| The UOC Primate expressed concern over the deterioration of the Serbian Church in the territory of Montenegro and the threat of forcible seizure of its shrines. His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. Photo: UNN On August 20, 2019, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine sent an address to the Metropolitan Amphilochios of Montenegro and the Littoral in light of the discrimination of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro and expressed his support for him. Below is the full text of the document. A letter from His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry to Archbishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan Amphilochios of Montenegro and the Littoral. Your Eminence! Most Honourable Vladyka Amphilochios! It is with deep sorrow that we receive reports on the deteriorating situation of the Orthodox Church in Montenegro. The news that comes to us speaks of the threat of forcible expropriation of the shrines and wanton destruction of certain places of prayer worship, as well as many other acts of violence that cannot but disturb our souls and hearts. We are also aware of the recent bill, promulgated by the Montenegrin state authorities, which is aimed at taking a number of discriminatory measures against the Montenegrin-Littoral Metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church in terms of its Church property. Unfortunately, all this happens in the wake of the support of nationalist sentiments by politicians and other stakeholders, alien to the nature of the Church, in order to separate Orthodoxy in Montenegro from the ancient tradition of the Serbian people. These trials of Montenegrin believers are especially empathized in Ukraine, where the persecution of Holy Orthodoxy by individual agents of our Ukrainian state does not stop either. The clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are still confronted with a similar situation when some politicians, for the sake of the immediate secular interests, continue to tear the Body of the Church of Christ and introduce the spirit of secularism into the church sphere. Therefore, our hearts beat in unison offering prayers for each other today. |
| Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej said while in London last week that Christian churches " must find ways to put aside that which possibly divides us. " Speaking during his meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Lambeth Palace, he also noted that “in today’s times, saturated with confusion and unrest” churches must “seek ways which allow us to approach each other more closely.” “But at the same time to build from within that which is common to us – and indeed there is much in common between you and us, both of us and the Roman Catholics, and, of course, the Protestant world,” Irinej has been quoted as saying. “It is on that foundation that we need to build our common relationships. I trust this is the will of God, and that this is what God expects from us. This is why we need to be servants of the mission, of evangelization in our times and in our world,” the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church said. Lambeth Palace also announced that Archbishop Welby welcomed Patriarch Irinej on the centenary of the visit of St. Nikolaj Velimirovic, who was the first Orthodox Christian to preach from pulpit of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The invitation to Patriarch Irinej to make an official visit to the UK came “as an expression of the historic warm and strong relationship between the Church of England and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which reflects the enduring friendship of the two countries.” The conversation, meanwhile, was an occasion of “significant conversation and warm fellowship between them and their delegations, which signals a renewal of the longstanding and close relationship between the Church of England and the Serbian Orthodox Church,” a statement said. The two delegations “reflected together among other things, on the spiritual life of our churches; our work with young people, the poor and refugees, the problems of modern society, the renewal of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the household as the place of spiritual nurture and devotion, following the collapse of communism.” |
| Montenegrin Police Beat Serbian Bishop, Faithful Protesting Adoption of Anti-Church Law Source: OrthoChristian Photo: mitropolija.com Despite strong protests from the hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the majority religion in the country, the Montenegrin Parliament adopted the anti-Church law “On Freedom of Religion and Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities” on December 26. Large crowds of Orthodox faithful took to the streets in several cities and towns to protest the new law, which resulted in the Montenegrin police severely beating His Grace Bishop Metodije of Diokleia and several faithful with batons, reports the official website of the Metropolis of Montenegro . “The bishop and individual believers were knocked to the ground and beaten with batons and kicked,” the site relates. “Two worshippers who tried to protect him were also wounded. One suffered a broken hip and the other a broken collarbone,” the report continues. Both were admitted to the hospital in the town of Pljevlja. The incident occurred on the urevia Tara Bridge, located at the crossroads between Mojkovac, abljak, and Pljevlja. “This act best confirmed the truth of the words of Prime Minister Markovi, who said in the Assembly that the police should not use force against believers, and shows what kind of law on religious freedom was being adopted, and how free the Church and the faithful people are in modern Montenegro,” the Church site reads. Every parish of the Serbian Church in Montenegro will develop its own committee to protect churches, monasteries, and shrines of the Serbian Church in the wake of the adoption of the new law that will allow the Montenegrin government to seize Church property, His Grace Bishop Joanikije of Budimlja-Nikši told protesters in Podgorica on December 27 . 45 out of 81 Deputies voted in favor of the law. There were no “no” votes or abstentions, as the police detained all the opposition Deputies, reports TASS . |
