“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

stgeorgeinsd www.stgeorgeinsd.org @FrBratso [email protected] 619-316-2362 619-276-5827

Summer 2021Fall 2021

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

St. John 14:6

“Ја сам Пут, Истина и Живот.”

Св. Јован 14, 6

Diocesan Bishop: The Right Rev. Bishop Dr. Maxim (Vasiljevic)

Diocesan website http://westsrbdio.org

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Editor: Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Bratislav Bratso Krsic

Graphic Design and Prepress: Denis Vikic

Mail your materials to Fr. Bratso Krsic at [email protected]

Icon on the front page: Pantocrator inside St. George SOC, San Diego

Summer 2021 / Fall 2021

St. George Serbian Orthodox ChurchWestern American Dioceseof the Serbian Orthodox Churchin North, Central & South America

Table of Contents4 Father Bratso’s letter to the Saint George parish

7 From the president of the Parish Council/Church Board

7 Morava Voice Article – September 2021

8 Patronal Feast Day celebrated in the Paschal joy at St. George parish in San Diego

9 Feast Days at St. George

10 Father Sebastian Dabovich, by St. Nicholai (Velimirovich) of Zicha

14 Orthodox Christian Catechism

17 Sunday school convocation

17 Митрополит Амфилохије: Етимологија речи „образовање“ и „васпитање“

18 Second Week of 2021 St. Sava Camp

23 Vidovdan celebration at St. George

26 Western American Diocese, Diocesan Days 2021

30 Milojko Mike Vucelic

32 Preparing Our Youth for College Life, by Christina Andresen

34 2019 Pilgrimage to Serbia

36 St. George Morava 2nd Ensemble Update

38 St. George Morava 3rd Ensemble

39 Congratulations! Честитамо!

40 Food for Thought – За размишљање

42 Serbian Orthodox Calendar 2021

43 Fr. Bratso’s Anniversary

The Voice of St . George • Summer/Fall 2021 3

St. George Auxiliary organizations:Kolo Copresidents: Sladana Melos [email protected] and

Nada Milicevic [email protected]

Vice President: Lydia Rhoads Petric [email protected]

Morava Folklore Groups: Cristina Dukovich [email protected]

Choir: Velimir Jovanovic and Kate Thickstun

Clergy:Fr. Bratislav Bratso KrsicProtodeacon Paul Germain

Lay members:President Kathryn Thickstun1st V. President Velimir Jovanovic2nd V. President Vladimir KezicTreasurer Milos BelcevicAssistant Treasurer Linda AlemanySecretary Reader Nicholas Jeff Schrandt Fin. Secretary(Paid position; not elected)

Maja Topalovic

Members at large:Stewardship Maja TopalovicMember Vojkan PopovicMember Vladan TrifunovicMember Simona TrifunovicMember Andrew MarinMember Lisa KrsicMember Marija MilasinovicMember Kathleen Rutherford Member Jadranka Bozinovska

Auditing Committee:President Miro CopicMember Vesna JovanovicMember Dusanka Klacar

Tutors:Milos LukicGeorge SkaljacNebojsa RajkovicMiro CopicReader Constantine Chris DizickJeff Joseph Wilgus

Readers:Reader Nicholas Jeff SchrandtReader Aleksandar BradicReader Seraphim Daniel De La VegaReader Radovan BorovicReader Constantine Chris DizickReader Peter Jason Sloan

Church Board/Parish Council Members and other lay leaders at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church

Office: 619-276-5827; website: StGeorgeInSD.org (As elected or appointed during Annual Assembly held on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021):

4 The Voice of St . George • Summer/Fall 2021

My dear Parishioners and Friends in the Lord,

I hope and pray this letter finds you all in a good spiritual state and physical health.

I am writing this letter on the Eve of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God feast day that we celebrate on September 8/21. Mary, or the “Theotokos” (God-bear-er or in church-slavonic Bogorodica) is given two main titles: the first is “Theotokos” and the second one is “Pan-agia,” meaning the “All-holy”. With these two titles, our Holy Orthodox Church affirms the teaching of our Or-thodox Faith that the Theotokos is an inseparable part of our faith, that God became man. She gave a birth to God to become a man for our salvation. She accepted God’s will in her life, and humbly and faithfully served Him until the end of her earthly life. She is “All-Holy,” mean-ing the holiest of all saints. She gave birth to Christ in Bethlehem and nurtured him as a child in Nazareth, de-veloping his soul and mind with prayer and devotion to God. This is why the Theotokos is placed at the center of our devotional life, both personal and communal.

