Resolutions of the 2020 Annual Assembly

RESOLUTION

We, the priesthood, monastics and representatives of the people of God, edicated and elected members of the God saved Annual General Assembly of the Canadian Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, have gathered at the premises of the Church of Saint Nicholas of Myrrh the Wonderworker, in the city of Hamilton, in the province of Ontario, February 21 – 22 in the year of the Lord 2020.

1. In the year when our Holy Serbian Orthodox Church commemorates the 100^th anniversary of its reunification and the re-establishment of the Serbian Patriarchate, called and gathered by the Holy Spirit today when we prayerfully celebrate Saint Sava the Second, Serbian Archbishop and the Apodosis of the Presentation of the Lord, paternally led by our Bishop, His Grace Right Reverend Bishop of Canada Dr. Mitrofan, we first send filial greetings to His Holiness Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovac, and Serbian Patriarch Irinej and to all the Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

2. With a deep sense of Christian love we greet all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church whose jurisdiction includes the territory of Montenegro with all the pious people, in whom is embodied the fullness of the Church of Christ in Montenegro, which has stood for centuries on the foundations of the isapostolic teacher Saint Sava, where the very corner stone is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Eph. 2:20), wholeheartedly upholding their unwavering faith and effort in safeguarding the Christian libertarian spirit and the shrines of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the brutal attempt to impose a harmful “law concerning freedom of religion” in Montenegro. We wonder whether it is a coincidence that just at the time when the Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates 800 years since receiving autocephaly and 100 years since the reunification and the re-establishment of the Serbian Patriarchate, and despite all the other temptations that they are undergoing, the pious people in that area are being put in additional temptation by being forced to be on the streets today because of the aforementioned "law" to defend the fundamental freedom of religion and their holy shrines in Montenegro that their ancestors built over the ages. It is not clear on whose behalf and who can legislate, if the majority of people in that country did not support it? Equally important questions, still unanswered, are why it continues to be insisted on and what should be the ultimate goal of implementing a harmful law, and why was the timely offer by representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church to be involved in the work on drafting the said law circumvented without reason?

3. In the same spirit we salute and admire our Serbian men and women and especially the Serbian children, who, together with the clergy and monastics in centuries crucified Kosovo and Metohija, firmly stand on the most holy Serbian land. We are united in support of our Patriarch, the Holy Synod of Hierarchs and the Holy Assembly of Hierarchs with the view that Kosovo and Metohija is our Jerusalem and that we must never and under no circumstances renounce our covenantal lands, especially in these preparatory days of loudly resounding votive prayers from psalm 137, which the Church exalts in preparation for the Great and honourable Lent. Therefore we appeal to all those relevant to not remain silent in the face of injustice and lawlessness that have been openly occurring in the heart of Europe for many years. Therefore, from this place with one heart and one mouth we send joint prayers to the Lord for the Bishops and the faithful people of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija and Montenegro who, despite their daily confrontations with various forms of intimidation and political manipulation and pressure, strive in the most difficult of times to preserve the name of Saint Sava, Saint Prince Lazar, Saint Basil of Ostrog and Saint Petar of Cetinje.

4. We also extend full support to our people in Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dalmatia, Krajina and Slavonia in their efforts to defend their name and Serbian identity, sacred and timeless values. We pray to God to grant the much suffering Serbian people the strength to overcome all the difficult temptations in the spirit of Christ’s commandments and to always have the Lord Christ within them.

5. The Diocesan Assembly expresses concern about the great challenges of today, just as in universal Orthodoxy, so also in the individual local churches. In the spirit of the aforementioned grand jubilees, we send unanimous support to the Holy Synod of Bishops for their efforts in preserving the unity of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America. At the same time, we highlight the extraordinary contribution made thus far by the Theological Faculty of Saint Sava in Libertyville, which since its inception has given our Church, not only clergy in North America, but also a significant number of graduate seminarians who now successfully perform the most responsible jobs in the life of the Church, both in the Motherland, as well as in the Diaspora. Therefore, we extend unanimous support to the Dean of the Faculty, His Grace Bishop of Canada Right Reverend Dr. Mitrofan, dedicated professors, as well as the staff of this institution, in the work and efforts towards the academic advancement of the only Orthodox institution of higher education in the Midwest. On other continents, theological institutions under the auspices of the Serbian Orthodox Church are also emerging, such as St. Sava College in Australia. This indicates that on one side there is a real need for quality higher education institutions outside the Motherland in order to continue the highest quality missionary and pastoral work possible in these areas, and on the other for approachability and close academic cooperation with all Universities, both on the North American continent and Worldwide.

6. All together we send prayers to Almighty God to enlighten the hearts and minds of all the heads of local Orthodox Churches to work with the greatest responsibility first before the Living God, and then before people, to preserve the unity of the Church of Christ – the Orthodox Church. From this place we express our prayerful support to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church, his Bishops, clergy, monastics and faithful people in their efforts to preserve peace and unity in the Church.

7. The Diocesan Assembly greets the Government of Canada, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

8. We express our prayerful gratitude to the faithful servants of the altar of God who have fallen asleep in the Lord during the previous year. Here we must mention the tireless enthusiasts in the vineyard of the Lord: Archimandrite Nektarije Radovanović, Protopresbyter-stavrofor Dobrica Obradović and Protodeacon Goran Popović. May the Lord settle them in a colony of the righteous in the arms of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. May their memory be eternal.

9. The Assembly of the Diocese of Canada extends the warmest thanks to the Church-school congregation of Saint Nicholas in Hamilton and their priests V. Rev. Protopresbyter Djuro Samac and Rev. Radovan Kodić for their hospitality and care for all who gathered here. May the Lord repay our hosts with His timeless Gifts all the more.