| On 25 May 2018, His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia completed his visit to Moscow. The Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church was accompanied on his visit by Bishop Irinej of Baka; Archimandrite Isihije (Rogi), abbot of the Kovilj Monastery, Bishop elect of Moha; Deacon Aleksandar Prascevi, head of the Patriarchal Office; and Mr. Dejan Naki, personal secretary to the Patriarch and director of the Belgrade archdiocesan workshop. Among those seeing off His Holiness Patriarch Irinej at the Sheremetyevo Airport were Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; Bishop Ioann of Domodedovo; Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR vice-chairman; Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations; Mr. Valery Alexeyev, president of the International Public Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations; Mr. Andrei Khoshev, DECR staff member; as well as Bishop Antonije of Moravica, rector of the Moscow Representation of the Serbian Orthodox Church. On May 23, a meeting between the Primates of the Russian and the Serbian Orthodox Churches took place at the Patriarchal working residence in Chysty side street in Moscow. His Holiness Patriarch Irinej received a prize of the International Public Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations. The award ceremony was held in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow on May 23. On May 24, commemoration day of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Equals to the Apostles and Enlighteners of the Slavs, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. After the service they arrived in Red Square to attend a festive concert that marked the Day of Slavonic Literature and Culture. Later the Primates of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches attended a reception at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. |
| Archive Bishop Irinej of Baka: " The Canonical Church in Ukraine remains to be the largest and predominant " 5 January 2022 year 19:27 On December 31, 2021, the Serbian weekly news magazine “Peat” published an interview with Bishop Irinej of Baka, in which, among other things, he shared his thoughts about similar historical ways of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, underlining the importance of maintaining fraternal relations between these two largest Local Orthodox Churches of the Slavic world. Touching upon the involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church in the beautification work in the church of St. Sava in Belgrade, Bishop Irinej said it was of “no small importance” that the “construction of the church of St. Sava in Vraar has been completed jointly by the Serbian and Russian master craftsmen and artists.” In this context, the bishop said: “The historical unity of the great and fraternal Russian people with our people of the same faith is the guiding light showing us the way to the future. It is important that the small Serbian boat continue to be securely tied to the big and powerful Russian ship.” Bishop Irinej devoted a large part of his talk to the sameness of the problems encountered by the canonical Churches in Ukraine and Montenegro. “The state of church affairs in Montenegro is just a miniature replica of the situation in Ukraine: the ethnic “engineering” is being employed in both cases,” he pointed out. “They in Montenegro are making desperate attempts to perpetuate the recently formed Montenegrin identity based on the negation of the Serbian roots and the centuries-long Serbian ethnic consciousness of the Montenegrins.” Bishop Irinej compared the situation in Montenegro with Ukraine and said: “Rus’ is the ancient historical name of the great Eastern Slavic country, which Peter the Great “Europeanized” and changed it to the literary word ‘Russia.’ Now, we can see the word Rus’ in the title of the Patriarch of Moscow and in the title of the schismatic ‘patriarch of Kiev,’ as well as in the name of people calling themselves Rusyns, or Rusnaks, who live in the Carpathian region and here in Baka and the Srem district. As far as the word Ukraine is concerned, it was only in the late 19th century that it started to oust by little and little the original name of pre-Petrine Rus’ and the Russians. In the 20th century the Bolsheviks, who proclaimed internationalism in theory, but in practice created the new and often artificial nations rooted in the anti-Russian matrix, granted the official status to the word ‘Ukraine,’ having made it the only permissible name of the country.” |
