Painter almost done with Jackson church's 400-some images

By Jennifer Garza -

jgarza@sacbee.com

Published 12:00 am PDT Friday,

October 3, 2008

Story appeared in OUR REGION

section, Page B

Miloje Milinkovic has spent the past 12 years working by himself, but he is never alone.

Day after day, for many of those years, he has stood on a shaky 15-foot-high scaffolding at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson, painting images from the Gospels. He believes it is a sacred mission.

Over the years, he has come to know the stories of the saints, and he feels their presence with him while he works.

"I'm never ever alone, they're here," said Milinkovic, opening his arms wide.

Sometime in the next few days, he will put down his paintbrush.

After filling the church's walls and ceiling with more than 400 images, the iconographer will finally finish the art project he started in 1996 at the oldest Serbian Church in North America.

"I wanted to make sure I captured them because this is a special church to Serbs everywhere," Milinkovic said.

He worked at two other churches during that time, but St. Sava has a special place in his heart.
"This church was built by poor and hungry people who didn't have much but made sure they had a church," said the artist. "I wanted to make it just right."

St. Sava, which opened in 1894, is the mother church of all of the Serbian Orthodox churches on the continent. The church was built by miners; 11 died in one accident on Aug. 27, 1922, and are buried in the graveyard that surrounds the church.

Serbian Orthodox churches are not considered complete without frescoes. In 1996, Milinkovic – who previously had worked at the Church of the Assumption in Fair Oaks – began painting.

Church leaders won't disclose the cost, but "it is well into the six figures," said the Rev. Stephen Tumbas, the church's priest. He added that it was a big financial undertaking for a congregation of about 50.

Visitors often have dropped by to see the small white church that sits on a hill off Main Street. Now that the frescoes are nearly done, church leaders expect even more.

"The work is amazing. People are already coming by," said Tumbas. "Miloje has accomplished in 12 years what it often takes generations to do."

Now the walls and ceilings are covered with brightly covered religious images that represent scenes from the Bible. The birth of Jesus, the raising of Lazarus, Jesus' death on the cross. There are also drawings of saints and other holy figures that would have special meaning to the Serbian Orthodox such as St. Sava, a member of the royal family who gave up his crown to become a monk.

"Iconography is considered the poor man's Bible," said Triva Pavlov, a deacon in the church. "Most of the people didn't read, but they were familiar with the stories."

Milinkovic, who turns 50 today, found his calling at 20 and trained under experts in Serbia and Greece. He also lived with monks so he could have a better understanding of the ascetic life of many of the saints, a lifestyle he admires. He tries to live simply – Pavlov said he has seen the artist take naps on the floor.

The artist's dedication has impressed those who have watched him work over the years.
"God provided us with Miloje," Pavlov said. "God has guided his hand in the writing of these icons."

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Horvatincic: Serb Orthodox Church is Chemotherapy

Tomislav Horvatincic insulted the Serb Orthodox Church because it sued him for tearing down a wall without a permit.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – The Serb Orthodox Church levelled a law suit with the Zagreb Municipal Court against entrepreneur Tomislav Horvatincic and seven other people for tearing down a garden wall of the Serb Orthodox Church building in the centre of Zagreb. He did receive a final, but not a valid permit to remove the wall.

The law suit says that the permit he received was not legally valid because a constitutional dispute has been lodged against the decision and a legally valid judgment was not yet delivered. The Serb Orthodox Church initiated the dispute because it fears that the Church’s property is directly threatened because of the tearing down of the wall. Also, other proceedings are underway due to unresolved property and legal issues.

- According to the law on urban zoning and construction, the owner can start tearing down only after the permit for removal becomes legally valid. He cannot tear down anything based only on the final decision – says the law suit.

Serb Orthodox Church requests a demolition ban

The Serb Orthodox Church also filed a law suit with the Zagreb Court of Misdemeanour against Horvatincic’s HOTO Group and the OTP bank, asking for a ban on their pulling down the rest of the wall at the Cvjetni Square under the threat of a fine until the proceedings are over.

Tomislav Horvatincic was not at all concerned about the law suits of the Serb Orthodox Church.
- I wish them all the luck. I do not see the Serb Orthodox Church as the enemy. They are like the chemotherapy I went through – the controversial businessman said.

No love lost between neighbouring Balkan churches

Belgrade - There has been very little of turn thy cheek or love thy neighbour in the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) over the turbulent past year, but instead, plenty of fighting, backstabbing and hostility.

In Belgrade, the capricious hardline Kosovo Bishop Artemije openly went against the Holy Synod, the church government, when it tried to restrain his heavy-handed tactics which led to fistfights among monks in the holy Visoki Decani monastery.

To the west, two years after the tiny republic Montenegro claimed independence from Serbia, its clergy also wants to break away from Belgrade's rule.

There, in the northern town Niksic, police had to intervene against pro-Serbian demonstrators blocking the symbolic start of labour on a monastery of the splinter-church.

Through it all, the ailing, 94-year-old nead of the SPC, Patriarch Pavle, helplessly watched from his hospital bed, while bishops have started jockeying for position to grab his throne.

At the centre of all crises stands Bishiop Amfilohije, 70, the head of the SPC in Montenegro and the young state's public enemy number one, as well as Artemije's rival and the most likely heir to Pavle.

The liberal Belgrade weekly Vreme described Amfilohije - who hotly supported Serbia in all wars of the 90s from the position of far- right nationalism - as a 'robed warrior.'

War 'fascinates' Amfilohije, who sees it as 'Man's destiny,' and who has 'dragged God's name into the bloody Balkan mudbath in which all human values were lost,' the paper commented.

