Sermon of Bishop Teodosije

ERP KIM Info-Service
Decani, June 22, 2004

We are enclosing the full text of the Sermon of Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan. The sermon was given upon Fr. Teodosije's consecration to the Bishop in the church of Visoki Decani Monastery on June 20, 2004:

O Lord,  O Lord, I cry unto the, look down from heaven and bless Thy vineyard which Thou hast established and blessed with your right hand (a prayer read by Bishop when he blesses the congregation with dikyria and trikyria) - click to enlarge

Your Holiness, Your Eminences, brother Hierarchs, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters,

May the Lord celebrated in Three Persons be blessed: the pre-eternal Father, His consubstantial Son and the consoling Holy Spirit. May His name be blessed, may His providence be blessed, may His love be blessed.

I begin these words of my address by blessing the living and true Lord because the most important thing of all is precisely this: that we always call upon the Lord in our prayers, that we always thank the Lord for all He gives us and that we begin all we do in this life with the Lord.

I thank the Lord, first of all, for creating me and giving me being in His pre-eternal providence; for giving me life and especially, for initiating me in a new life - in His Church - Holy, Apostolic and Orthodox.

Today I have even more reason to bless and thank the Lord that Your Holiness and the Fathers of the Church, who are Christ's desciples and the heirs of the Apostles, have initiated me in the blessing and service of the bishop's office.

This is the blessing and service of Christ the Lord Himself who is, in the words of the holy Apostle, "the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls" (1 Peter 2:25). He is the Pastor and Archpastor of His Holy Church; consequently, through the Holy Assembly of Bishops and your divinely blessed hands, brother Hierarchs, He has also initiated me into office, initiated me into the blessing and service of the protopastors of His Church.

To be a bishop of the Church of Christ means first and foremost to be a servant - "even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28); to serve God Almighty and those close by in whom Christ himself lives and resides, especially in "the least of these my brethren" (Matthew 25:40) to whom He promised His Heavenly Kingdom.
 
In this transient, earthly life, we have nothing higher than pastoral service for it is dedicated to the greatest and highest act, which is the salvation of human souls. A true pastor, a true bishop of God's Church must take care of the flock entrusted him by "the great shepherd" (Hebrews 13:20) Jesus Our Lord Christ and do so for every soul individually.

The Lord speaks to us and calls on us through his prophet Ezekiel: I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down... I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice. (Ezekiel 34:15-16).

All the sublimity and greatness of episcopal dignity lies precisely in service. A true bishop must share daily in love the suffering of one's flock and to burn continuously with holy zeal for the salvation of the souls of God's people entrusted to him; to strive continuously toward their spiritual renewal so that all may achieve spiritual perfection – "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).

Thus I am well aware, Your Holiness and brother Hierarchs, that the Lord has also called me, as He once called his His Patriarchs, His Prophets, His Apostles and His Bishops to the cross, that he has invited me on the path to Golgotha. But I also know that this is the only path that leads to resurrection, and that only by the Cross can we triumph over all that obstructs our eternal life. Hence I now need more than ever before your prayers and your paternal advice without which I would not be able to carry this burden and all the responsibilities you have entrusted to me. I do not rely so much on my own strength as on the help of the Lord and your holy prayers.

I am immeasurably grateful to the Lord that I belong to the people in which I was born, in which I was baptized and in which I was consecrated today. The Serbian people, like every other people, is a people of God; a people that has followed and is following Christ's path. I am happy that the Lord has given me the opportunity of serving him in this high office as our holy forefathers served Him; our Holy Fathers, from Sts. Cyril and Methodius to St. Sava and the other saints to the Holy King and patron of this holy family in whose holy shrine I, unworthy and the least among the servants of Christ, accepted this pledge to the Holy Spirit.