In our personal devotional life, we ask for her inter-cession before her Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In her we have constant intercession and protection. She is the mother of Jesus Christ and mother of us all. Many mothers come to her in prayer asking for her help in rais-ing children. Young women come to her seeking guid-ance through prayer, as they make important decisions in their life, such as the relationship with their future spouse, marriage, etc. She has helped countless women, children, men, and families in their hour of need.

In our communal devotional life, we place her icon called “More spacious than heaven” (Širšaja Nebes [pro-nounce as Shyrshaya Nebes]) in the ceiling area of the altar communicating the reality that in her womb she

Драги моји парохијани и пријатељи у Христу Господу,

Надам се да Вас ово писмо зати-че у добром духовном располо-жењу и физичком здрављу.

Пишем Вам ово писмо уочи празника Рођења Пре-све те Богородице који славимо 8/21. септембра. У Православној Цркви, Дјеву Марију називамо Пресве-том Богородицом. Са тим именима изражавамо ос-новне истине наше вере, тј. да је она неодвојива од наше ве ре у оваплоћење Христа Спаситеља. Она је ро-дила Хри ста Који је то благоизволео ради нашега спа-сења. Прихватила је вољу Божију смирено и верно Га служила до краја свога овоземаљског живота. Она је Пресвета, што значи светија од свих светих. Родивши Христа у Витлејему, она Га је одгајала и васпитавала у малом граду Назарету бринувши се за његову душу и ум уз молитве које је усрдно и најискреније узносила Богу. Зато она и јесте у центру нашег усрдног духо-вног и богослужбеног личног и црквеног живота.

У нашем личном молитвеном и духовном животу ми се њој усрдно обраћамо за помоћ и молитве пред престолом Сина њеног Христа Спаситеља. Она нам је стална узданица и заштитница. Она је мајка Христа Спаситеља и мајка свију нас. Многе мајке упућују своје молитве Пресветој Богородици за заштиту своје деце. Девојке и младе жене се усрдно обраћају њој за савете и путеводитељство у овом животу, а нарочито када неке важне животне одлуке треба да се донесу, као што су предстојећи брак или пак постојећи брак или неке недоумице, или не дај Боже, породични проблеми. Она је помогла и помаже многим женама, девојкама, деци и породицама у тешким и изазов-ним животним моментима.

У нашим храмовима и богослужбеном, тј. литур-гијском животу цркве, ми увек имамо њену икону у

Fr. Bratso’s Pastoral Letter

Пастирско Слово Оца Браце


voluntarily received the second person of the Holy Trin-ity, the Son of God. Every time we hold a service in our church, we pray: “Commemorating our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.” With this prayer, we acknowledge that she is at the center of our devotional life, not above the Church, as Christ uniquely is, as its Head, but rather at its center. When a priest serves a Proskomedia (a short service prior to the begin-ning of the Liturgy, i.e. “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…)” during which he cuts and places particles of the prosphoron (of-fering bread) on the discos he prays: “In honor of the Most Blessed Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, through her intercession, O Lord, accept this sacrifice upon your heavenly altar.” As the mother of us all, in her person she combines all the tenderness, infinite concern, depth of feeling and spiritual sensitivity of motherhood. She is the model for all Christians to follow.

So it is her Nativity or birth that we celebrate on Sep-tember 8/21 with the Divine Liturgy and gathering as God’s people and God’s family. Her parents’ names were Joachim and Anna.

St. Joachim was of the tribe of Judah, and a descen-dant of King David. St. Anna was the daughter of Mat-than, the priest, of the tribe of Levi as was Aaron, the High Priest. Matthan had three daughters: Mary, Zoia, and Anna. Mary was married in Bethlehem and bore Sa-lome; Zoia was also married in Bethlehem and bore Eliz-abeth, the mother of St. John the Forerunner; and Anna was married in Nazareth to Joachim, and in old age gave birth to the Theotokos. The feast day of the righteous Joachim and Anna is celebrated on September 9/22.

My beloved Parishioners and Friends, as you can see, we Orthodox Christians never separate the Theotokos from her Son, neither do we separate her from the faith-ful in the Church. She is always with us. She is standing at the center of believers, nurturing all and orienting ev-eryone to her Son, whom she never abandoned, even at His Cross, which she shared to the end (see St. Luke 2:35, St. John 19:25-27). She, likewise, does not abandon us.

In light of everything that has happened in the last 18 months (since March 19, 2020, with the issuance of a stay at home order) amid Covid-19, let us not lose the sight of all these realities of our faith and salvation. If you are at times tempted to think that you are alone, please, know that the Theotokos is praying for us and that she is with us. If you are tempted to think that no one knows your struggles and what you are going through, please know

олтарском делу храма. Та икона се зове Шира од Небе-са, јер је из своје слободне воље и смирености прихва-тила вољу Божију да се у утроби њеној зачне, борави и од ње роди Христос Спаситељ. И сваки пут када слу-жимо богослужење свим срцем се молимо: Поминући Пресвету, Пречисту, Преблагословену, Славну Владичи-цу нашу Богородицу и Приснодјеву Марију, са свима све-тима сами себе и једни друге и сва живот свој Христу Бо-гу предајмо. Са овом молитвом показујемо да је она у цен тру нашег богослужбеног живота, али ипак не изнад Цркве, јер је то само Христос, као Глава Цркве, али свакако у централном делу нашег духовног и бо-гослужбеног живота. Када свештеник служи Проско-мидију (богослужбени део Литургије за време кога се спре-мају дарови, тј. хлеб и вино уз молитвено помињање Пре-свете Богородице и свих светих, као и имена живих и упо-којених чланова Цркве), он вади посебну частицу уз ре -чи молитве У част и спомен преблагословене славне Вла -дичице наше Богородице и Приснодјеве Марије… Као мајка свих нас она својом личношћу обухвата сву нежност, бригу и дубину духовног старања које мајке осећају према својој деци. Она је заиста савршени при мер ма-теринства који све мајке света треба да следе.

Дакле, њено рођење славимо 8/21. септембра са Светом Литургијом и сабрањем као деца Божија, као изабрани народ Божији. Родитељи Пресвете Богоро-дице, Јоаким и Ана су добили своју јединицу кћерку у старости. Свети Јоаким је био из Јудиног племена и потомак цара Давида. Света Ана је била кћерка Мата-на свештеника из племена Левитског. Матан је имао три кћерке: Марију, Зоју и Ану. Марија је била удата у Витлејему и имала је кћерку Саломију. Зоја је исто та-ко била удата у Витлејему и имала је кћерку Јелисаве-ту, која је родила Светог Јована Крститеља, док је Ана била удата за Јоакима и живела је у Назарету. Ана је, дакле, родила Марију Пресвету Богородицу. Празник Светих Јоакима и Ане се слави 9/22. септембра, тј. дан после празника Пресвете Богородице.

Драги моји парохијани и пријатељи, као што ви-дите, ми Православни хришћани никада не раздваја-мо Пресвету Богородицу од њеног Сина, нити њу од верног народа Божијег. Она је увек са нама. Она је у центру како нашег богослужбеног живота, исто тако и живота верног народа увек упућујући све нас ка Спаситељу кога никада није оставила, чак и за време његовог страдања на крсту (видети Св. Лука 2, 35, Св. Јован 19, 25-27). Дакле, она је увек са нама.

Када сагледамо све оно што се издешавало у зад-њих 18 месеци пандемије кроз ове истините реално-сти нашег духовног живота и присуства Пресвете Бо-


that the Theotokos is infinitely concerned for you and all of us.

I invite you all to join me in prayer to the Theotokos, to strengthen our faith and devotion to God by praying: “O Most Holy Theotokos, intercede for us all, before your Son and our God, Jesus Christ. Protect us with your lov-ing tenderness and care, as our mother, and guide us to-ward your Son that in Him we may find refuge and salva-tion. Amen.”