'Amfilohije is a misfortune ... hiding behind God's words and devil's acts,' the Montenegrin parliament speaker Ranko Krivokapic thundered in remarks against the bearded priest in an interview with the Sarajevo weekly Dani.

It was 'major pity' that the UN war crimes tribunal did not indict 'warmongers' from the Serbian church, Krivokapic said, while accusing Amfilohije of standing 'for extreme nationalism, sheltering of war criminals amd propaganda for crime and fratricide.'

The bishop responded in kind, saying the voters would punish Krivokapic's 'parasitic' Social Democratic Party, a junior member of the ruling coalition, and 'send it to history.'

A resident of Montenegro's old, highland capital Cetinje, Amfilohije also lambasted the country's police as 'unprofessional' over its arrest of 65 Serbs who blocked the Montenegrin Mitropolite Mihajlo from laying a cornerstone for the new monastery in Niksic.

In an open letter to the interior ministry he called Mihajlo, the head of the breakway church, 'a damned ex-priest.'

The bitterness of Serb priests at their Montenegrin brethren exploded in the wake of the effort by the latter to regain their self-government, which they voluntarily ceded after having it for centuries, by joining SPC when Yugoslavia was formed 90 years ago in the aftermath of World War I.

Along with independence, the Montegerin priests also want to retrieve all property, churches and monasteries, which had been run by SPC since the end of the war.

A similarly tense scenario has been unfolding south of Serbia, in Macedonia, another former Yugoslav republic, where the orthodox church has been trying to become autocephalic since the 1960s.

New moves by the Macedonian church, unrecognized and anathemized by SPC, are expected when its assembly meets next month.

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CPC, SPC supporters in stand-off near Nikšić

22 September 2008 12:52 Source: B92

PODGORICA -- Police have arrested 65 villagers who blocked the path of Montenegrin Orthodox Church (CPC) clergy and worshippers.

The villagers from Dragovoljiće, near Nikšić, blocked a road that CPC officials and worshippers were taking to the village of Risji Do, where they planned to bless the foundations of a new church that is due to be built.

According to police, the villagers parked their cars in the middle of the road, blocking both the procession and other cars from passing through.

For security reasons and to re-open the road for traffic, the police removed the physical obstacles and arrested 65 people. No one was injured during the incident.

Police confirmed that several cameras had been confiscated, but later returned when it was confirmed that the owners were photo journalists.

The incident was sparked by the CPC’s announcement that it was traveling to Risji Do to bless the foundations of a new monastery, which was accompanied by accusations that the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) was assembling paramilitary units in a church in Dragovoljići.

SPC Metropolitan in Montenegro Amfilohije Radović accused the police of unprofessionalism and arrogance during the arrests, claims echoed by some opposition parties as well.

The CPC stated that they were pleased that the police had intervened for the first time to allow the organization to exercise its rights.

The incident comes in the wake of a U.S. State Department report stating that the Montenegrin government generally respected religion freedoms.

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Montenegro: Police arrest 65 in church dispute

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The Associated Press Published: September 21, 2008
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PODGORICA, Montenegro: Police say they have arrested 65 people who protested plans by the self-styled Montenegrin Orthodox Church to build a monastery.

The protesters blocked roads near the town of Niksic to prevent the head of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, Bishop Mihajlo, and his followers from reaching the building site.

The demonstrators pelted police and Montenegrin Orthodox Church supporters with eggs. The demonstrators are followers of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.

The church dispute has led to many incidents in Montenegro. The Montenegrin Orthodox Church has not been recognized by other Orthodox Christian churches.

Police said after the incident Sunday that the protesters will be charged with violating public order.

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Controversial Serbian bishop's woes follow him from US

Nikolai Soraich at a youth seminar in Melbourne. He was removed as bishop of Alaska by the Orthodox Church. Photo: Simon Schluter

A SERBIAN bishop who was forcibly retired in the US after a revolt by his clergy is working in Victoria, where his presence has divided the Serbian Orthodox community.

Bishop Nikolai Soraich was removed as bishop of Alaska by the Orthodox Church in America this year after two investigations upheld a litany of complaints, including that he appointed to the clergy in Alaska a man jailed for sexual abuse of minors.

The bishop was forced to cancel his visit to St Stephan of Dechani church at Carrum Downs 10 days ago after members of the congregation protested before the service. And police were called on Sunday after a confrontation between the congregation and members of other Serbian churches who travelled from Greensborough and Keysborough.

Official church investigations in Alaska into Bishop Nikolai found that he repeatedly abused and intimidated clergy and laypeople, violated the church's rules on sexual misconduct and fostered an atmosphere of fear and mistrust. He was also sued by a missionary he sacked after the missionary complained he was sexually harassed by Bishop Nikolai's chancellor, Father Isidore.

Father Isidore, who often referred to himself at Mrs Soraich, complained when drunk that Bishop Nikolai beat him, but retracted the complaint when sober, according to reports from Alaska. There is no suggestion of sexual relations between Bishop Nikolai and Father Isidore, whom the bishop repeatedly and rapidly promoted, but allegations of psychological abuse are cited in the official church report.

Nevertheless, Serbian community sources say Father Isidore is planning to join the bishop in Australia.

Archpriest Michael Oleksa, who is now administering the Alaskan diocese, told The Age that "the last five years under (Bishop Nikolai's) management were some of the most difficult we have endured in our 210-year history". "He was racist, he attempted to redirect our church so as to significantly change its identity, and he was personally unkind to the point of cruelty. Each of these charges could have several pages of testimony. All were upheld by the investigating committee that came from New York after dozens, if not hundreds, of complaints."