This is yet another important reason for my giving thanks to God; that it is in this very holy monastery, the endowment of a king and martyr, Visoki Decani, that I experienced this greatest of blessings. Today, more than ever before, Decani is important for the survival of the Serbs both in this region and for those who living abroad all across God's Earth. St. Stefan built part of himself into Decani and breathed some of heaven into the monastery. For that reason it still stands today, firmly resolute and resistant to every earthly catastrophe and leading us to the heavens and prototype Christ, making us blessedly unsusceptible to all dangers that surround us.

I am aware of the sort of time in which I have become a bishop; I am also aware under what circumstances; I am aware of all the difficulties and dangers that await me. But I am not alone and we are not alone. "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:20) said Christ the Lord and sent the Holy Spirit to console us and that act continues to the present day. The Lord's is the presence, the Lord's is the act, from the Lord comes every success. And in this all we are but associates of the Lord, as our Holy Patriarch, who is present here with us, frequently says.

Thank you, Your Holiness; thank you, Hierarchal Fathers. Thank you for once again confirming that your heart and your soul is right here in Kosovo and Metohija. By your arrival, your sacrifice, your endless love you have confirmed your choice and given us an example so that we today may serve in this place to death and blood; that we may survive together with our much-suffering and much-persecuted people in this region.

Bishop of Lipljan Teodosije blessing the congregation (click to enlarge)

Thanks to my honorable and modest parents, my father Milan and mother Biljana - now Sister Marta, a nun - for bearing me and educating me in modesty and honest. I thank God for my mother, who not only physically gave birth to me but spiritually directed me to strive and to serve the Living Lord with all my being; who is today made happiest of all by this distinct honor. She is here with us today as nun, having offered to the Lord all that she had and ultimately herself, seeing only the Lord who promised that "to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14).

Thanks also to all my teachers who taught me to fear God and led me toward this path; first and foremost, Father Dmitar, the parish priest of the church in Pozega, who was my first religious instructor, receiving me and teaching me the alphabet of spiritual and church life. I am endlessly grateful to the Lord for directing me to the Theological Faculty at the right time, where I met the greatest theologians and teachers of our Church among my fathers and professors, who are also present here today. They breathed the spirit of theology into me in the best possible fashion and taught me that the Church of God is a Living Church and that only through it and in it can we gain salvation; that only through the Divine Liturgy is the ultimate purpose of life revealed, both here on earth and in eternity; that only with faith can one truly leave and reaffirm one's faith by action.

I also thank His Holiness, Our Patriarch Pavle, then Bishop of Raska and Prizren, for his fatherly understanding of my decision to dedicate myself to the monastic calling and to be a monk in his diocese; who tonsured me in the small but for me very important Crna Reka Monastery, which later became a monastic center for this entire Diocese; who ordained me to the first level of the priesthood, elevating me the office of deacon in the Cathedral of St. George the Great-martyr in Prizren, which today lies in ruins at the hands of the enemy and where services are no longer held.

And the greatest thanks of all I give to my spiritual father and bishop, Artemije, who has been everything in my life: my parent, my teacher, my spiritual leader on the narrow and hard path of Christ (cit. Matthew 7:14); who carefully and patiently led me through the states of spiritual life - from novice to monk to the office of abbot to the present day when I received the greatest blessing here on earth - the blessing of the bishop's service. In addition to all the great and sublime things in which he has instructed me above all I stress that he has taught and built me on the foundation of the paternal blessing of the holy elder Avva Justin of Celije; that he has taught me how to truly serve the Lord with all my being, calmly and completely submitting to His Holy Will.

With full confidence he initiated me, then young and inexperienced in all things, to the abbot's office of this holy family at the same time never leaving me alone without his help and protection. His blessing always accompanied and protected me, especially during these most recent and most difficult times through which we all passed and still are passing on the way to Christ's Golgotha, suffering and confronted with dangers every day. He entrusted me with the brotherhood with whom I began my endeavors and life in this holy family, which through his prayers has increased into a richly bearing fruit whose branches today are visited by many who feed on its sweet spiritual fruits.