Looking ahead, our parish continues with regular services and activities. Our Saturday night Vespers ser-vice is more increasingly attended and participated in, as our parishioners take the opportunity to prepare for Sunday Liturgy, with prayer and confession the night be-fore. This reflects on a more attentive participation in the Sunday Liturgy as well. As someone said about the duty of the Church or local parish being to produce the relics, that is, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to sanctify the faithful, making them living saints in this life, we in-deed, always call to mind this reality of our faith. We are called to live a holy life and to “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Fa-ther in heaven.” (St. Matthew 5:16)

Please, know that you all are in my daily prayers and that I am always ready to hear your confession and con-cerns. If something is important to you, it is important to me, most especially all the matters pertaining to our sal-vation and our cherished St. George parish family life.

May God’s continued protection and grace be with all of you!

With all my love in Christ our Lord,Fr. Bratso Krsic

городице и свих светих, видимо да ипак нисмо сами нити смо заборављени. И ако смо чак и принуђени разним спољашњим искушењима и тескобама да можда тако нешто и помислимо, треба да се подсети-мо та то ипак није реалност. Оно што је стварно, те-мељно и истинито је Божије постојање и чињеница да смо ми чланови Тела Његовог, тј. Цркве и да ника-да нисмо сами, односно да смо део плана Божијег, тј. позвани смо да наследимо Царство Божије.

Позивам Вас све да се заједно молимо Пресветој Богородици да нам Господ учврсти веру нашу њеним молитвама које непрестано приноси за све нас Сину своме. Нека наша молитва буде ова: Пресвета Мајко Христа Бога, принеси молитве своје пред престолом Си-на свога за све нас. Сачувај нас својим покровом мајчине љу-бави и упути нас ка Сину твоме, Христу Спаситељу на-шем, да у њему уточиште и спасење нађемо. Амен.

Имајте на уму да у нашој парохији ми и даље на-стављамо са свим регуларним богослужењима и ак-тивностима. Вечерња служба суботом је све више по-сећенија и многи наши парохијани се спремају за исповест уочи недеље, што заиста служи као пример духовне припреме за учешће у Светој Литургији и при мање Светог Причешћа. Оваква молитвена при-према уочи недеље се одражава на духовни живот и дубље разумевање Евхаристије, тј. Свете Литургије и нашег целокупног духовног здравља. По речима црк-веног писца, задатак Цркве је да Духом Светим чини људе светима. Заиста, сви смо позвани да живимо светим животом у Христу Спаситељу који нас упућује да се светли светлост ваша међу људима и да виде добра дела ваша и прославе Оца вашега који је на небесима (Св. Матеј 5, 16).

Драга браћо и сестре, сви сте у мојим свакодневним молитвама. Знајте да сам увек спреман да вас саслу-шам, чујем исповест, или било какво друго питање. Ако је нешто у вашем погледу важно, то исто је и за мене и за нашу парохију важно, нарочито питања ве-ре, духовног живота и спасења душа наших.

Нека би благодат Господа нашега, заштита и спа-сење увек били са свима вама!

У Христу Спаситељу,Протојереј-ставрофор Брацо Кршић


Dear Fellow Parishioners,FINALLY we can once again hold our San Diego Serbian Festival! To keep everyone as safe as possible, it will be smaller, shorter, and more like a picnic. As always, the focus will be on food, music and fellowship. Satur-day, October 9, 4p to 10p.

That said, we still need your help. There’s a job for everyone, from setup to cleanup. Please contact Fr. Bratso ([email protected]) to tell him how you can help. If you would like to help in the kitchen, please contact Jadranka Bozinovska ([email protected]).

Blessings to all of our students and their families as you return to school!

Yours in Christ,

Kate Thickstun

From the president of the Parish Council/Church Board

Dear Friends and Supporters,Folklore is BACK! Morava has started its 2021-2022 season for all groups! We are excited to be dancing again and look forward to this upcoming season.

All the ensembles are happy to be dancing again and look for-ward to performing for San Diego Serb Fest on October 9th. 1st En-semble is once again preparing for their annual trip to Opolo Harvest Festival. It is a lovely weekend for dancing, singing, fellowship, and of course drink-ing amazing Opolo wines. Our 2nd

Ensemble will be traveling that same weekend to Las Ve-gas for their annual Folkfest. As you can see the season has already started with a BANG!