Bishop Nikolai was investigated twice, first by the chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, then by two bishops. Both investigations upheld the complaints. Rather than be suspended, Bishop Nikolai agreed to take permanent leave of absence.

Father Oleksa said Bishop Nikolai was extremely charming and intelligent, and he was not surprised the bishop had found sanctuary in Australia. Now Bishop Nikolai is based at the St Sava monastery at Elaine, near Ballarat, and is leading church services and visiting parishioners.

Asked by The Age about the strife in Alaska, he said: "I wouldn't comment on such ludicrous statements. Once you comment on something that's foolish you have to comment on everything that's foolish."

But he said he had not been forcibly retired. "In the Orthodox Church a bishop cannot be forcibly retired. He can retire voluntarily or be removed by a church court, and neither has happened."

He said he would love to stay in Australia, "the people have been absolutely wonderful".

Bishop Nikolai is in Australia "under the hospitality" of the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Australia, Bishop Irinej, who has been overseas. The diocesan office did not return calls.

"Under hospitality" means Bishop Nikolai has no canonical status in Australia and operates as guest of Bishop Irinej. The pair were reportedly friends in the US, and Bishop Irinej notified all Australian parishes that Bishop Nikolai should be welcomed.

The Serbian Orthodox community in Australia is small, but tensions are high after a merger between two branches 15 years ago. Some churches are in dispute with Bishop Irinej and have declared independence.

The parish secretary at Carrum Downs, who did not want to be named, confirmed that Bishop Nikolai's visit had been cancelled after parishioners read about his problems in the US on the internet.

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Monks mix religion, politics in battle over Kosovo's future

By Christine Spolar Chicago Tribune correspondent
10:42 PM CDT, September 13, 2008

DECANI, Kosovo — A new Balkan war has erupted — and this time all warriors can claim God is on their side.

Orthodox monks from two UN-protected monasteries in this former province of Serbia are openly rumbling over their future in Kosovo. A face-off last month at a revered monastery in Decani turned into an unholy brawl: The personal secretary of church leader Bishop Artemije was rushed by three Decani monks and heaved outside the church gate. He reportedly snapped an ankle.

The spark of the fracas is unclear—monks at both monasteries refused interviews—but the deeper dispute in a region that has trembled in the past with ethnic war is a revelation about the state of Serbian unity over Kosovo.

Serbian church officials, the rock of Serbian culture, are split in Kosovo over how to deal with the new government dominated by ethnic Albanians—and there is a stark difference in attitudes between generations of clerics.

Last week, Serbia signed off with the European Union on steps toward membership. Belgrade's more open approach to the West may, in part, be stirring the troubles in the Orthodox church.

"This is an old-fashioned political fight — among monks," said Cedomir Antic, a historian at the Institute for Balkan Studies in Belgrade. "The younger monks are considering the consequences of the political battles in Kosovo. They want to figure out a way to deal with the day-to-day problems—and whatever comes next."

Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo and intends to ask the UN's International Court of Justice to rule on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. Still, as Serbia fumes, facts on the ground have changed.

A constitution has been passed by the Kosovo parliament, and about 100,000 ethnic Serbs and a couple of million ethnic Albanians have lived relatively quietly for seven months in a new country. Kosovo authorities continue to reach out to minority groups, and the long-bearded, black-robed Orthodox monks are key to that contact.

The question is which monks in which monastery are the touchstone of the Serb community.

In northern Kosovo, two dozen monks who live in the forested hills of Decani regularly see UN advisers. Decani's monk-superior, Vicar Bishop Teodosije, and the well-known Father Sava, both in their 40s, host European and NATO envoys, who meet, in turn, with Kosovo leaders. Sava is known as "The Cybermonk" for his Web-savvy ways in promoting the frescoed Decani Monastery.

Hard-line bishop

Closer to the capital of Pristina, monks at the monastery in Gracanica are loyal to the hard-line mien of Grace Bishop Artemije.

The white-bearded diocesan leader reigns in Kosovo, and he flatly refuses to accept that his flock is not in Serbia anymore. Diplomats shrug that Artemije leaves no room for compromise. Daily, the Gracanica Monastery flies a Serbian flag from its balcony.

In February, as Kosovo declared independence, Artemije called for Russians to come bolster the Orthodox community in Kosovo. And in the heat of Serbia's presidential race, Artemije spoke out against Boris Tadic, the pro-European president who returned to power.

The breach among Orthodox priests has headlined Serb news. Even though monks at both monasteries refused last week to be interviewed, one version of facts was compiled, in deeply emotional dispatches, by Artemije on the Web site of the Diocese of Kosovo and Metohija.

One posting detailed the "Rebellion in Visoki Decani Monastery."

Teodosije and Sava, he said, "turned quiet and modest monks into rebels and bandits who arrogantly showed disobedience to their bishop and spiritual leader and who are ready to blindly commit even the most brutal violence." He demanded the two be dismissed.

This is what Artemije said happened:

When Artemije traveled to Decani to meet with Teodosije and Sava on Aug. 22, monks in his party were stopped by monks from Decani. The Decani monks sang loudly to conceal what happened next.

Artemije said his personal secretary "was attacked" by three monks and "dragged out of the monastery yard and thrown like a bag outside the gate." The monk's foot was broken, Artemije wrote.

Story 'exaggerated'?

Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic, who monitors northern Kosovo and often visits Decani Monastery, was reluctant to discuss the fracas but said accounts of the fight and injuries "were exaggerated."

"I talked to the medical staff who treated him," Ivanovic said of the injured monk. "But I don't want to talk about this. We want the church to be peaceful."

The Kosovo clash clearly riveted church leaders in Belgrade—and at a delicate time. Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle, 94, is in extremely frail health. Some observers wondered if church tensions in Kosovo were heightened by an internal power struggle.

The Holy Synod, the supreme authority of the Serbian Orthodox Church, tried to calm the waters with a call for an end to "all disputes and decisions" over Decani.

"Key decisions about this and all other burning issues will be made in the foreseeable future," it said in a statement. The synod also said that all the monks involved have its support in "witnessing Christ's love, truth, justice and well-being."

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Serbia persecuting Romanian minority

Thursday, 11 September 2008

While Serbs in Romania enjoy all their basic human rights, including religious, guaranteed by the Romanian constitution, unfortunately Romanians living in Timok, Serbia are prohibited to even pray in their own language. "Romanians living in Serbia do not have any basic human rights, being discriminated for even practicing their religion in their native language," writes one of the prestigious Romanian daily papers, Evenimentul Zilei.

In the recent days, the prevailing opinion in the Balkans that Serbs and Romanians have excellent relations, is proving to be a farce. Apparently, the Serbian nationalism did not spare from persecution and discrimination the ethnic Romanian minority that lives in Timok, Serbia.

Here are the facts: in 2005, an ethnic Romanian of Serbia, Bojan Aleksandrovic was ordained by his Romanian Orthodox Bishop, his Highness, Daniil, and his property was turned into a church, a small religious community where ethnic Romanians would pray in their own language, baptize their newborns or mourn their deceased family members.

Frightened by the poor Romanian Orthodox bishop who could possibly rejuvenate the national identity of these persecuted ethnic Romanians for decades, Serbian authorities reacted in a very violent fashion, again. Initially, they tried to crushingly suppress the church. It was not even important that the church was Orthodox. In fact, "protection of Orthodoxy" is a motto Serbs always display whenever it is in their personal interests.

On April 2006, a delegation of Serbian Orthodox Church visited Bucharest to reach an agreement, "with a jaw towards the sky and the other towards the ground," a Romanian colloquialism. Sometimes with threats, and sometimes with soft-talking words such as "Orthodox brothers," Serbs achieved their goal by removing the Diocese of Romanian Orthodox Episcopate from Vrscac (Vrsoara) in Serbia to Romania.

They [Serbs] even asked to modify the title of episcopate, while we [Romanians] also agreed to not accuse them for being intentionally negative on this issue against ethnic Romanians in Serbia. Hence, the Episcopate of Vrsac became Dacia Felix, a title inspired by our [Romanian] horrendous fate.

According to the agreement signed in Bucharest, Serbs agreed that they would take care of ethnic Romanians living in Timok Valley in Serbia, meaning that they would ordain bishops who speak Romanian.

Henceforth, so to speak, the negotiations seemed to be moving ahead when a poorly educated Romanian bishop was ordained as from an angel, who always gallantly appeared onto his Cossack as of a reformed confessor. The ordained bishop, although he appeared to be a humble man, his deals with his Serbian Christian Orthodox friends to racketeer with electricity and wood products for construction became a very familiar habit.

Nevertheless, he kept his promise. But Serbs informed Bishop Bojan that they would excommunicate him from the right of preaching anymore. Motive? Because he gave his sermons in Romanian language! While ethnic Serbs in Romania enjoy their religious rights guaranteed by the state - have a Vicariat in Timisoara - the ethnic Romanians living in Timok Valley, in Serbia, are not allowed to pray in their native language. So much about human rights and religious rights in Serbia!

It is worth mentioning a bizarre statement of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle regarding the activation of the Romanian episcopates in Bassarabia (Republic of Moldavia): "The history of the reactivation of the Metropolitan of Bassarabia is part of the darkest periods of human kind - resembling to the period of Nazi occupation!" May God have mercy on those who consider Serbs as "brothers."

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A brush with the divine

Serbian artist puts final touches on masterpiece inside Jackson church

Iconographer Miloje Milinkovic paints murals on the walls inside St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson. Milinkovic is nearly finished painting the church he has worked on the past 12 years.

By Dana M. Nichols
Record Staff Writer
September 07, 2008 6:00 AM

JACKSON - Miloje Milinkovic lives among the saints.

He's spent much of the past 25 years on scaffolds in the domes and alcoves of Orthodox churches, floating among icons of saints and scenes from the life of Christ.

Milinkovic was born in a village in Serbia. He attended theology school in Belgrade. It was there he was introduced to art of creating Byzantine icons - the vivid images on the walls, domes and ceilings of Orthodox churches. He set out to master the art. He prayed. He fasted. He journeyed to Greece to study with masters there. And in 1986, he began traveling to America to paint icons in Orthodox churches here.

Now Milinkovic is 50. And he is within two weeks of completing what some say is his greatest work: approximately 400 faces and dozens of scenes in the interior of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson, the oldest Serbian Orthodox church in America.

"It's really transformed the church," said Father Tom Triva Pavlov, who is deacon at St. Sava.

"When the church was first built, the walls were all white."

That was in 1894, when Serbian immigrant miners yearning to practice their native faith pooled their money to erect the small church.

And the walls stayed white until 1996, when Father Budimir Andjelic, who was then priest at St. Sava, asked Milinkovic how much it would cost to paint the mother of God and Jesus Christ on the arched ceiling over the sanctuary.

Milinkovic has been working off and on at St. Sava ever since, as church finances and his other obligations permitted. Now, all that remains is to fill in the hands, feet and faces for the figures in one scene - Christ's transfiguration on Mount Tabor.