To my Decani brothers who are closest and dearest to me, thanks for everything for I feel that without them I would not exist either today in this holy place. I beseech their forgiveness at this time if I have ever harmed them or failed to understand or accept them in the proper fashion and I pray to the Lord and to the Holy King that protect us all in unity, harmony and steadfastness to the end of our earthly endeavor.

And to the Holy King, the founder of this Holy Family, I give the greatest thanks in my own name and the name of all the brotherhood; first and foremost, for selecting and calling upon us to serve him, for protecting and preserving us through days of hardship and difficulty, for giving us hope and joy, and leading us toward the eternal heavenly goal - the Kingdom of Heaven.

I have been called upon by the Holy Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church to help my spiritual father as bishop in the region of the much-suffering Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija. This is the highest honor I could have received  for my entire being is connected to this region, to this people and to its holy shrines. In Kosovo and Metohija all are persecuted, both the people and its centuries-old shrines. In this region there is more sorrow and tears than joy and children's smiles. But at the same time this people, passing through Christ's Golgotha, has been resurrected in Christ. We hope that this time will be no different.

That is why this is a holy land; this is the Serbian Jerusalem consecrated by God's name, following the path of God, living for the sake of God and service to God to the point of sacrifice and suffering for Him. At this time and from this place I call on all my cohabitants, the honest and honorable people of Metohija and Kosovo not to yield nor to wander from their path toward the eternal goal, toward eternal life. The Lord who called on us to take this path will protect us and save us when it is necessary but we must always remain near Him, believe in Him and place our hope in Him. Therefore, let us not readily depart from our centuries-old homes and renounce the patrimony of our fathers entrusted to us for safekeeping.

Metropolitan Ambrose of Kozani, representative of the Greek Orthodox Church, gives a gift to Bishop Teodosije. Bishop Irinaeus of Bachka (middle) translates the speech of Metropolitan Ambrose. (Click to enlarge)

At this sublime moment, I think not only of those who live upon the earth but also those who dwell in the heavens, who have left this earthly life; those who passed quietly from this life and those who were forcibly sent from it - victims of murder, slaughter, torture. I think of Father Gavrilo (Gabriel) - archdeacon, our brother; I think of Monk Hariton (Chariton), also our brother; and also of Hieromonk Stefan; and the slain children from Gorazdevac near Pec; and the recently slain Dimitrije (Popovic) from Gracanica. All of them were tortured and killed for Christ and for their Serbian name. By their innocent blood the Lord redeems the Serbian nation from all its misconceptions, wanderings and mistakes throughout history to the present day.

I would feel very insincere if I did not mention here before you "the good Samaritan" embodied in Italian KFOR, who keeps watch over us around the clock and care for us and without whose protection and assistance we could not survive here today. We have nothing with which to repay this great debt except our prayers to the Holy King that all the kindnesses they have brought to his holy shrine be returned in kind.

We also wish to thank our neighbors [Kosovo Albanians] with whom we share this piece of land under heaven. This holy shrine and its inhabitants have always served them well. Some returned the favor in kind; others did not. May God grant that some of them exist even today. I believe that there are those who do not condone this evil perpetrated against our holy shrines and people. May God be merciful toward all but, at the same time, may He be just.

Yet again I regret with a human heart and especially now with the heart of a bishop every human tear, every human victim, every drop of blood that has been spilled; every human being who perished, despite being created to live. That is why my message to all is this: let us not stop with the evil that tragically transpired and still remains a part of human history. Let us look forward, first at God who is more powerful than every evil "for God is love" (1 John 4:8). He calls us to an eternal assembly of togetherness, not to isolation, separatism or autism. He has given us an open heart, bigger than the universe, broader than the cosmos. And thus let us all be what this holy shrine has always been - open to all, bearing no hatred toward others, persecuting no one.

To your love, to all the present bishops, brothers and sisters, especially those who have come from afar; representatives of the state and administration to whom these doors have always remained open in the hope that their hearts would also remain open to this much-suffering people; begging from all your forgiveness and prayers, I wish every blessing from the Lord, the blessing of the Holy Spirit - and glory, honor and adoration to Our Lord, together with His Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen!