Zagreb, (IKA) – The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Irinej, will be coming to Zagreb next week for a three-day visit from June 7 to 9. Although this is an internal event for the Orthodox Church, the opening of the new building of the Cantacuzene Katarina Branković Serbian Orthodox High School and the Spiritual Center at Sveti Duh in Zagreb, the program in Zagreb will include meetings with the highest officials of the Catholic Church in Croatia and government representatives. Dr. Jure Zečević, an ecumenical expert who is Chairman of the Department of Ecumenical Theology at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb and Secretary of the Council of the Croatian Conference of Bishops for Ecumenism and Dialogue, spoke on Croatian Catholic Radio about this first visit to Croatia by the highest officials of the SOC, a historical event in our country: “Patriarch Irinej and the current members of the Holy Synod attach considerable importance to relations with other Christian churches, especially with the Catholic Church. From the secular media in Serbia and the official media of the Serbian Orthodox Church, it is evident that the current leadership of the SOC is subjected on occasion by some circles in their Church to sharp criticism for allegedly excessive ecumenical openness. It is known, for example, that when Patriarch Irinej was still the Bishop of Niš, he expressed openness to a visit by the Holy Father to Serbia, i.e., Niš, the birthplace of Roman Emperor Constantine, which would have taken place in 2013, the year commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan. Although it seems that objective circumstances do not permit the Pope’s visit on that occasion, I personally believe that this visit by the Holy Synod to Zagreb and the representatives of the Catholic Church in Croatia, among other things, expresses the openness of the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church to dialogue and cooperation with the Catholic Church.” Dr. Zečević also added: “As far as I know, this is the first time in history that the entire Holy Synod has come to Croatia, to Zagreb, and had a meeting with the highest representatives of the Catholic Church in Croatia, the Permanent Council of the Croatian Conference of Bishops. This already speaks about the significance of this encounter for interchurch relations.
In response to a journalist’s question about whether this was an encouraging ecumenical sign, Dr. Zečević said: “In this way, the pastors of the two Churches are unambiguously providing a positive example of Christian interconnectedness. Therefore, this encounter represents a new sign of hope for Catholic-Orthodox relations. Regardless of the issues discussed, the meeting has the value of a sign, a positive sign, a sign of good will, by which the Church pastors bear witness to their faithful, the Christians of both Churches and the general public, to the existence of the common evangelical foundations of Christian faith and a willingness to cooperate.”
Dr. Jure Zečević commented to Croatian Catholic Radio that cooperation between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Croatia is characterized by mutual openness and availability: “As an example of cooperation at the level of the episcopal commissions of the Croatian Conference of Bishops and the Holy Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church, consisting of four bishops on each side, which have already met with each other three times. I would also mention scholarly-educational cooperation at the level of the Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, and the Orthodox Faculty of Theology in Belgrade, where Orthodox theologians from Belgrade teach at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb and Catholic theologians from Zagreb teach at the Orthodox Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. These and similar forms of cooperation, evident from the announced meeting, show that both sides care about promoting authentic, humane gospel values in our Churches and societies. Therefore, I believe that this meeting, with regard to its religious and ecclesial dimensions, should be viewed positively by the public.”

On June 7, the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church will participate in a ceremony on the occasion of the opening of the new Orthodox high school in Zagreb. At 9 a.m. the next day, June 8, the members will meet with representatives of the Permanent Council of the Croatian Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Residence of the Archbishop of Zagreb.

The Holy Synod is the highest executive and judicial authority of an Orthodox Church, in this case the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Patriarch, currently Irinej Gavrilović, and consists of four bishops: Bishop Vasilije of Srem, Bishop Irinej of Bačka, Bishop Jovan of Šumadia, and Bishop Joanikije of Budimlja and Nikšić. Their tasks, among other things, are to be concerned with dogmatic and canonical unity, spreading of the Christian faith, and educational and spiritual activities in the territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church.