th anniversary of the enthronment of Patriarch Bartholomew.

On this occasion greetings from president, prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of Turkey, and the ambassador of the United States of America in Turkey gave a gift of the US President to Ecumenical Patriarch.

On Saturday, October 22, 2011, the delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church participated at the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy, and later on the afternoon solemn reception in Galata, with many officials from Turkey and abroad, representatives of Churches and religious communities, diplomatic corps, high officials, artsmen, journalists, representatives of culture and bussiness world.

The most solemn was on Sunday, October 23, on the feast day of Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, when Patriarch of Constantinople and Serbian Patriarch, with the concelebration of Their Graces Bishops and the members of the entourage served the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral church. They were concelebrated by Archbishop Dimitrios and members of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: Metropolitan John of Pergam, Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia and Metropolitan Dimitrios of Sevastia.

In the full church Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addresing Serbian Patriarch Irinej, especially talk about the struggle of the Serbian people and the significance of the preservation of the historical craddle of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija.

Source: The Service for Inter-church relations of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, photo: www.amen.gr, www.spc.rs