Zadar, (IKA) – The President of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Želimir Puljić of Zadar, and the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, met on Tuesday, August 18, at the Cathedral of St. Anastasia in Zadar, where each delivered an address. Patriarch Irinej was accompanied by bishops from all parts of Serbia and was visiting Croatia at the invitation of Serbian Orthodox Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia on the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary of the seminary of the Krka monastery.
In addition to visiting the Orthodox faithful of the Dalmatian Eparchy in Zadar, the Patriarch wanted to join the Catholic Archbishop of Zadar in veneration of the sacred relics of St. Anastasia, which date from Roman and early Christian times. Msgr. Puljić said the meeting in the Cathedral of St. Anatasia was significant because for centuries the saint has linked the East and West, Orthodox and Catholic faithful. This meeting in Zadar transcends the dimensions of local boundaries and space, said Msgr. Puljić. “Bearing in mind the twentieth century and the many tensions endured by Croats and Serbs, both due to wars of worldwide scale and local conflicts and disputes, I would like this meeting to be a contribution to peace and stability in Croatia and Serbia. I believe that the leaders of our religious communities, bishops and pastors, as well as the engaged lay faithful, have much to contribute. Although the scars of the recent wartime suffering are still fresh, and the terrain is not the most suitable for ecumenical meetings and messages, I believe that we Christians must tirelessly spread love, tolerance and forgiveness,” said Msgr. Puljić in his address to the Patriarch, noting that Catholics and Orthodox Christians are particularly called to this task because they are bound by the same books and traditions, kerygmata and liturgies, and the magisterium of the first seven ecumenical councils. The visit by Patriarch Irinej, accompanied by the bishops, is a contribution to cooperation between the two Churches, said Msgr. Puljić, expressing the desire that it would provide an incentive for the faithful of both communities who believe in the Resurrected Christ, the sole Redeemer of mankind.
The anniversary of the educational institution of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Dalmatia, the occasion for the Patriarch’s visit to Croatia, “shows how Catholic and Orthodox educational institutions have been renewing Europe intellectually, spiritually, educationally and culturally for centuries. The city of Zadar is justifiably proud that six hundred years ago, as in other European cities such as Bologna, Paris, Cambridge and Padua, its first university was established by the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church,” said Msgr. Puljić, who expressed his congratulations on the four hundredth anniversary of the seminary in the monastery of Krka. The archbishop also referred to the content of the Charta Oecumenica signed in Strasbourg on April 22, 2001, by the President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), along with the Guidelines for the Growing Cooperation among the Churches in Europe, which stress three important tasks: to go to each other, work together and pray together. “Ecumenism lives from this triple path. Two areas are particularly important in the implementation of these guidelines: Europe, which for centuries has been the battlefield of national, religious and regional tensions and conflicts; and the Holy Land, which in the sea of the Islamic world offers a truly said picture of Christian disunity,” said Msgr. Puljić. The archbishop also stressed the importance of the Virgin Mary, venerated by both Orthodox and Catholics, whose Assumption has already been celebrated by Catholics and will be celebrated by Orthodox Christians in ten days. “Let us address our prayers to her for our Holy Churches, which we lead in the name of Jesus, and for our nations that we serve. She is described in the writings of the Fathers as the Virgin who prays, listens, sacrifices and makes offerings. May she call us to gather around her, as in the Age of the Apostles. May she, the Mother of the Apostles, protect and intercede for the faithful of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Serbia and Croatia, Europe and the world,” said Archbishop Puljić.
Patriarch Irinej, the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci, then greeted Msgr. Puljić. He addressed him as “Your Eminence” and thanked him for his words of welcome, expressing his admiration for St. Anastasia’s “beautiful cathedral that is a house of God, holy temple, in which the faithful assemble in prayer and worship.” “I am pleased that the Lord has given me the opportunity to visit this ancient Christian city, which also had the opportunity to welcome the Apostle Paul. It is not impossible. We lack data about this but since he was in these parts, at his time Zadar was his city. This city and this beautiful temple abundantly remind us of our time together, when there was one Christian Church. It was not a short time and was not so long ago. It was a time when the Lord was glad. I believe that if we work to bring that time back, we shall gladden our common Lord and our holy servants of God, including St. Anastasia of Rome,” said Patriarch Irinej and continued: “We have much in common, despite certain differences. However, there is much more that unites us, draws us closer to each other to make us one, if not together than at least next to each other. There was a time when we did something that is not worthy of the name of Christian. When man distances himself from God, then everything is possible. We all pray to the Lord every day for the unity of the Churches and for that time in the past to be far from us and never repeat itself,” said Patriarch Irinej, noting that we live in a time that leads us to one another. “…we are duty-bound and called to do something, to transcend history, the past that divides us, the past that has left its mark, of which we are not proud. The Lord wants our community. And we are all working and should be working, if we are still not together, to become closer to each other. For us and for our Churches, there is a very great responsibility. As we, specifically you and I, behave, so will our faithful because they are watching us, supporting us and do what we want. Let us make an effort to do and live as the Lord wants us to because we are all his people,” said Patriarch Irinej. He pointed out that the Church unites Catholics and Orthodox Christians, drawing them together and forming a kinship. “What unites us and we share in common is much greater than what divides us. Let us try to support what we have in common, to proclaim this as the method, plan and program of our lives, and certainly many things will be better than they are,” said Patriarch Irinej, concluding: “May God bless Catholics and Orthodox Christians, Orthodox Christians and Catholics, that we may try to be children of God. The Sacraments and Divine Liturgy are dear to us and, if we bear this in mind, what happened before surely will not repeat itself. At one time there were many more Serbs here than today, and the past bears witness that there was a time when we lived like brothers. Let us pray to God for that time to return. Life passes quickly. There is no greater tragedy for a person than to cultivate hatred toward anyone. Hatred destroys and kills the one who hates more than the one who is hated because it is first in us. May the Lord protect us from it, so that we may truly be like brothers, because we bear the same name, Christians, after our Lord, who is our only Savior in whom we believe. Therefore, we are obligated and called to be brothers.”
The meeting in the cathedral was held following the visit by Patriarch Irinej to the Orthodox Church of St. Elijah, which is located in the immediate vicinity. At the main entrance, the Patriarch was welcomed by the cathedral pastor, the Rev. Josip Radojica Pinčić, and accompanied by organ music to the presbytery, where he was welcomed by Msgr. PuljićS. After delivering their addresses, they and their entourages visited the adjoining nave of the cathedral where the sarcophagus with the relics of St. Anastasia are located, which the members of the Orthodox Church venerated by singing of a hymn (troparion) in her honor. The Rev. Dario Tičić, Pastor of Belafuža in Zadar, briefly spoke about the life of St. Anatasia, her veneration in Zadar and the translation of her relics there in the year 810. The meeting was concluded at the Zmajević Archdiocesan Seminary, where Archbishop Puljić and Patriarch Irinej were engaged in a personal conversation while Catholic priests of Zadar and the Orthodox bishops socialized with each other in the auditorium. The hosts were the rector and spiritual advisor of the seminary, the Rev. Čedomil Šupraha and Stanislav Wielinski, and the Archdiocesan Vicar for Pastoral Ministry, the Rev. Igor Ikić.