Serbian Cultural Festival ‘Vidovdan’ Held in Poland

Nadezhda Filipchik – For OCP News Service – July 2016

In the end of June, Polish audience welcomed for the fifth time the guests from Serbia – artists and scientists participating in the Vidovdan festival of Serbian culture. The festival was organized by the Orthodox Christian parish of St. John the Evangelist and took place in the city of Belostok – the capital of the Polish province of Podlasie.

For a couple of days the parish turned into a discussion platform of the conference called “In the footsteps of St. Nectarios” dedicated to the cultural ties of Poland and Serbia, to their past and present. A book about the only Orthodox Christian church of St. Nicholas of Serbia was also presented here.

Yet the main spiritual event of the festival was the solemn Vidovdan liturgy celebrated in the church of St. Nicholas of Serbia by bishop George of Suprasl together with the clergy from Poland, Ukraine and Serbia. The liturgy was enriched by the Byzantine chants performed by the Polish singer Martin Abiyski and singers from Serbia including some opera artists from Belgrade.

The ambassador of Serbia to Poland Mr Radojko Bogojevich told the journalists that this festival may be the only example in the world of such solemn celebrations of the Vidovdan holiday in the country where there are not many Serbs. He emphasized the importance of the holiday both from the historical and spiritual points of view and expressed his appreciation of the work of the Polish Vidovdan organizers.

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