| Archive Пн Delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church visits the fold of the Serbian Orthodox Church 14 September 2023 year 11:11 On September 11, 2023, with a blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church – His Grace Bishop Konstantin of Zaraisk, Vicar to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill; Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, Vice-Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations – arrived to the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the morning, the delegation prayed at the liturgy in the church of St. George the Great Martyr in the city of Bijeljina, after which they were received by Bishop Fotije of Zvornik and Tuzla in his residence. Welcoming the guests, Bishop Fotije underscored the importance of strengthening fraternal ties between the Russian and the Serbian Orthodox Churches, such ties being very relevant these days when the Orthodox Christian unity is being tested by hardships. In his turn, Bishop Konstantin thanked His Eminence Fotije for his warm hospitality and conveyed greetings fr om His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Taking part in the meeting were also Father Superior in Bijeljina Archpriest Ljubo Bogdanovic, and cleric of the church of St. George The Great Martyr Archpriest Goran Nenic. On the same day, the guests visited the Convent of the Holy Trinity in Tavna, wh ere they were warmly welcomed by retired Bishop Konstantin (Jokic) and Mother Superior Martha. The delegation also visited the Convent of Venerable Paraskeva in Bijeljina, where they made a tour of the magnificent cathedral with the nave dedicated to all Russian saints. On September 12, during the feast of the transfer of relics of Holy and Most-Orthodox Prince St. Alexander Nevsky, Bishop Konstantin of Zaraisk and Bishop Fotije of Zvornik and Tuzla celebrated the liturgy at the monastery in Ugljevik dedicated to this saint. Among the concelebrants were hierarchs fr om the Russian, Serbian and Polish Orthodox Churches. With a blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, Bishop Konstantin presented the monastery with an icon of Holy and Most-Orthodox Prince St. Alexander Nevsky, with a particle of his relics. Among the worshipers were Mother Superior Philothea, Mayor V. Peric of Ugljevik, Chairman of the Russian All-People’s Union party Mr. S. N. Baburin, and numerous pilgrims and parishioners. The liturgy was followed by a procession with the cross and a traditional order of bread sharing. After that, the guests were invited to a solemn common meal. |
| Patriarch: Russian Orthodox Church shunned Crete’s Pan-Orthodox Council to avoid schism The Russian Orthodox Church made a last-minute decision to stay away from the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which took place on Crete, Greece, in July 2016 in a bid to avert a split, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill told journalists ahead of his 70th birthday. " Divisions followed almost every Council in history. They took place even after Ecumenical Councils. Therefore, nowadays we had to avert the risks of creating a new split. That is precisely why we agreed to adopting all the decisions by consensus. However, as it turned out at a meeting of the Church primates in Geneva, two Churches - the Church of Antioch and the Georgian Orthodox Church -broke the consensus by refusing to sign very important documents, " Patriarch Kirill explained. " Then the Serbian Orthodox Church said that it was necessary to postpone the Council. The Bulgarian Church refused to attend the gathering. The Church of Antioch and the Georgian Church followed suit. When we received all that information, we sent a letter to Constantinople suggesting that an urgent pan-Orthodox conference be convened to discuss our future steps and decide on what we are supposed to do because it was impossible to assemble the Council without consensus, " the head of the Russian Orthodox Church went on to say. A fundamental principle, which the primates of the local Orthodox Churches adopted at the pan-Orthodox Council, was that all the documents should be approved by consensus with an aim to avoid differences and divisions. " We stated once again that the documents which were supposed to be presented to the Council (on Crete) did not suit us in their present form and that we had serious amendments to those documents. We received a very impolite reply, which said that the Council would take place anyway, " Patriarch Kirill went on to say. " If the Council takes place in the absence of the necessary consensus, it means that we are giving up the common principles, which all of us approved. Besides, it would mean that we are simply creating conditions for a split in Orthodox Christianity, " the patriarch explained. He said that representatives of some Orthodox Churches had still travelled to Crete to attend the Council while others had refused: that automatically deprived that Council of its pan-Orthodox status. It was under those circumstances that our (Russian) Orthodox Church decided to stay away from the Council, " the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia stressed. Further action |
