Serbian Orthodox bishop Kačavenda has returned to Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Tuzla, November 10, 1997 (IKA) — Serbian Orthodox Bishop Vasilije Kačavenda has returned to Tuzla where on Sunday, November 9, he conducted his first Divine Liturgy in the Church of Our Lady after an absence of five and a half years. In his sermon, Bishop Kačavenda called upon “God to help in realizing the Dayton peace accords,” adding that only this “can guarantee peace, happiness and the continuation of life” in this region. Bishop Kačavenda left Tuzla in May 1992 after the war broke out. It was frequently possible to see him on television programs with Radovan Karadžić , when he blessed the Serbian soldiers in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A large number of the inhabitants of Tuzla consider Bishop Kačavenda to be a war criminal. According to a close associate, the bishop returned to Tuzla with the support of the Organization for European Security and Cooperation (OESC). Bishop Kačavenda has allegedly agreed to help the officials of the OESC, who organized the municipal elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina held in September, with the implementation of the election results in the Repulika Srpska.