Milinkovic says he does not know how many thousands of hours he has put into the work. He says he uses a watch only when he is training for marathons, not when he is painting icons.

St. Sava will be the fourth Orthodox church in the United States that Milinkovic has painted himself from start to finish. He also painted the much larger Serbian Orthodox church in Fair Oaks and two in the Chicago area.

Although St. Sava is much smaller than the Fair Oaks church, it is also more challenging because it is mostly square, and thus without the arches and soaring nave dome that provide the canvas for icons in most Orthodox churches.

The basic design for St. Sava has large images of Christ at several key locations on the ceiling. Old Testament stories are in a band at the tops of the walls. Below that are wide panels with scenes from the life off Christ. And below those scenes are icons of saints.

"Nothing is accidental here. Everything is in the right place according to the canon," Milinkovic said.

That includes an image of St. Sava's current priest, Father Steve Tumbas, in a panel at the far left rear of the church close to the narthex. And in a panel in the right rear of the church, close to the bottom, is an image of an altar boy whose face looks a whole lot like Milinkovic.

Pavlov said that even though it's not completed, classes from nearby Argonaut High School have been coming to the church to study the icons as examples of Byzantine art.

"God guides his hands," Pavlov said of Milinkovic.

Some of the acrylic paints used by iconographer Miloje Milinkovic to create murals in the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson. Milinkovic has been painting the murals inside the church over the past 12 years.

A detail of one of the murals painted by iconographer Miloje Milinkovic in the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson. Milinkovic has been painting murals inside the church over the past 12 years.

Miloje Milinkovic says all the paintings inside St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson are done according to the canon. Nothing is accidental here, he says.

Iconographer Miloje Milinkovic takes a break from painting murals on the inside of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson to view his work. Milinkovic is nearly finished painting the murals on the church which he has worked on over the past 12 years.

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New round of name negotiations yields no progress

-->New round of name negotiations yields no progress Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski proposed to add recognition of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and renaming of the Thessaloniki International Airport to ongoing name-dispute talks. However, UN mediator Matthew Nimetz considers those issues outside the talks´ scope.

One more round of negotiations on the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece occurred in New York late last week but made no perceptible progress. In separate meetings with the Macedonian and Greek teams Thursday (August 14th), UN special representative Matthew Nimetz also discussed some new ideas on the name that the parties did not disclose. Some Greek media reported in unconfirmed accounts that Nimetz was bringing back into play the "Northern Macedonia" name in five variants.

Nimetz took a hard line in dismissing Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski´s demand to involve other issues in the negotiations, such as recognising the Macedonian Orthodox Church and restoring the Thessaloniki International Airport´s former name of "Mikra". "My mandate is for the name problem. There are also other issues, and resolution of the main problem with the name may lead to resolving those disputes," Nimetz stated.

Gruevski´s new letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposing discussion of the church issue received a cold response from Greece. Macedonian media quoted Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis as saying, "We are expecting the Skopje side [not to] place obstacles in various ways and avoid the essence of the negotiations."

Her US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, said the name dispute "should not get in the way of the admission of Macedonia to NATO". Greece reportedly interprets her statement as evidence Washington is "pushing" to have NATO admit Macedonia before US President George W Bush leaves office.

The Macedonian Orthodox Church, recognition of which the Serbian Orthodox Church has been blocking, purportedly in collaboration with the powerful Greek Orthodox Church, welcomed Gruevski´s initiative. On the other hand, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski questioned the wisdom of Gruevski´s move, saying the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox churches should handle the problem of non-recognition.

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Bishops ordered to ‘cease fighting’

Friday, 29th August 2008. 11:44am

By: George Conger.

The Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church has stepped into the dispute within the church in Kosovo, ordering the battling bishops of the diocese of Ras-Prizren to cease their fighting. Belgrade newspapers have reported that the dispute between Bishop Artemije and his suffragan, Bishop Teodosije had led to fist fights between the bishops and rival bands of monks, and hinted at financial malfeasance in the reconstruction of church properties damaged during the war in Kosovo.

The split between the bishops of Kosovo mirrors the larger division within Serbian society over the country’s future in the wake of the secession of Kosovo, and factional fighting within the church over who will succeed its hospitalized head, the 93-year-old Patriarch Paul.

On Aug 26, the Holy Synod of Serbia, consisting of the bishops who head the church’s eparchies — administrative units akin to dioceses in the Serbian church — released a unanimous statement calling upon the bishops to cease their fighting as it "could jeopardize the Serbian Orthodox Church's mission in general, and especially in Kosovo and Metohija."

The fight between Artemije, a hard-line opponent of Kosovo independence, and his moderate deputy Teodosije, became public last week when Artemijie attempted to sack Teodosije and Sava Janjic, an outspoken monk in the Visoki Decani monastery.

However, the sacked Serbs refused to go quietly, and when Artemije’s secretary sought to serve notice of their suspensions upon the two clerics at the Visoki Decani monastery, monks loyal to Teodosije and Sava responded with vigour. A fist fight ensued between the rival bands of monks, and Artemijie’s secretary was tossed out the monastery door, injuring his foot.

Artemije accused Teodosije and Sava Janjic of "open, blatant mutiny," but the Synod refused to back him, saying his sacking of Teodosije was “hasty”. The two bishops were summoned to Belgrade and on Aug 26, the assembled bishops released a statement condemning the violence.

"The crucial decision on these and other top issues will be made by the Holy Synod of Bishops in due time," it was announced, but noted that “Bishop Artemije and his priests and monks and devotees enjoy the solidarity and support from the entire church in testifying to the love of Christ, truth, peace and justice, and all goodness."

