Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Remembered in Rakovica

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the repose of Patriarch Paul (Stojcevic) of Serbia of thrice blessed memory. The day was marked at Serbia's Rakovica Monastery of the Trinity, where Patriarch Paul was buried, with a memorial Divine Liturgy led by Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) and attended by the Serbian president and prime minister as well as other hierarchs and prominent Serbs. More here.

Macedonian Orthodox Holy Synod Open to Dialogue with Serbian Orthodox Church

The Holy Synod of the independent Macedonian Orthodox Church has welcomed the statement of the President of Serbia calling for a resumption of dialogue between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches concerning the canonical situation of the former, which unilaterally separated from the Church of Serbia in 1967 to restore the autocephaly of the ancient Archdiocese of Ohrid, which had been suppressed by the Ottoman government in 1767. More in Macedonian here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Illinois Monasteries

Patriarch Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) of Pech has made a pastoral visit to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Midwestern America, stopping at both the patriarchal Monastery of St. Sava in Libertyville and the region's diocesan seat, the Nova Gracanica Monastery of the Protection in Grayslake. During his time at Nova Gracanica the patriarch stressed the unity of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the former Yugoslavia and worldwide. More here and here.

Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan Returns to Argentina

Metropolitan Amphilochius (Radovic) of the Orthodox Church in Montenegro has begun a pastoral visit to the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Buenos Aires and South America, of which he is currently administrator per the decision of the Serbian Orthodox Holy Synod when it established the new diocese. Traveling with Metropolitan Amphilochius were two priests newly assigned to Serbian Orthodox parishes in Argentina.

In addition to his visits to Argentina's Serbian Orthodox parishes Metropolitan Amphilochius will also concelebrate at the consecration of a new auxiliary bishop for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Buenos Aires. More here.

Montenegrin Orthodox Metropolitan Visits Macedonia

Metropolitan Amphilochius (Radovic) of Cetinje, leader of the Orthodox Church in Montenegro, has undertaken a three-day visit to Macedonia and the Serbian Orthodox Church's autonomous Archdiocese of Ohrid there. While in Macedonia Metropolitan Amphilochius met with the bishops of the autonomous Macedonian Orthodox Church, visited some of its monasteries and parishes, and discussed the situation of Archbishop John VI (Vraniskovski) of Ohrid, who has been imprisoned for the sixth time by the Macedonian authorities. More in Serbian here.

Serbian Orthodox Holy Synod Threatens Schism with Romanian Orthodox Church, Glorifies New Martyrs

At its recent session earlier this week the full Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church (the Holy Assembly of Bishops) reiterated its repeated protests to the Bucharest Patriarchate over the schismatic intrusions of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the canonical territory of the Church of Serbia and stated that if the Romanian Orthodox Church does not stop uncanonically celebrating services in eastern Serbia without the permission of the local hierarchy that it would follow the example of the Church of Jerusalem and break communion with the Bucharest Patriarchate.

During its session the full Holy Synod also protested the ongoing persecution of the autonomous Macedonian Orthodox Church by the Macedonian government, glorified the Holy New Martyrs of Momisici of the Turkish Yoke, and discussed the division of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Sremski Karlovci (currently the largest of the Serbian Orthodox Church) into several more manageable dioceses. More (in Serbian) here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Western United States

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech has undertaken a pastoral visit to the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Alhambra and Western America, celebrating the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple at St. Sava's Church in Phoenix, Arizona, and also visiting the Monasteries of Sts. Paisius and Anthony in Safford and Florence respectively. More here.

Serbian FM Calls for Preservation of Orthodox Monuments in Kosovo

In his address to the recent UNESCO General Conference Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic presented the Serbian government's opinion that Kosovo's Serbian Orthodox monuments cannot be transferred to the ownership of the independent Kosovar government since the preservation of Kosovo's rich Serbian heritage conflicts with the new state's efforts to emphasize its Albanian identity. More here.

Montenegrin Orthodox Metropolitan Visits Argentina

Metropolitan Amfilohije (Radovic) of the Orthodox Church in Montenegro has begun a pastoral visit to Argentina in his capacity as administrator of the newly established Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Buenos Aires and Latin America. The new diocese encompasses all of Latin America (with the exception of Mexico), with parishes and missions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela. More (in Serbian) on Metropolitan Amfilohije's ongoing visit to South America can be found here.

