Orthodox Christianity religion

The Orthodox Church respects and preserves the canons and the decisions of the seven Ecumenical Councils, rejects and does not recognize the universal authority of the Pope. Today it's organized on a national level.

The Orthodox Church is not one church but a family of independent bodies which are referred to by the nations in which they are located (Greek Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church ...) They are united in the understanding of the sacrament, doctrine, liturgy, ecclesiastical order, but each of them alone regulates its life. At the head of each Orthodox Church a Patriarch was appointed as the Head of. Chief among them is the Patriarch of Constantinople with the headquarters in Istanbul, which enjoys considerable favor, but no power to influence other Orthodox churches, being only the first among equals.

The Orthodox Church claims to be the only true church of Christ, and that its roots go back to the first apostles. They believe in the Trinity, the Bible as the word of God, Jesus as the Son of God and other biblical doctrines.

The most important work on which the liturgy is based, is the Holy Bible made of the Old and the New Testament, as well as Sacred Tradition. The New Testament is particularly significant for Orthodoxy which presents the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

The most important role of the Orthodox churches is to serve as a place where the living Church - the believers, cry aloud their prayers to God. The most important part of church life is sacred liturgy i.e. religious services, served on Sundays and other holidays at the temples. In addition to the liturgy, the morning and evening prayer are performed , classes and vigils also, which have instructive character at the same time. Liturgy is served by a priest in the presence of believers. There are three levels of the ministry: a deacon, a priest and a bishop. Episcopes or Bishops are hierarchically below the patriarchs and their administrative units called dioceses.

Divša Monastery

Divša Monastery is located at Fruska Gora. The monastery’s church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. According to tradition, the monastery was founded by despot Jovan Brankovic in the late fifteenth century.
The first reliable data, were found in Turkish documents from the second half of the sixteenth century. It has been deserted in the 17th century, while in the early 18th century it is mentioned as a possession of the monastery Kuvezdin. The old church was rebuilt in 1744 by Peter Jovanovic from Novi Sad.
The most extensive changes to the church building were made in 1764. by eremit Matthew. New narthex and bell tower on the west side of the church were built. The iconostasis was painted by Teodor Stefanov Gologlavac in 1754.
The monastery was badly damaged during The World War II, and the iconostasis was dismantled. The monastery was partially restored. Since 1980. the monastery has been inhabited again. 

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Mala Remeta Monastery

 Mala Remeta Monastery, as other monasteries from Fruška gora, was first mentioned in records dating from 1546. A legend says that it was founded by King Dragutin Nemanjic. By the end of 17th century it was restored by the runaway monks from monastery Rača on Drina river, who were allowed to inhabit it by Arsenije Čarnojević. 
The monastery got its present look in the reconstruction started in 1739 which was carried out by monks from Rača Monastery. The Church of Mala Remeta Monastery was completed in 1739. It has a cross base and the semi circled apse.  Frescoes were painted in 1910 and iconostasis was made in the period 1757 - 1759. The Dormitory of Mala Remeta Monastery was destroyed in the Second World War to be rebult later. It is a active female monastery today.

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Šišatovac Monastery

Monastery with a church dedicated to the Birth of the Virgin is located on the west side of Fruska Gora Mountain, was founded by Abbot Theophilus in 1520. Šišatovac. Present day Church was built in the period from the 1758 until the 1778. Monastery suffered destruction during the World War II. The Church of Šišatovac Monastery is a monumental structure with a three-nave shape and a facade divided with decorative parts that are bounded by pilasters and the belfty of baroque style. The windows are made in gothic style. Dormitories have been built after the fire in 1849 and they were also destroyed as the Church during the Second World War. The reconstruction of the complex began in 1970. Šišatovac Monastery was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia. Šišatovac Monastery is a significant spiritual center of Serbia.

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Bešenovo Monastery

 According to the tradition, the monastery dates back from 13th century, and was founded by Serbian king Dragutin. However, the most reliable written evidence on this monastery is the Turkish registration of Srem in 1546.  It was made of brick, but the date of building is not mentioned. The first reliable information about the chapel in the belltower, dedicated to St. Kerikos and Julita, is from 1783. It was reconstructed in 19th and 20th century, but the church of the Bešenovo Monastery kept its prior shape in the basis up to the Second World War when it was completely destroyed. Unfortunately, there is not much left of this big and important monastery today. During the 90s of 20th century, a small chapel was built of wood under old linden trees.  The monastery church was dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Besenovo was devastated in World War II, and the remains were taken apart immediately after the war.    