The dispute between the two bishops mirrors the political divide within Serbia. Artemije has called for Serbia to blockade Kosovo in the wake of its unilateral declaration of independence in February. He has branded Serbia’s pro-EU President Boris Tadic a traitor and has sought the support of the Russian Orthodox Church, and by implication the Russian government, in his anti-independence campaign.

Teodosije has called for the church to work with the ethnic Albanian government in Kosovo, arguing the church and Serbian government can only safeguard Serbian religious and cultural sites with Kosovar co-operation. The pending appointment of a new patriarch also factors into the Kosovo church feud. In May the Holy Synod sought to remove Paul from office due to advanced age and ill health. Paul rallied from his sickbed and refused to step down, but power was shifted to an ecclesial regent to govern the church.

The patriarchal regent, Bishop Amfilohije is a rival to Artemije to succeed Paul, and has also been an ally of Teodosije. The Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported that last week Artemije accused his rival of "meddling for long time" in the Kosovo eparchy.

DPA also stated Artemije is engaged in a power struggle of the letting of contracts to rebuild damaged Serbian churches in Kosovo, as many of the contracts have been awarded to the Belgrade-based Rade Neimar construction firm under his control.

In 2006 the Synod queried the bishop about his business holdings, but Bishop Artemije told the Belgrade press the Synod had been satisfied by his answers.

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Serbia: Church calls for end to Kosovo monastery quarrel

Belgrade, 26 August (AKI) - The Serbian Orthodox Church on Tuesday called for a quarrel between two of its senior officials in Kosovo to cease, saying unity was vital at a moment when Serbs there were going through difficult times.

A Synod of all archbishops convened in Belgrade after hardline Kosovo archbishop Artemije dismissed bishop Teodosije, the head of the Kosovo monastery Visoki Decani last week.

The monastery's monks violently resisted Teodosije's dismissal, turfing Artemije's secretary, Simeon out of the monastery and reportedly injuring his foot in the process.

Artemije claimed Teodosije and his allies were undermining his position at the request of the United States and spreading lies about his alleged business ventures.

The archbishop is the staunchest opponent of Kosovo's independence, declared by majority ethnic Albanians in February. He would like Serbs to cut all cooperation with foreign and local officials in Kosovo.

The more moderate Teodosije, on the other hand, argues the the church should work with any authorities to ensure the protection of Kosovo's tiny Serb minority and its shrines.

But Belgrade daily Politika and some analysts said that behind the quarrel was actually a power struggle for the successor to ailing patriarch Pavle, who has been hospitalised since last November.

Artemije and rival archbishop Amfilohije have emerged as the main candidates to take over the spiritual leadership from Pavle of some eight million Orthodox Serbs.

After a four-hour meeting, the Synod said: “The key decisions on this and other urgent matters will by taken by the highest Church body, the Holy Church Assembly in a foreseeable period of time."

It pleaded for the Kosovo quarrel to stop in the meantime.

Some reports have however quoted unnamed church sources as saying Artemije is seeking to retain control over the lucrative business of the reconstruction of Serb shrines in Kosovo.

A large work amound of the work was carried out by a Belgrade-based firm under his control, the sources said.

Kosovo independence was recognised by the United States and over 40 countries including most other western powers.

But Belgrade continues to oppose the move and to wage a diplomatic battle to retain Kosovo.

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SPC dispute masking tussle for Patriarchy

Archbishop Amfilohije (FoNet, archive)

27 August 2008 13:02 Source: FoNet, Politika
BELGRADE -- The dispute within the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) should be also seen as a fight for the position of Patriarch.

Belgrade daily Politika writes that even though immediately after the May assembly, Archbishop Amfilohije said that he had no designs on the SPC's top job, and that the “Lord has the final say on that,” Amfilohije is one of the main candidates to become the SPC’s 45th Patriarch.

According to recent unofficial information, certain circles close to the state expressed an interest in what chances Australian-New Zealand Bishop Irinej, who has good ties in the U.S. administration, had of becoming the new Patriarch.

The problem is that Irinej does not meet the canonic conditions for the position, since he has been an archbishop for less than five years, having been elected bishop in July 2006.

Bishop of Banja Luka Jefrem, and Bishop Nikolaj are mentioned as a potential candidates from the so-called Bosnian bloc. It has frequently been rumored around Church circles that they would like the new “spiritual leader” of all the Serbs to be elected from among the younger SPC bishops.

Accordingly, Bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina Grigorije and Bishop of Braničevo Ignjatije are seen as potential candidates.

Of course, Bishop Artemije should not be written off as the leader of the anti-ecumenical bloc in the SPC, which opposes liturgical changes.

The Patriarch is chosen by an “apostolic draw” from among three candidates, with the one with the majority of votes being elected Patriarch. So, it is not outwith the realms of possibility that one of the aforementioned persons could become the new Patriarch and sit on the Throne of St Sava.

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Bishop's private business scrutinized

Bishop Artemije (FoNet)

25 August 2008 17:50 Source: B92
BELGRADE -- Reports say that Bishop Artemije offered former PM Vojislav Koštunica the services of his construction company in Kosovo.

The company, registerd as Rade Neimar, founded by the Serb Orthodox Church (SPC) Bishop Raško-Prizrenski Artemije, was established without its knowledge, the Church says.

The SPC found that the company conducted its business unlawfully, related to the reconstruction of the Serb churches and monasteries destroyed in Kosovo.

B92 came into possession of the company's financial report which states that the bishop in 2005 offered construction services to Serbia’s former Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica.

The report states that the construction, trade and services company was set up in 2003.

