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

"All Roads Lead to Jackson" Presented in Pittsburgh, PA

At the beginning of March, Milina Jovanovic, author of All Roads Lead to Jackson (Sebastian Press, 2013), traveled to Pittsburgh, PA - home of one of the largest and oldest Serbian communities in the U. S. Together with Dr. Krinka Vidakovic Petrov, she spoke at two events organized by the local chapter of Kolo Srpskih Sestara and one of the oldest Serbian organizations in the U. S. - Serb National Federation. This was an excellent opportunity to see both authors together and make Serbian history an emerging popular topic for diverse audiences.

Kolo Srpskih Sestara hosted everyone who could stay after the Divine Liturgy on March 8th and spend their lunch time at the social hall of the Holy Trinity Church. Kolo members provided a very healthy vegan meal, including home baked desserts. Reverend Rajko Kosic and his wife Vera also publicized and attended both events. Milina Jovanovic was introduced by Krinka Vidakovic Petrov and Milos Rastovic of the Serb National Federation. She talked about her book From the Balkans to the Pacific Coast and Serbian history in California, emphasizing connections between various Serbian communities across the U. S. This was an informal presentation and the audience enjoyed talking to both authors. Ms. Vidakovic Petrov is well known among the parishioners and they also showed a lot of interest in Ms. Jovanovic's research. The question and answer segment of the event was even more informal. The audience had an opportunity to be active participants sharing their own stories and constructive comments. At the end of the event, the two authors and Kolo members noted that this was a great way to celebrate March 8th, the International Women's Day. Ms. Jovanovic talked about the notable Serbian women of Amador County who remain impressive with their strength, creativity, generosity and bravery.

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One day later, on March 9th, Krinka Vidakovic Petrov and Milina Jovanovic gave a talk at Pittsburgh University. This event was sponsored by the Serb National Federation--the publisher of American Srbobran, the oldest existing Serbian printed media. Organizers chose one of the most impressive academic settings as a venue - the famous Cathedral of Learning. Based on their perception that the Yugoslav Room was too small for the number of attendees. the event was held in the English Room. Pittsburgh University is unique with its Nationality Rooms built over time to teach students that they need to broaden their geographical and cultural understanding of distant countries. These rooms are still used as classrooms, but they are also one of the many great tourist attractions in the city of Pittsburgh. In the evening of March 9th the audience had a chance to learn more details about how All Roads Lead to Jackson developed from a vague idea to a lengthy research project, to the publication of a book. Ms. Jovanovic also explained why Serbian history in the U. S. in many ways started on the West Coast, precisely in California, and remains deeply rooted in Jackson. Ca. All questions about the book title, research methodology, and community image were answered at the end of the event. Ms. Vidakovic Petrov talked about the Serbian history on the East Coast where the first individuals arrived from Serbian lands. However, those individuals were not able to form stable communities. The first sustainable communities, Serbian organizations, Serbian Orthodox Church, and printed media, originated in California. Dr. Vidakovic highlighted stories of several exceptional individuals and mentioned George Fisher who was the first Secretary of California’s Land Commission in 1953 and a famous physicist and the first Serbian Consul General in New York, Mihailo Pupin. Some of those lesser known individuals volunteered to fight in the Great War and stayed in the old country afterwards. Others returned to the U. S. to pursue different kinds of endeavors. Some of their stories are included in Vidakovic Petrov’s book Serbian Americans and Their Printed Media.

After the event, Mr. John Martich, the President of the Serb National Federation and Milos Rastovic of the same organization, invited all attendees to continue their lively conversations with the two authors and share refreshments provided by the Federation. Many stayed for anadditional hour and socialized with each other, Ms. Jovanovic and Ms. Vidakovic Petrov. It should be noted that Krinka Vidakovic Petrov is a distinguished expert on Serbian American history. She published several books and numerous scholarly articles on this topic in Belgrade, her primary residence. Her book Serbian Americans and Their Printed Media was recently translated by Milina Jovanovic and the English version is forthcoming by Sebastian Press.


SA

 

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Bishop Irinej (Dobrijević)

(2016–)

On 25 May 2016 the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected by acclamation Bishop Irinej of Australia and New Zealand to the Throne of Bishops of Eastern America following the election of Bishop Mitrophan of Eastern America to the Throne of Bishops of Canada.

He was born in 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, to his father Djuro and mother Milica (nee Svilar). His elementary and secondary education was completed in Cleveland, Ohio. After attending the Cleveland Institute of Art from 1973–1975, he attended St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania from 1975–1979, where he graduated with a Licentiate in Theology with the academic distinction maxima cum laude. In 1980 he enrolled in St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York and graduated in 1982 with a Master of Divinity degree with Honorable Mention for his master’s thesis Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich: A 1921 Mission to America. Following which, he entertained studies at the Athens Centre in 2000 and 2003 receiving levels I and II certificates in contemporary Greek language.

He spent most of his career in the field of education. He lectured as visiting fellow at Loyola University in Chicago and visiting fellow at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade. For many years he was the co-editor of The Path of Orthodoxy, the official publication of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada.

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Publishing

My Brother's Keeper

by Fr. Radovan Bigovic

Rare are the books of Orthodox Christian authors that deal with the subject of politics in a comprehensive way. It is taken for granted that politics has to do with the secularized (legal) protection of human rights (a reproduction of the philosophy of the Enlightenment), within the political system of so-called "representative democracy", which is limited mostly to social utility or to the conventional rules of human relations. Most Christians look at politics and democracy as unrelated with their experience of the Church herself, which abides both in history and in the Kingdom, the eschaton. Today, the commercialization of politics—its submission to the laws of publicity and the brainwashing of the masses—has literally abolished the "representative" parliamentary system. So, why bother with politics when every citizen of so-called developed societies has a direct everyday experience of the rapid decline and alienation of the fundamental aspects of modernity?

In the Orthodox milieu, Christos Yannaras has highlighted the conception of the social and political event that is borne by the Orthodox ecclesiastical tradition, which entails a personalistic (assumes an infinite value of the human person as opposed to Western utilitarian individualism) and relational approach. Fr Radovan Bigovic follows this approach. In this book, the reader will find a faithful engagement with the liturgical and patristic traditions, with contemporary thinkers, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, all in conversation with political science and philosophy. As an excellent Orthodox theologian and a proponent of dialogue, rooted in the catholic (holistic) being of the Orthodox Church and of his Serbian people, Fr Radovan offers a methodology that encompasses the above-mentioned concerns and quests.