     From the monastery church that was destroyed in a bombardment in 1944 only the perts of the Iconostasis painted by Stevan Aleksic in 1909, were preserved. The Monastery has not been renovated.

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Kovilj Monastery

According to the legend, the monastery of Kovilj was founded by the first Serb archbishop Saint Sava in the 13th century and dedicated to Saint Archangels. St Sava came there in an attempt to prevent Hungarian King Andrei from starting the war against Stefan the First Crowned.  According to the  modern history sources, the Kovilj Monastery was built in the end of the 15th century. The Kovilj Monastery was reconstructed in 1705-1707 when the high belltower was built. The new  church of Kovilj Monastery has been built from 1741 until 1749 . Again Kovilj Monastery was demolished and set aflame in 1849. The main church of Kovilj Monastery was so badly destroyed so the new church had to be built, surviving till the present time. The  iconostasis of Kovilj Monastery that exists today, was completed with elements of Italian Renaissance style in 1849 instead of the former one from the 1707, which was burnt in fire. The monastery treasury keeps the belt of silver and gold, which once belonged to St Sava.

 

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Novo (New) Hopovo Monastery

Novo (New) Hopovo monastery lies on the south side of Fruška Gora, near the village of Irig. This monastery was founded by Bishop Maksim (Đorđe Branković) between 1496 and 1502.
The monastery church, devoted to Saint Nicholas(some writings on the preserved stones behind the west door of the temple confirm that the church from 1576 is dedicated to saint Nikola. It's the oldest inscript in stone in Vojvodina) has two parts,a church with well-developed and complex interior disposition, and a large narthex on the western side, with simple interior on a rectangular base. The church is built on the cross-in-trefoil floor plan, with a dome in the centre.

The fresco paintings in the church do not belong to the same period. The Church itself was painted by Greek masters in 1608, and narthex in 1654. The older painting has exceptional value and testifies that post-Byzantine painting was still present, and here it was under the influence of the fresco paintings of the Mount Athos and Italian-Crete school
The iconostasis, is the work of Teodor Kracun and was mostly destroyed in the Second World War.Only 19 icons have been preserved.
Throughout it's history, Novo Hopovo monastery has been of great importance to the Serbian people. There was a monastic school here during the 16th century and between 1757 and 1760, one of Serbia's greatest Enlightenment figures, Dimitrije Obradović, stayed here and took his monastic vows, taking on the name of Dositej.
The greatest wealth of the monastery are the remains of Holy Teodor Tiron preserved in kivot, and the fresco of Teodor Tiron in monastery nave.

  

 

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Velika Remeta Monastery

The legend says that  the monastery was founded in the early 14th century by King Dragutin. Earliest reliable records date back to 1543, and the current shape of the monastery is from 1771. It has a seven-storey bell-tower, the tallest on the Fruska Gora, which was built from 1733 to 1735. Over the centuries, it has been damaged and rebuilt on several occasions.  The monastery is situated in the eastern part of Fruška gora. The church is built with stone and brick, with parcialy preserved wall paintings and outer facade As all other monasteries on Fruška gora, Velika Remeta was also destroyed in 1716. because of the Otoman revenge for lost battle at Petrovarad.Restoration of the monastery took place 4 years later. The last destruction and damaging, the monastery has survived during the Second World War, by the croatian armed forces called Ustasa.

The residential buildings surround the monastery and because of that it resembles as a sort of a fortification. The monastery is active.

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The Holy and Great Martyr Dimitrios

