Office of the Committee of the Holy Assembly of Bishops for Kosovo and Metohija opened at the Patriarchate of Pec

OCP October 17, 2012 5:43 pm 2

17/10/2012

His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch opened the Office of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija. International Conference “Tthe Balkans and Middle East: Do They Reflect? “

On the Feast day of the Patriarchate of Pec, on October 14, 2012, His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch yesterday opened the Office of the Committee of the Holy Assembly of Bishops for Kosovo and Metohija. This Office was moved from Belgrade to the Patriarchate of Pec by the decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops in September 2011. This Office was moved from Belgrade to the Patriarchate of Pec by the decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops in September 2011, in order to assume additional duties of documenting and preparing the work of the Committee, as well as collecting archival and library materials about the life and suffering of the Serbian Church and people in Kosovo and Metohija.

The opening ceremony was attended by Their Graces: Bishop Teodosije of Raska-Prizren, vice-president of the Committee; and Bishop Jovan of Lipljan, secretary of the Committee. The representatives of the people, representatives of the Serbian Ministry of Culture, diplomats, scientists and the KFOR representatives were addressed by Mr. Mirko Krlic on behalf of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Vasiliki Hadzikamari on behalf of the OESC, and Michael Jelonek on behalf of the UNMIK, as well.

The attendees of the International Conference The Balkans and the Middle East: Do They Reflect? also attended the opening ceremony. The Conference was organized by the Office of the Assembly’s Committee for Kosovo and Metohija as its first great activity, and it followed immediately after the opening of the Office.

Тhe participants of the Conference were addressed by representatives of the co-organizers: Dean of the Belgrade’s Faculty of Security Mr. Predrag Milasinovic, Director of the Belgrade’s Open School Mrs. Vesna Djukic, and Associate of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies from Tel Aviv Mr. Saul Shai. The prominent military historian Mr. Martin Van Creveld held an introductory lecture.

During this ceremony, also a photo exhibition of the recently departed great Serbian photographer Milinko Stefanovic took place at the Patriarchate of Pec. This exposition consists of photographs that Stefanovic took in Metohija during the tragic summer of 1999.

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