| Within 24 hours of the Orthodox Church celebrating Easter, three of its buildings around the world have gone up in flames. Firefighters battle a three-alarm fire in the historic Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava, Sunday, May 1, 2016, in New York. Photo: The Associated Press Orthodox churches in Sydney, Melbourne and New York all caught fire, although there appears to be no link between the blazes. In Sydney, the Macedonian Orthodox Church of the Resurrection was gutted following a fire that broke out about 10pm on Sunday. Less than 12 hours after the end of the Easter service, the Rockdale church, parts of which have been standing since the 1890s, was destroyed. Church treasurer Steve Kostovski says the blaze is doubly heartbreaking as the church did not have contents insurance for the building, which contained irreplaceable icons from around Europe. Three firefighters were injured and two were taken to hospital after being struck by bricks falling from the building, which investigators cannot enter until it is declared structurally safe. Australia’s second oldest Greek Orthodox church in East Melbourne was more fortunate, saved from a blaze on Monday afternoon. The cause of the fire at the 115-year-old Holy Church of Annunciation of Our Lady, is not believed to be suspicious, investigators say. No one was inside at the time of the fire at 1.30pm, which was mainly contained to the roof. In the US, a Serbian Orthodox church has been gutted in New York. The blaze started on Sunday evening local time at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St Sava in Manhattan, sending smoke plumes billowing into the sky and completely destroying the roof of the Gothic Revival style building. The church was built in the early 1850s and was designated a city landmark in 1968. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| Bishops of Local Orthodox Churches Express Support to Lvov Diocese of Ukrainian Orthodox Church Over Arson Attack on Church of St. Vladimir in Lvov Source: DECR Following an arson attack on the Church of St. Vladimir in Lvov, which occurred on February 3, 2018, Archbishop Philaret of Lvov and Galich keeps receiving letters from hierarchs of the Local Orthodox Churches. On February 3, a letter from Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje and Nikši (Serbian Orthodox Church) came, in which he condemned the actions of the arsonists and expressed his support to the archpastor, clergy and laypeople of the Lvov diocese. “It is hard to believe that in the country, to which the holy prince had brought the light of Christ’s Gospel, his churches are being subjected to arsons. This crime could only be committed by those who are completely devoid of Christian ethics and respect for the fundamental right of every human being to have his/her own house of prayer,” the message reads, in particular. Bishop Joanikije also expressed his hope that the law enforcement agencies would do all within their power to find the criminals and would defend the right of believers to have their churches where they meet with God. While referring to the arson attack on the church in Lvov and to the sorrows of the Church throughout its history, Bishop Jovan of Pakrac and Slavonia (Serbian Orthodox Church), mentioned in this context death camps in Jasenovac in Croatia, “where in the 20th century the blood of hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians was shed by those who also called themselves Christians.” He assured Archbishop Philaret of his prayers and promised to raise the problem of sufferings and discrimination of the clergy and laypeople of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church while interacting with international organizations. Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veroia, Naousa and Kampania (Orthodox Church of Greece) called the arson a sacrilegious act, regardless of who had committed it, as well as a shameful and mean manifestation of religious intolerance, and also assured Archbishop Philaret of his support. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy The Serbian Patriarch pointed to the escalating intolerance of the Ukrainian authorities towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church DECR Communication Service, 27.02.2024. In response to the message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus " in which His Holiness shared his alarm over the consideration in the first reading of the discriminatory draft bill No. 8371 by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia suggested that this draft law " serves a hidden purpose - to completely prevent the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from further fulfilling its centuries-old salvific mission among the heirs of ancient Kievan Rus " . " " Being sincerely alarmed by the escalating intolerance of the Ukrainian authorities towards the only canonical Church in Ukraine, we are particularly concerned about their intention to give this lawlessness legitimacy through the adoption of discriminatory laws, " the Serbian Patriarch emphasised. - " Therefore, always and everywhere, according to the opportunities available to us, we bear witness to the suffering of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, appealing to all the representatives of the international community who use their power to prevent this injustice. The highest archpastoral authorities of Our Holy Church do not cease to call upon Our faithful people to pray for the Ukrainian Orthodox brethren and, if possible, to provide material and non-material assistance to those who have suffered damage in the conditions of hostilities and as a result of persecution by the godless authorities. " " We rely only on the Lord and pray to Him that He may remember, through the prayerful intercession of Our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God, the suffering people of Ukraine and grant them speedy deliverance from all the calamities that have befallen them, " His Holiness Patriarch Porphyrios emphasised. He assured that the Serbian Church will continue to " pray fervently for the long-suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church and will continue to provide its hierarchy, clergy and faithful with every other kind of support that would help them to overcome all the trials they are currently experiencing " . |
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