Below are the schedules of rehearsals for the sea-son: (All practices are at St George Serbian Orthodox Church Hall)

1st Ensemble (Senior Group) Thursday 7:45pm-9:30 pm Instructor: Sava Ninkovic

2nd Ensemble (Junior Group) Sunday 12:30pm Instruc-tor: Marija Milasinovic

3rd Ensemble (Pee Wee Group) Wednesday 6:30pm In-structor: Elizabeth Zdralo

We are always looking for new dancers ranging from young kids to adults. If you or anyone you know is inter-ested in joining Morava, please contact me for a member application.

Morava looks forward to the start of our 2021-2022 season and dancing for all of you!

Tople pozdrave,Cristina “Duki” Ninkovic

Director, Morava Folklore [email protected]

Morava Voice Article – September 2021


On May 9th, St. Thomas Sunday, St. George parishioners gathered with their bishop, His Grace Maxim, in Paschal joy to celebrate their patronal feast day.

Bishop Maxim served Matins and Di-vine Liturgy with concelebration of the parish priest, Protopresbyter Bratso Krsic, protodeacon Paul Germain and deacon Vladan Radovanovic.

In his Archpastoral homily, bishop Maxim said that after the Lord’s resur-rection, every encounter with His disci-ples was another Eucharistic event, an-other continuation and affirmation of His presence. Apostle Thomas repre-sents a man of this world; a man who wants to touch and see, then believe. There is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, the church sings of Thom-as’ unbelief as a blessed one. His unbe-lief led to the confirmation of the Lord’s resurrection in Whom we continue to live inseparably.

The procession with the cross, the banners, and the icon of St. George, with stops for prayer and intercessions for the protection and blessing of the faith-ful gathered, the church, the city, every city and countryside, parish founders, and benefactors, continued with a final stop at the entrance of the church. The blessing of the slava kolach and zito with the participation of all the faithful was concluded at the entrance of the church, and the faithful continued the fellow-ship with His Grace and each other in the social hall.

With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Maxim, the Parish Council members on behalf of the parish gifted Fr. Bratso with a pectoral cross, which His Grace presented to him right before the pro-cession around the church. Fr. Bratso has served in the Serbian Orthodox Church for 25 years. In addition to his dedicated pastoral work at St. George and his former parish of Holy Trinity in Butte, Montana, he has been serving on several diocesan and central church committees. His work has been recog-nized by the blessing of His Grace Max-im to wear a pectoral cross and the new title protopresbyter-stavrophor.

The Kumovi for this year’s Slava were protodeacon Paul and Natalia Germain with their daughters, Oksana and Kaija. The program during the banquet was opened by the Sunday school students who sang Hristos Voskrese, written by St. Nikolai Velimirovic; Milanka Lehman directed the children’s choir. A heartfelt thanks go to the Kolo Sisters, the Kumovi and all participants and faithful stew-ards of St. George parish.

Fr. Milovan Katanic from St. Petka parish, San Marcos, with a few of his pa-rishioners joined the banquet and the celebration.

May God grant many years to His Grace Bishop Maxim for his Archpasto-ral care and paternal love.

Patronal Feast Day celebrated in the Paschal joy at St. George parish in San Diego


Pascha – Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – Васкрсење Господње, Sunday, May 2, 2021

Palm Sunday – Цвети, April 25, 2021

Troparion — Tone 1By raising Lazarus from the dead

before Your passion, / You did confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ

God! / Like the children with the palms of victory, / we cry out to You,

O Vanquisher of death: / Hosanna in the Highest! / Blessed is He that comes

in the Name of the Lord!

Тропар на Лазареву суботу:Опште васкрсење пре страдања Свога потврђујући, из мртвих подигао јеси

Лазара, Христе Боже. Стога и ми, попут деце знамења победе носећи, Теби, Победитељу смрти кличемо:

Осана на висинама, благословен који долази у име Господње!

