A great man is one who collects knowledge the way a bee collects honey and uses it to help people overcome the difficulties they endure - hunger, ignorance and disease!
- Nikola Tesla

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
- Franklin Roosevelt

While their territory has been devastated and their homes despoiled, the spirit of the Serbian people has not been broken.
- Woodrow Wilson

Nick Vujicic

Nicholas James Vujicic (/ˈvɔɪtʃɪtʃ/ voy-chich; Serbian: Николас Џејмс Вујичић, Nikolas Džejms Vujičić; born 4 December 1982) is a Serbian Australian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of all four limbs. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organisation, Life Without Limbs. Vujicic presents motivational speeches worldwide, on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life. He also speaks about his belief that God can use any willing heart to do his work and that God is big enough to overcome any and all disabilities.

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The eldest child of his family, Vujicic was born in Brisbane, Australia. He was limbless, missing both arms at shoulder level, as well as legs. Where human legs are located, he has a small foot with two toes. Initially, his parents were devastated, though Vujicic was otherwise healthy.

Originally prohibited by Victoria state law from attending a mainstream school because of his physical disability, even though he was not mentally impaired, Vujicic became one of the first disabled students integrated into a mainstream school once the laws changed.

Being bullied at school for his limbless disability, Vujicic grew depressed and by the age of eight, contemplated suicide. At age ten he tried to drown himself, but did not go through with it out of love for his parents. After praying to grow arms and legs, Vujicic eventually realised that his accomplishments could inspire others – and became grateful for his life. A key turning point came when his mother showed him a newspaper article about a man dealing with a severe disability. Vujicic realized he wasn't unique in his struggles and began to embrace his disability.

He began to master the daily tasks of life. He learned to write using the two toes on his left foot with a special grip that slid onto his big toe. He learned to use a computer and type using the "heel and toe" method. He learned to throw tennis balls, play drum pedals, get a glass of water, comb his hair, brush his teeth, answer the phone and shave.

In Year 7 he was elected captain of his school and worked with the student council on fundraising events for local charities and disability campaigns. When he was seventeen, he started to give talks at his prayer group, and eventually started his non-profit organisation, Life Without Limbs.

In 2005 Vujicic was nominated for the Young Australian of the Year Award.

Vujicic currently lives in California. On 12 February 2012, he married his fiancée, Kanae Miyahara.

Vujicic graduated from Griffith University at the age of 21 with a double major in accountancy and financial planning. Subsequently he became a motivational speaker, travelling internationally and focusing on teen issues. Having addressed over three million people in over 24 countries on five continents, he speaks to corporate audiences, congregations and schools.

Vujicic promotes his work through television shows and through his writing. His first book, Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life (Random House, 2010) was published in 2010. He markets a motivational DVD, Life's Greater Purpose, a short documentary filmed in 2005 highlighting his home life and regular activities. The second part of the DVD was filmed at his local church in Brisbane – one of his first professional motivational speeches. He markets a DVD for young people titled: No Arms, No Legs, No Worries: Youth Version.

In March 2008, he was interviewed by Bob Cummings for 20/20.

He starred in the short film The Butterfly Circus which won the Doorpost Film Project's top prize of 2009, and the Best Short Film award at the Method Fest Film Festival, where Vujicic was also awarded Best Actor in a short film. Butterfly Circus also won the best short film award at The Feel Good Film Festival in Hollywood in 2010.

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People Directory

Bishop Danilo (Krstić)

Born on May 13, 1927 in Novi Sad, Danilo studied law in Belgrade, and graduated from Sorbonne in literature in 1952. From 1954 to 1958 he studied theology at the Saint Sergius’ Academy in Paris. While studying in Paris, he became acquainted with Bishop John of Shanghai, and he underwent a spiritual renewal. His doctoral thesis On Divine Philanthropy: From Plato to John Chrysostom, he completed under Fr George Florovsky at Harvard in 1968 (under the title: St. John Chrysostom as the Theologian of Divine Philanthropy; reprinted in Theologia, Athens, 1983).

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Publishing

Holy Emperor Constantine and the Edict of Milan

by Bishop Athanasius (Yevtich)

In 2013 Christian world celebrates 1700 years since the day when the Providence of God spoke through the holy Emperor Constantine and freedom was given to the Christian faith. Commemorating the 1700 years since the Edict of Milan of 313, Sebastian Press of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church published a book by Bishop Athanasius Yevtich, Holy Emperor Constantine and the Edict of Milan. The book has 72 pages and was translated by Popadija Aleksandra Petrovich. This excellent overview of the historical circumstances that lead to the conversion of the first Christian emperor and to the publication of a document that was called "Edict of Milan", was originally published in Serbian by the Brotherhood of St. Simeon the Myrrh-gusher, Vrnjci 2013. “The Edict of Milan” is calling on civil authorities everywhere to respect the right of believers to worship freely and to express their faith publicly.

The publication of this beautiful pocket-size, full-color, English-language book, has been compiled and designed by Bishop Athanasius Yevtich, a disciple of the great twentieth-century theologian Archimandrite Justin Popovich. Bishop Athanasius' thought combines adherence to the teachings of the Church Fathers with a vibrant faith, knowledge of history, and a profound experience of Christ in the Church.

In the conclusion of the book, the author states:"The era of St. Constantine and his mother St. Helena, marks the beginning of what history refers to as Roman, Christian Empire, which was named Byzantium only in recent times in the West. In fact, this was the conception of a Christian Europe. Christian Byzantine culture had a critical effect on Europe; Europe was its heir, and then consciously forgot it. Europe inherited many Byzantine treasures, but unfortunately, also robbed and plundered many others for its own treasuries and museums – not only during the Crusades, but during colonial rule in the Byzantine lands as well. We, the Orthodox Slavs, received a great heritage of the Orthodox Christian East from Byzantium. Primarily, Christ’s Gospel, His faith and His Church, and then, among other things, the Cyrillic alphabet, too."