The SPC report says that during the same year the bishop’s eparchy signed a contract with Predrag Subotički, without the knowledge of the Church, which authorized him to represent the eparchy in all its businesses.

The document states that the company had not paid necessary taxes to the SPC, while the Bishop recommended his construction company to the state bodies.

But former minister for Kosovo and senior official of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Slobodan Samardžić says that insistence on this story is nothing but a diversion from the problems within the SPC that emerged recently.

Samardžić also denied any knowledge of the alleged offer to Koštunica Bishop Artemije made in November 18, 2005, related to the rebuilding of the damaged churches in Kosovo for EUR 1.25mn.

However, apart from wanting to conduct business with the Prime Minister, the bishop offered services of his company to the state owned enterprises, according to the document, including the time when Telekom Srbija hired Rade Neimar for laying of optical cables.

But Telekom has denied this allegation.

Two years ago, the bishop is said to have offered business cooperation then Infrastructure Minister Velimir Ilić, who has confirmed this.

In the meantime in Belgrade, Metropolitan Amfilohije today visited the ailing SPC Patriarch His Holiness Pavle in hospital.

A report on the Church's website says that he was accompanied by bishops Joanikije and Teodosije.

The latter is involved in a bitter dispute with Bishop Artemije, and is due in front of the Holy Synod tomorrow.

The highest SPC dignitaries will seek to resolve a controversy surrounding Artemije's decision to dismiss Teodosije as the head of the Dečani monastery in Kosovo.

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Synod decides to "end all disputes"

Bishop Artemije (FoNet, archive)

26 August 2008 10:53 -> 14:42 Source: B92, Beta
BELGRADE -- The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) ended its regular session in Belgrade today.

A statement from the meeting said that the Synod has "unanimously decided" to put an end to all disputes reported recently from the High Dečani monastery in Kosovo.

The session, that lasted over four hours, decided to halt all decisions that stemmed from the arguments, and "anything else that can jeopardize the mission of the SPC as a whole, and especially in Kosovo and Metohija".

"Key decisions on these and other burning issues will be made by the Holy Assembly of the SPC in due time," the statement added, and also voiced support for Bishop Artemije, in his "testimony of love, truth, peace, justice and everything good".

The trrouble in the Raško-Prizrenska Eparchy, headed by Bishop Artemije, reached the public last week, when he decided to remove Bishop of Lipljan Teodosije, with seat at the Dečani monastery in Kosovo.

Bishop Artemije said ahead of today's meeting of the Synod that the events in Dečani and “support for rebellion and mutiny represent a precedent in the history of Serbian Orthodox Church.”

He stated that the decisions of the SPC Assembly from May 2006, posted on the website of the Church were incomplete, and that they wrongly represented the current conflict, misrepresenting his decision to dismiss Teodosije.

Then 2006 decision of the Synod requested that Bishop Artemije should renounce ownership of the real estate he owned in Belgrade. However, he says that story ended two years ago, when the Raško-Prizrenska Eparchy submitted its report.

A Kosovo Serb official Ranđel Nojkić told B92 that it was essential for the Synod solve the dispute, because otherwise the consequences "could be tremendous".

"I think that both the Synod of the SPC are aware of the issue and that it hasn’t been solved the right way. Unless this problem is resolved permanently, I think that the consequences would be terrible,” Nojkić said.

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‘Unholy Row’ Grips Serbian Church in Kosovo

25 August 2008 Decani _ A dispute between two Kosovo Serb bishops has escalated over who has most influence over the Orthodox Church in Serbia’s former southern province.

On Saturday, monks at the monastery in the western Kosovo town of Decani physically threw out the personal secretary of bishop Artemije. Artemije had come to the monastery to personally rebuff his auxiliary bishop Teodosije, who he claims “lives in disobedience to his superior.”

Artemije has long accused his rival, Teodosije, the Abbot of Decani, of running a ‘dual church’, but tensions intensified in Decani when church leaders said they would tolerate Artemije’s position.

A numbers of media statements from both bishops accusing one another followed on main Serbian television channels on Sunday.

Bishop Artemije went so far to blame the Decani monks of “brutally breaking his assistant's leg,” but local Serb radio KIM found out that his assistant suffered an injured toe.

Bishop Teodosije, on the other hand, accused Artemije of 'acting against the holy cannons and rules of the Church.

'"The assembly of all the bishops (of the Serbian Orthodox Church) appointed me, so only they have the powers to replace me," said Teodosije.

The Church's top executive authority, the Holy Synod, called both bishops to a hearing on Tuesday. They accused Artemije of owning three houses in Belgrade and shares in a construction company, which is against church rules.

The Synod also said in its statement that Artemije's appearance at Decani was not deeply thought-through.

But Artemije disagreed.

"The Dual authority in the Kosovo diocese has to end. Therefore our deeply thought-through decisions were made, and then resulted with an open mutiny in Decani."

An unnamed Church source told Balkan Insight that the essence of the bishops' dispute is a disagreement between Artemije and the Assembly of all bishops."

Artemije publicly negates and criticises decisions of the Church's top leadership. While he 'patriotically' defies any cooperation with the international community, even though the Church has asked him to seek their funds to restore religious sites, Teodosije follows Assembly decisions and fights for the preservation of temples and better living conditions of the remaining Serbs in Kosovo," said the source.

Artemije, who is in charge of the Kosovo diocese, is known for his hard-line statements in rejecting cooperation with the international community and Kosovo Albanian authorities, especially after the March 2004 riots.

After Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February he banned his clergy from any contact with people from countries which have recognised Kosovo.