Great and Holy Friday – Велики Петак, April 30, 2021

Pentecost – Trinity Sunday, June 20, 2021Troparion — Tone 8

Blessed are You O Christ Our God / You have revealed the fishermen as most wise / by sending down upon

them the Holy Spirit / through them You drew the world into Your net /

O Lover of Man, Glory to You!

Тропар на Духове, глас 8:Благословен јеси Христе Боже наш, који си показао Апостоле

премудрим ловцима, пославши им Духа Светог. Помоћу њих си задобио Васељену, Човекољупче

слава Ти!

From left: Paul Bilibin, protodeacon Paul Germain, Kate Thickstun, Fr. Bratso Krsic, reader Radovan Borovic, reader Aleksandar Bradic and Andreja Bradic on Pentecost-Trinity Sunday, June 20, 2021


By St. Nicholai (Velimirovich) of Zicha

(First published in Serb National Federation Commemorative Book, 1951)

Commemorated on Nov. 30th

Father Sebastian Dabovich

In the time of Lincoln’s presidency there existed already a notable Serbian colony in San Francisco. Among other immigrants there were two brothers, Nikola and Ilija Dabovich. They came from the village Sassovici in the district of Herzeg Novi, Bocca of Cat-taro. They were related to other two well-known Ser-bian families, Shimrak and Radoje vich, both from the same district in Bocca.

Ilija Dabovich had a pretty large family of lovely girls and two fine boys, Stefan and Jovan. And this Jo-van, born on June 9, 1863, was the late Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Serb ian priest, the first Serbian Orthodox Missionary, and the first head of the Serbian Orthodox Mission in America.

The first time I heard of Father Sebastian was in the house of Ched do Mijatovich, the former ambassador of the Kingdom of Serbia at the court of St. James in London, about forty years ago. Mijatovich showed me two books written in English by the Rev. Sebastian Dabovich and pub lished in the United States. He praised the books as being very informative about the Orthodox Church and faith, and he praised very highly the author of those books whom he knew well. Said

Mijatovich: “My friend Father Dabovich never fails to see me whenever he arrives in London. He is a real churchman, knowing his business well and caring for nothing else.”

During the First World War in 1915 I arrived in San Francisco. Father Dabovich met me at the station. He introduced me to many Serbs in that city. He took me to the Russian church, of which the rector then was Father Theodore, who married one of his sisters. This Father Theo dore later on became the famous Metro-politan of the Russian Church in America, and died in 1950.

Father Dabovich was closely connected with the Russians. As a young layman he went to Russia to study Theology. In Russia he became a monk, changing his name from Jovan to Sebastian. By the Russian Arch-bishop he was appointed the head (Nachelnik) of the Serbian Church Mission in America. The Russian Archbishop, later the great Patriarch Tikhon, made him Archimandrite and gave him a golden cross. And yet his relations with the Russians had not been always smooth and friendly. Conflicts arose several times, as for instance in Jackson and Alaska. In Jackson, Califor-


nia, there was a large Serbian colony, but without a church. In 1894 Father Dabovich urged the Serbs to build a church. They were numerous and well-paid, working in a gold mine. They all agreed and started collecting money. Father Dabovich asked and received a contribution from the “Canada” Company which owned the mine. And so the church, dedicated to St. Sava, appeared on a dominating hill in Jackson, in the center of the Serbian cemetery. The Russian Bishop de manded that that church should be chartered as a Russian church. Father Dabovich, supported by the Jackson Serbs, vehemently opposed. And before the case was brought to the law court Father Dabovich suc-ceeded in procuring a Serbian charter for the church. And this was the first Serbian church built on the soil of the New World.

Then in Alaska. There again Father Dabovich suc-ceeded in con structing a small Serbian church of St. Sava in spite of Russian op position. He converted to Christianity several Eskimo villages. The Rus sians claimed them for themselves. Similar conflicts hap-pened in Gal veston and Cincinnati. He was a righteous man, and as such, and as an American, he could not

bear the too much grasping by anybody, and not even by the Russians, under whose ecclesiastic authorities he worked. But he was not a man of lasting grudge and enmity. Generally speaking he was a friend and admir-er of the Russian Church. And the Russians re spected him.