Serbian Orthodox Seminary to Reopen in Kosovo

The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Raska and Prizren has announced that reconstruction of the diocesan seminary in Prizren has begun and that it will be reopened in the future. The seminary was one of the many institutions of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo destroyed following the region's takeover by NATO. More here.

Kosovo's Cemeteries in Poor State

The Kosovo-Metohija mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has released a report on the state of the breakaway region's Serb cemeteries, which receive little to no attention from local authorities and are in an increasingly poor condition. Of the 392 cemeteries in central and southern Kosovo surveyed in the report 229 were listed as being in a poor or bad condition. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Supports Northern Kosovar Roadblocks

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of the Serbian Orthodox Church has spoken in defense of the right of northern Kosovo's Serbs to maintain their political and economic ties with Serbia in the face of opposition from the Kosovar government and the international community, which want the borders between Kosovo and Serbia to be placed under the control of KFOR and the Kosovar government. Patriarch Irinej expressed his support for Kosovo's Serbs after festal services in honor of the Protection in Pech, Kosovo. More here and here.

Serbian Patriarch, Czechoslovak Metropolitan Mark Anniversary in Belgrade

Metropolitan Krystof (Pulec) of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church has visited Belgrade to concelebrate the festal Divine Liturgy for the Cross on the 90th anniversary of the enthronement of St. Gorazd of Prague by the Serbian Orthodox Church as diocesan hierarch of the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia. The festal services were concelebrated by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech and clergy of the Russian, Serbian, Czechoslovak, and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. More (in Greek) here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Leads Jajinci Memorial in Belgrade

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech led a memorial today at Jajinci in Belgrade for the victims of the mass executions in Serbia during World War II that resulted in the deaths of 80,000 Serbs, Roma, and Jews. The commemorative events were attended by Serbian President Boris Tadic, other prominent Serbian officials, and veterans and survivors of the Holocaust in Serbia. More (in Serbian) here.

Montenegrin Orthodox Episcopal Council Meets

The Episcopal Council of the Orthodox Church in Montenegro has held a session near Danilovgrad, Montenegro, with Metropolitan Amfilohije of Cetinje, Bishops Filaret (Micevic) of Mileseva, Joanikije (Micovic) of Budimlje, and Grigorije (Duric) of Zahumlje, and retired Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje participating. (The diocesan boundaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church don't always correspond to current territorial realities, hence the inclusion in the Episcopal Council of hierarchs based in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.)

The assembled hierarchs discussed at length the need for legal regulation of the relationship between the Montenegrin government and the Church of Montenegro that would respect the former's non-interference in the canonical structure and internal life of the Church. At its close the Council reiterated the Church of Montenegro's commitment to caring for the spiritual needs of all the Orthodox faithful in Montenegro regardless of their ethnic or political background. More (in Serbian) here.

New Bishop of Lipljan Consecrated in Pech

This past Sunday Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) and several other hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Jovan (Culibrk) as Bishop of Lipljan at the seat of the Patriarchate in Pech, Kosovo. More (in Serbian) here.

Prizren Diocese Supports KFOR-Serbia Interim Agreement

The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Raska and Prizren has appealed to its flock in largely Serb northern Kosovo to support the interim agreement reached between the Serbian government and the KFOR over the management of the border crossings in the region between Kosovo and Serbia, arguing that support of the agreement will return peace to northern Kosovo while also displaying the trust of the area's residents in Serbia. More (in Serbian) here.

Bishop Jovan of Nish Enthroned

Bishop Jovan (Puric) of Nish has been enthroned in his eparchy by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech and twelve other hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church. More here. Bishop Jovan's homily at the enthronement services can be found here.

Victims of Operation Storm Commemorated in Belgrade

Bishop Atanasije of Hvosno, auxiliary to the Serbian Orthodox patriarch, led a memorial today in Belgrade's Church of St. Mark in the presence of Serbian President Boris Tadic, other Serbian officials, and a large number of the city's faithful to commemorate the victims of Operation Storm, the offensive by Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina that killed over 3,000 Serbs in Slavonia and Bosnia and resulted in the expulsion of roughly 340,000 Serbs from Slavonia and Muslim-occupied Bosnia.

Although some of the operation's perpetrators have been sentenced by The Hague, the refugees have yet to be allowed to return to Slavonia or Bosnia to reclaim their properties. More here and (in Serbian) here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Visiting Montenegro

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech has begun a pastoral visit to Montenegro today, which will be his first to the country's Eparchy of Budimlje and Niksic. More here.