This glorious and wonderworking saint was born in the city of Salonica of well-born and devout parents. Begged of God by these childless parents, Dimitrios was their only son and was, because of this, most carefully cherished and educated. His father was the military commander of Salonica, and, when he died, the Emperor made Dimitrios commander in his place. In doing this, the Emperor Maximian, an opponent of Christ, particularly recommended him to persecute and exterminate the Christians in Salonica. Dimitrios not only disobeyed the Emperor: he openly confessed and preached Christ the Lord in the city. Hearing of this, the Emperor was furious with Dimitrios and, at one time, on his way back from a war against the Sarmathians, went to Salonica especially to look into the matter. The Emperor, therefore, summoned Dimitrios and questioned him about his faith. Dimitrios proclaimed openly before the Emperor that he was a Christian, and, furthermore, denounced the Emperor"s idolatry. The enraged Emperor cast him into prison. Knowing what was awaiting him, Dimitrios gave his goods to his faithful servant, Lupus, to give away to the poor, and went off to prison, glad that suffering for Christ was to be his lot. In the prison, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: "Peace be with thee, thou sufferer for Christ; be brave and strong!" After several days, the Emperor sent soldiers to the prison to kill Dimitrios. They came upon the saint of God at prayer, and ran him through with their spears. Christians secretly took his body and gave it burial, and there flowed from it a healing myrrh by which many of the sick were healed. A small church was very soon built over his relics. An Illyrian nobleman, Leontius, became sick of an incurable illness. He ran prayerfully up to the relics of St Dimitrios and was completely healed, and in gratitude built a much larger church in place of the old one. The saint appeared to him on two occasions. When the Emperor Justinian wanted to take the saint"s relics from Salonica to Constantinople, a spark of fire leapt from the tomb and a voice was heard: "Leave them there, and don"t touch!", and thus the relics of St Dimitrios have remained for all time in Salonica. As the defender of Salonica, St Dimitrios has many times appeared and saved the city from calamity, and there is no way of counting his miracles. The Russians regarded St Dimitrios as the protector of Siberia, which was overcome and annexed by Russia on October 26th, 1581.

Source:Church Calender

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Saturday, November 8, 2014

The Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God

The Lord who, on Sinai, gave the Fifth Commandment: "Honour thy father and thy mother", showed by His own example how one must reverence one"s parents. Hanging in agony on the Cross, He remembered His mother, and, indicating the Apostle John, said to her: "Woman, behold thy son!", and to John: "Behold thy mother!" And, with this concern for His mother, He breathed His last. John had a home on Sion in Jerusalem, where he settled the Mother of God and left her to pass her remaining days on earth. By her prayers, her kindly advice, her meekness and patience, she was of immense help to her Son"s apostles. She spent virtually the rest of her life in Jerusalem, often going round the places that reminded her of the great events and the great works associated with and performed by her Son. She especially visited Golgotha, Bethlehem and the Mount of Olives. Of her journeys farther afield, her visit to St Ignatius the God-Bearer is recorded, as are those to St Lazarus the Four-days-dead, Bishop of Cyprus, to the Holy Mountain, to which she gave her blessing, and her stay in Ephesus with John during a fierce persecution of Christians in Jerusalem. In old age, she often prayed to her Lord and God on the Mount of Olives, on the spot from which He ascended, to take her from this world. One day, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and revealed that she would enter into rest in three days" time, and the angel gave her a palm-branch to be carried in her funeral procession. She returned home with great joy, with the heartfelt hope that she would see Christ"s apostles once more in this life. The Lord fulfilled her desire and all the apostles, brought by angels and clouds, gathered together at John"s house on Sion. It was with great joy that she saw the holy apostles, and she encouraged, advised and upheld them, then peacefully gave her soul into God"s hands without the slightest physical pain or struggle. The apostles took the coffin containing her body, from which an aromatic fragrance arose, and, accompanied by many Christians, took it to the Garden of Gethsemane, to the grave of Ss Joachim and Anna. By God"s providence, they were hidden from the wicked Jews by a cloud. A Jewish priest, Antony, touched the coffin with his hand, intending to overturn it, but at that moment an angel of God cut off both his hands. He cried out with the pain, begging the apostles" help, and was healed in confessing his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was left to the Apostle Thomas, who was delayed, again by God"s providence, to reveal a new and glorious mystery about the holy Mother of God. He arrived on the third day, and desired to embrace the body of the holy and most pure. When the apostles opened her grave, he found only the winding-sheet - the body was not in the grave. That evening, she appeared to the apostles, surrounded by a multitude of angels, and said to them: "Rejoice; I will be with you always!" It is not known exactly how old the Mother of God was at the time of her falling-asleep, but the prevailing belief is that she had reached the age of sixty.

Source:Church Calender

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Friday, August 28, 2015

Bright Tuesday

Bright Week or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox Church — and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite — for the period of seven days beginning on Pascha (Easter) and continuing up to (but not including) the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday. Latin Rite and other Christian groups such as Anglicans refer to this period as Easter Week, not to be confused with the Octave of Easter, which includes the following Sunday.

Source:Church Calender

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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

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