“Serbia – The Portal Between the Homeland and the Diaspora”: Youth Conference Awaits Participants

Preparations are underway for an International Youth Conference, to be held in Serbia at the end of June 2027. The theme of the conference is “Serbia – The Portal Between the Homeland and the Diaspora.” Participants will uncover for today’s youth the path taken by the émigrés who were forced to leave their homeland at the beginning of the 20th century. Their path led through Serbia – the birthplace of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which went on to preserve and spread the Orthodox faith across every continent where the parishes and monasteries of the Church Abroad were established and still stand today.

Archpriest Andrei Sommer, Deputy Chairman of the Youth Committee of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and President of the Prince Vladimir Youth Association, has returned from Serbia, where, together with representatives of the chancery of the Serbian Orthodox Church and other church and civic organizations, a great deal of work was done and active preparation for the youth event has begun.

“It is important for us to reveal to the younger generation the connection between those who stood at the origins of the Russian Church Abroad and the faithful of our own day: the importance of taking part in church life, their responsibility for founding new parishes and for their active work, and the responsibility of today’s youth for the further spread of Orthodoxy across the continents,” says Fr. Andrei. “Where and how did the Church Abroad begin, what goals did its founders set, and who were these people? With this in mind, the conference will include not only lectures but also pilgrimages to the holy sites of Serbia. And, of course, divine services, many meetings with figures from education and culture, with seminarians and students, and a variety of church and cultural events.”

How did your visit to Serbia begin? Whom did you meet?

“On arriving in Belgrade, I went to the chancery of the Serbian Patriarchate, where I met with the Chancellor, Archpriest Georgije Stojsavljević.

Metropolitan Nicholas had sent a letter in advance to Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia describing the upcoming conference, and the Patriarch’s blessing for my visit to Serbia was received.

With Fr. Georgije we also discussed opportunities for working together with Serbian youth in the future.

From Belgrade I traveled to Sremski Karlovci, where I met with the rector of the seminary, Archpriest Jovan Milonović. We agreed to bring our young people to the seminary, where a presentation will be given for the conference participants and the Serbian seminarians. I also visited the Patriarchal Residence, where the First All-Diaspora Council was held in 1921 (from November 21 to December 3). Officially, this assembly of clergy and laity was called the Russian All-Diaspora Church Assembly, and it marked the beginning of the official history of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

My path then led to another place the conference participants will also visit: the main church of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the largest church in the Balkans – the Cathedral of St. Sava in Belgrade. In its majestic simplicity the church recalls the finest Byzantine buildings. Its architectural plan was based on the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, now the Hagia Sophia museum. Yet the church still looks distinctly Serbian, thanks to the four small towers, typical of the Balkans, that surround the central dome.

The Cathedral of St. Sava is a relatively recent building. Construction began in 1894 on a site that is memorable (and tragic) for the Orthodox: the place where, on the orders of the Ottoman ruler Sinan Pasha, the relics of St. Sava – the first Archbishop of Serbia and the nation’s hero, who labored in the 12th–13th centuries – were burned. Construction stalled because of the Second World War and resumed only in 1986. The church was officially opened in 2004.

We plan to hold a Sunday Divine Liturgy in the cathedral, at which the young conference participants will sing. If Patriarch Porfirije is able, he will preside at the Liturgy.

The next day I went to the old cemetery in Belgrade, where the first First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky; † 1936), is buried in the crypt of the Iveron Chapel in the Russian Necropolis, and I served a litiya (a short memorial service) there. Other prominent figures of the Russian emigration rest beside the Metropolitan, including Archbishop Feofan (Berezkin) of Kursk. I also visited the Holy Trinity Church, built by Russian émigrés. General Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel is buried inside the church.”

What other places will the conference participants visit on pilgrimage?

“The Lelić Monastery, where the relics of St. Nikolai Velimirović (St. Nikolai of Serbia) rest. The village of Lelić lies about 8–10 km from the town of Valjevo in central Serbia. The relics are kept in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which St. Nikolai built together with his father Dragomir in 1929.

St. Nikolai reposed in 1956 in the United States (in Libertyville, near Chicago), and on May 12, 1991, his relics were solemnly transferred to his homeland in Lelić. In 1996 the church became a monastery.

The young people will also travel to the Ćelije Convent, also near Valjevo, where the relics of St. Justin (Popović) of Ćelije rest. Fr. Justin was the spiritual father of this convent for 31 years (from 1948 to 1979). His precious relics were uncovered on June 12, 2014.”

Fr. Andrei, you also visited the University of Belgrade with its remarkable Faculty of Theology…

“Yes. More than 1,000 students study at the Faculty of Theology, and there is a church inside the university building. We will give the main presentations at the Faculty of Theology, in its two-story auditorium.

From there I went to the Department of Russian Language, where I met with our compatriot, Vice Dean Professor Irina Nikolaevna Antanasijević. We agreed that students will serve as volunteer interpreters for the conference participants.”

Where will the conference’s cultural program take place?

“We plan to hold an exhibition at the cultural center in Sremski Karlovci on the Russian emigration from the 19th century to the present day. Part of the cultural program will take place at the Russian House in the center of Belgrade. The Russian House (now the Russian Center for Science and Culture) was dedicated to Emperor Nicholas II and built with the support of the Serbian King Alexander I Karađorđević and the clergy. The young participants will also give a concert of sacred music there.

On my last day, before my flight home, I returned to the Chancellor’s office and was able to meet with Patriarch Porfirije. It was a warm meeting, during which the Patriarch approved our further cooperation with the Serbian Patriarchate and our help in developing plans for their youth work. He also told me how, before becoming Patriarch, he had carried out serious work with people suffering from drug addiction.

His Holiness stressed the importance of Orthodox jurisdictions preserving their traditions, culture, language, and identity.”

How many people will attend the conference?

“One hundred participants, plus Serbian youth. In total, about 150 people are expected to take part and volunteer.”

When will registration for the conference open?

“In December. We invite young parishioners to take part in the conference, and we ask clergy and parishes to consider how they might help them. Follow us for more information – see you in Serbia!”

Interview by Tatiana Veselkina. Translated from Russian.