His auxiliary bishop Teodosije, is the main cleric appointed by the Church's seat in Belgrade for restoring damaged and destroyed shrines in Kosovo, in cooperation with international and local Kosovo teams.

The top authority of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade, the Assembly of all bishops, agreed in May to renew the reconstruction programme in cooperation with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. Artemije had stopped this in 2007. Read more: http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/10397

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New rifts in Church ranks

SPC Bishop Artemije (FoNet)

24 August 2008 09:53 Source: B92

BELGRADE -- Disagreements among the dignitaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) have surfaced, reports say.

Raško-Prizrenski Bishop Artemije told B92 that he recently dismissed Lipljanski Bishop Teodosije due to a lack of discipline, accusing him of creating a dual authority in his eparchy.

"There are many examples of this behavior, especially when it comes to our lawsuit at Strasbourg, against the four European states that I have sued over the destruction of our holy places [in Kosovo], then the issue of a memorandum, which he [Teodosije] supported."

"Dual authority in the Raško-Prizrenska Eparchy had to end. Therefore our deeply thought-through decisions came, and then ensued open mutiny in Dečani," Artemije said.

The bishop explained that he and members of his delegation who came to the Dečani monastery to deliver the dismissal notice were physically assaulted, while the monastery's leadership told him they would not obey his decision.

Yesterday, the Holy Synod of the SPC said that Bishop Artemije's decision was "sudden and unexpected", and scheduled a regular meeting for Tuesday to discuss this.

The two bishops clashed over the process of reconstruction of the Serb monasteries and churches destroyed in Kosovo and over the cooperation with international representatives in the province.

Artemije previously criticized Teodosije for allowing Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu to visit the High Dečani monastery, and state authorities for not using force to defend the province.

Religion sociologist Mirko Đorđević reminds that while Bishop Artemije last year slammed President Boris Tadić and other Democratic Party state officials, including Dragan Šutanovac and Vuk Jeremić as traitors, Bishop Teodosije said that the Church in Kosovo is not strong enough to determine the status of the province, and that it should remain there and cooperate with authorities without necessarily recognizing them, "whether Kosovo is inside Serbia, an autonomy, or an independent state".

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New Macedonia: Church recognition is a political problem imposed by Greece

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21 August 2008 14:00 FOCUS News Agency
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Skopje.Macedonian Orthodox Church support Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski proposal the statue of Macedonian Orthodox Church to be solved together with the name dispute, Macedonian Nova Makedonija newspaper reports. UN negotiator in the name dispute between Skopje and Athens Mathew Nimitz will arrive in Skopje to meet with Macedonian heads of state. The management of the Church had been at a permanent meeting on Wednesday. The speaker of the Church said that they hadn’t considered Nikola Gruevski’s proposal at the meeting. Serbian Orthodox Church press center’s opinion is that the problem with the statue is with the Serbian Orthodox Church, which hasn’t wanted to recognize it under the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church.

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New round of name negotiations yields no progress

"There are a lot of issues between the two countries, some being long-term and some being short-term," UN special representative Matthew Nimetz said. [Getty Images]

18/08/2008

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski proposed to add recognition of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and renaming of the Thessaloniki International Airport to ongoing name-dispute talks. However, UN mediator Matthew Nimetz considers those issues outside the talks' scope.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje – 18/08/08

One more round of negotiations on the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece occurred in New York late last week but made no perceptible progress. In separate meetings with the Macedonian and Greek teams Thursday (August 14th), UN special representative Matthew Nimetz also discussed some new ideas on the name that the parties did not disclose. Some Greek media reported in unconfirmed accounts that Nimetz was bringing back into play the "Northern Macedonia" name in five variants.

Nimetz took a hard line in dismissing Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's demand to involve other issues in the negotiations, such as recognising the Macedonian Orthodox Church and restoring the Thessaloniki International Airport's former name of "Mikra".

"My mandate is for the name problem. There are also other issues, and resolution of the main problem with the name may lead to resolving those disputes," Nimetz stated.

Gruevski's new letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposing discussion of the church issue received a cold response from Greece. Macedonian media quoted Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis as saying, "We are expecting the Skopje side [not to] place obstacles in various ways and avoid the essence of the negotiations."

Her US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, said the name dispute "should not get in the way of the admission of Macedonia to NATO". Greece reportedly interprets her statement as evidence Washington is "pushing" to have NATO admit Macedonia before US President George W Bush leaves office.

The Macedonian Orthodox Church, recognition of which the Serbian Orthodox Church has been blocking, purportedly in collaboration with the powerful Greek Orthodox Church, welcomed Gruevski's initiative.

On the other hand, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski questioned the wisdom of Gruevski's move, saying the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox churches should handle the problem of non-recognition.

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Adding Church to Macedonia Talks “Counterproductive”

14 August 2008 Skopje _ Macedonia's President dismissed the Prime Minister's initiative to add the issue of the Macedonian Orthodox Church to the "name" talks between Athens and Skopje as counterproductive.

"We are giving Greece a reason to think that Macedonia is opening new questions and that it wishes to block the negotiations," President Branko Crvenkovski said on Thursday.

Crvenkovski said a solution to the row over recognition of the Macedonian Church should be sought within the frameworks of current talks between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox churches. The Serbian Orthodox Church has refused to recognise the independent status of the Church in Macedonia, blocking its wider recognition in to the Orthodox world.

Macedonia’s Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, argues that the real problem lies within the Greek Church, and that the Serbian Church is only acting as a satellite Athens.

On Tuesday, Gruevski sent a letter to the UN mediator in the “name” row asking him to put the church issue into the negotiations with Greece about Macedonia’s name. Read more: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/12327/

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