Spectral appearance of the once beautiful Chilandar courtyard
Spectral appearance of the once beautiful Chilandar courtyard
The Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Church March 11, 2004
Communiqué of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church
(Excerpted from the ERP KIM Newsletter 14-03-04, erpkim@kosovo.com)
In the past few days His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Kyr Pavle has held many meetings and consultations - with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops, other high officials of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Prime Minister Dr. Vojislav Kostunica, H.R.H. Crown Prince Aleksandar II Karadjordjevic, Minister of Religions Milan Radulovic, as well as experts for the protection of cultural monuments - dedicated to the organization of collection and delivery of initial assistance and creation of conditions for the life of the monks, as well as preparation for the beginning of works to repair the damage caused by the fire at Chilandar Monastery.
At all these meetings it was concluded that the fire which destroyed a large part of the monastery residence halls and invaluable paraklises has saddened the hearts of all Orthodox Serbs, and not only Serbs but all Orthodox believers throughout the world, as well as other Christians and well-meaning people of other faiths. This serious tragedy, whose true extent still remains to be determined - for the smoke from the smoldering ashes of the monastery still can be seen above Mt. Athos - has shown that in its heart our people has a boundless love towards its Mother Church and its holy shrines, especially Chilandar. This enormous love has reawoken the philanthropic spirit of monument building to honor God [zaduÏbinarstvo] among the people, which is one of the pillars of Serbian spiritual identity. Thousands upon thousands of individuals and businesses are responding with offers of assistance in the form of monetary donations, volunteerism and personal efforts, etc. Donations are already being made to the special bank accounts opened by Church for this purpose at the request of many believers which will provide initial and precious assistance to Chilandar Monastery. Significant contributions are also to be made by the Serbian Government, as well as H.R.H. Crown Prince Aleksandar, while many businesses have announced readiness to provide building materials as well as financial assistance. Accordingly, His Holiness the Patriarch has blessed the collection of donations for the restoration of Chilandar Monastery in all parishes of the Serbian Orthodox Church through Serbia-Montenegro dinar and foreign currency accounts opened with the Privredna Banka [Commercial Bank] of Belgrade.
The Serbian Orthodox Church emphasizes that the Serbian media has done and continues to do everything possible to inform the public regarding the extent of the misfortune that has befallen Chilandar, and on this occasion wishes to publicly recognize the Serbian media's efforts and express its gratitude. The Church also wishes to thank all those contributing to the restoration of the age old holy shrine of the Holy Mountain and St. Sava by their donations.
ERP KIM Info-Service is the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Artemije. Our Information Service is distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The main focus of the Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM Info Service works in cooperation with www.serbian-translation.com as well as the Kosovo Daily News (KDN) News List
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