Slava of Republika Srpska Celebrated in Mississauga

The Slava and the Day of Republika Srpska, which is officially celebrated on January 9th, the day of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, was solemnly celebrated in the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada this year, both prayerfully and liturgically.

The celebration began on January 9th with the Holy Liturgy in the All Serbian Saints Church in Mississauga, followed by the act of cutting the Slava kolach, officiated by Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Dejan Obradovic, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Milojko Dimitric and Protopresbyter Zlatibor Djurasevic in the presence of members of the Association of Serbs of the Sarajevo-Romanija Region, who hosted this year's Slava, members of the Serbian National Defence in Canada, and the chairman of the Committee for the Organization of the Day and Slava of Republika Srpska, Zeljko Colakovic.

The next day, in the packed hall of the Serbian Centre next to the church in Mississauga, a solemn celebration of the Day of Republika Srpska was held.

This traditional celebration, as in previous years, was attended by numerous officials from church and diplomatic circles, as well as representatives of numerous cultural organizations of the Serbian community in Canada. Among others, the reception was attended by: His Eminence Archbishop of Toronto and Metropolitan of Canada Dr. Mitrofan, His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Canada Stefan Tomasevic, Member of Parliament Nenad "Ned" Kuruc, Consul General of the Republic of Serbia in Toronto Dejan Erakovic with his wife Lana, Member of Provincial Parliament Tom Rakocevic, President of the Serbian National Defence in Canada Zoran Cvijetic, and benefactors of the Church in Canada Zeljko Colakovic with his wife Aleksandra, Milan Lesic and Zeljko Prica.

The cultural and artistic program, which was led by Nedjo Kubura on this occasion, was attended by the KIr Stefan the Serb church choir, the youngest members of the first Serbian elementary school in Canada Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Elementary School, folk guslar Mirko Radovic from the Vuk Karadzic Guslar Society from Toronto and members of the Miroslav "Bata" Marcetic folklore group together with numerous other associations of the Serbian community in Canada.

His Eminence Metropolitan Mitrofan also addressed the audience, congratulating the entire Serbian people, wherever they may be, and speaking about the importance and significance of this holiday.

The evening continued with speeches by Ambassador Stefan Tomasevic, as well as representatives of the federal and provincial parliaments Ned Kuruc and Tom Rakocevic. Vladimir Djeric addressed the guests on behalf of the Association of Serbs of the Sarajevo-Romanija Region, the host of this year's celebration.

As a sign of her special contribution to the preservation of Serbian culture, tradition and unity, His Eminence Metropolitan Mitrofan presented the high decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Order of Empress Milica, to Aleksandra Colakovic for her expressed love for the Holy Mother Church and her many years of humanitarian work.

As usual, the hardworking members of the Queen Aleksandra Circle of Serbian Sisters at the church in Mississauga, with the help of volunteers, took care of decorating the hall and preparing the Slava luncheon.

This year's celebration once again confirmed the importance of preserving the faith, tradition, culture and national identity of the Serbian people in the diaspora.