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KiM Info Newsletter 24-10-06 Communiqué from the regular meeting of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church
COMMUNIQUE FROM THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE HOLY ASSEMBLY OF BISHOPS OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH HELD IN BELGRADE OCTOBER 4-8, 2006  The regular meeting of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the second such meeting this year, was held from October 4-8, 2006, in the Patriarch's residence in Belgrade, Zica Monastery and the city of Nis with His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle presiding. Most bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church took part in the work of the Assembly. Among the bishops from the traditional, canonical territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Archbishop Jovan of Ochrid and Metropolitan of Skoplje did not attend due to his imprisonment in Idrizovo Prison in Skoplje. Several of the bishops from the United States of America also were excused from attending for justifiable reasons.After meeting in the Belgrade Patriarchate October 4-6, the Assembly crowned its work with the serving of a ceremonial Holy Hierarchal Liturgy by the Assembly on October 7 in Zica Monastery, our outstanding holy shrine, the seat of the first autocephalous Serbian Archbishop, St. Sava, and the place of coronation of Serbian rulers throughout the centuries. This rare spiritual event was held at the beginning of the commemoration of the 800-year anniversary of Zica Monastery. On the same day, the beautiful facilities of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Seminary from Prizren, now located in Nis, were consecrated. On this occasion the Seminary - whose entire history is a walk through suffering, as well as a living testimony to the unconquerable strength of the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ - was distinguished with the Order of St. Sava First Degree for its efforts and priceless contribution to Serbian clerical education, and Serbian culture as a whole. On Sunday, October 8, the restored Orthodox Cathedral of the city of Nis, which had been ravaged by fire, was formally consecrated. Taking part in these blessed events, which are the source of our spiritual joy and hope in times of trial and difficulty, in addition to the bishops themselves was a large number of priests, monks and nuns, as well as many of the faithful. The Assembly once again dedicated its attention, first of all, to the holy unity of the Church, unrealizable without the preservation of the fullness of the Orthodox Christian faith and the genuine, age old canonical order within it. In the course of its deliberation, the Assembly expressed the readiness of the Serbian Orthodox Church to give its full contribution to the overcoming of problems with which Orthodoxy is confronted abroad. As well, the assembled bishops once again offered their prayers to God to enlighten the bearers of ecclesiastical schism in the (Former Yugoslav) Republic of Macedonia, and to guide them on the faith of ecumenical unity and brotherly love. It is with regret that the Assembly heard the report of Bishop Marko of Bregalnica and locum tenens of Bitola that His Beatitude Archbishop Jovan was imprisoned a second time, even though the same court on two previous occasions absolved him as innocent. Expressing the justified hope that the new government in the (Former Yugoslav) Republic of Macedonia would have much more sensibility toward human rights and religious freedoms than its predecessor, and that it will not continue the practice of staging court trials and politically persecuting Archbishop Jovan and other members of the Archdiocese of Ochrid, the Assembly appealed to Macedonian judicial authorities to reconsider the case - in accordance with their conscience, not with oral instructions "from the top": to free Archbishop Jovan from his undeserved prison sentence and give legal legitimacy to the Archdiocese of Ochrid. This would represent a civilized and democratic act, as well as an expression of good faith for ecclesiastical differences to be resolved through dialogue and without the influence of outside factors. This would also further nurture and reinforce relations between two brotherly peoples. Within the broader context of inter-Christian relations, the Assembly received favorable news from the ninth meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches recently (September 18-25) held in Belgrade. With regard to the forthcoming referendum on the new Serbian Constitution, the Assembly issued a special communiqué to the faithful of the Serbian Orthodox Church and all citizens of Serbia, calling on them to vote in the referendum and support the new Serbian Constitution so that the rule of law and room for human and civil rights can be as broad as possible, and especially to arrive at the full and binding, unequivocal will of the Serbian people that Kosovo and Metohija must remain an inalienable part of Serbia with, of course, substantial autonomy in accordance with the highest global standards. At the same time, the Assembly reminded the public that this is not merely a piece of territory but, first and foremost, the heart and the soul of the Serbian people, that Serbia does not seek to snatch away something belonging to someone else but only to preserve and defend what belongs to her, and that the Church supports the right of every individual from Kosovo and Metohija to live freely in the ancestral home of his or her forebears. The Assembly also considered the issue of the future constitutional position of the Serbian Orthodox Church in both Serbia and in Montenegro. Like on all previous occasions, the agenda of the Assembly also included the issue of church education and schooling. Special attention was devoted to a new plan and program for Serbian Orthodox seminaries. A Commission for Liturgical Issues was formed with the recommendation that liturgical life in our Church be nurtured in the spirit of established Orthodox liturgical tradition. The Assembly founded the Holy Bishop Nikolai Annual Literary Award for exceptional literary achievement, and it recognized the Republic of Serbia's minister of religions, Dr. Milan Radulovic, with the Order of St. Sava First Degree for his cumulative work to date. Finally, on October 6 the assembled bishops served a memorial service in St. Michael's Orthodox Cathedral in Belgrade in memory of Nikola Tesla, the great Serbian and cosmopolitan man of science inspired by love of humanity. The Assembly believes that the main message of this jubilee year of Tesla's commemoration is that science and technology without morality represent a lethal danger to humanity. It sees further scientific and technological advancement, if essentially conjoined with eternal moral law and love of humanity, as its pinnacle,and the source of hope for the future of humanity despite all that has transpired from Tesla's time to our own.  Presentation of Order of St. Sava First Degree to Serbian minister of religions, Dr. Milan Radulovic
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