He went on from place to place preaching the Gos-pel and rousing the Serbs to build their own churches. The people responded to his call, and they built churches in several places, as in Los Angeles and Chi-cago. Of his activity in Chicago, the poet Proka Jovkich wrote enthusiastically 1905 in the Serbian paper Srp-ska Nezavisnost, edited by Veljko Ra dojevich in San Francisco. In Chicago Dabovich organized a parish and erected a chapel on the same spot where now stands the magnificent Serbian church of the Resurrection. He was the first parish priest in that church. Proka Jo-vkich, helping Father Sebastian and seeing his evan-gelic zeal, decided to become a monk himself. But later he abandoned the idea. While in Chicago Dabovich started the first Serbian Church paper, Herald of the Serbian Church Mission. But he could not stay for long in one place. In 1917 Rev. Petar Stiyachich replaced him


in that great city, and he went on with his apostolic mission all over America from coast to coast. Thus many times he visited the lonely Serbian families in deserts and wildernesses to administer Holy Sacra-ments and bring conso lation. He crossed the Atlantic 15 times and the Pacific 9 times. In Tokyo the Russian Archbishop Nikolai offered him to stay and serve in the Rus sian Mission in Japan. But he was by vocation a wandering missionary, and could not stay there for long. But God sent another Serbian clergy man after him to Japan who stayed longer in the Russian Mis-sion. That was Rev. Georgy Kodzich, a very remarkable man by his high learning and strict asceticism. This man, as an Archmandrite in San Francisco hav ing no parish, worked as a manual laborer and acquired a modest house of his own, in which he arranged a cha-pel of St. John the Baptist and by his last will bequeathed it to the Serbian people in that westernmost great city. Thus what Father Dabovich had not done in his native city Father Kodzich did. Both of these men of God were candidates for Serbo-American bishops after the First World War. But it was fated otherwise. The true ser-vants of the Lord are measured by their heart and character and not by a high hierarchical rank.

Archimandrite Dabovich could have been a bishop even in 1907. The Russian Archbishop wanted to or-dain him as a Russian bishop for the Serbian people. But the Serbs did not want it that way. Archbishop Tik-hon was sorry about that. He was eager to show his ap-preciation of Father Dabovich for all his wonderful work. Failing to make him a bi shop, he did something else. Once when he celebrated the Holy Liturgy in the Serbian church in Chicago, he presented our Archi-mandrite with a precious mitre, which was worth 1,000 roubles in gold. But Father Da bovich quickly sold that precious gift and gave it to the church towards paying its debts. Such a man was he. He was absolutely unselfish. He remembered well the words of the apos-tle: “The love of money is the root of all evil” (I Tim. 6:10). His poverty amazed me when I met him once in New York in 1921. I invited him to lunch. Blushfully said he: “Thank you; I just took a roll of bread for my last five cents.” And salary? None. He lived on people’s free donations. And still, even with empty pockets, he planned new journeys to Alaska, to Japan, and of course to Europe.

— But you are without means! I remarked.He smiled with his usual childlike and fascinating

smile and quoted the Bible: “The Lord will provide”

(Genesis 22:8). And marvelously enough, the Lord al-ways provided for His faithful servant.

He was a sincere and convinced believer and a Christian missionary of world-scope. He traveled rest-lessly and preached and lectured in defatigably. He composed books, wrote articles, epistles, and thou-sands of private letters to laymen and priests with needed explanations, exhor tations and encourage-ments. He spoke and wrote in Serbian, English and Russian. His clumsy handbag was always full with New Testaments, religious booklets, printed Sermons and tracts. Also with small crosses for boys and girls. All this he distributed freely. He never visited a Serbi-an family empty-handed. He remembered the apos-tolic words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Father Dabovich was well known among the Serbs in America and Canada. But not only among the Serbs, but among the Russians and other Orthodox peoples as well. He made many friends among the leaders of oth-er denominations. Often I was asked by the Episcopa-lians and others: “Do you know Father Dabovich?” He was decorated by the King of Serbia, by the Tsar of Russia, by the Prince of Montenegro, and by the Patri-arch of Jerusalem.

When he crossed the Atlantic for the 15th time and came to Serbia, he remained there until his end. Patri-arch Varnava gave him an apart ment in Patriarshia, where he stayed until 1938. Then he moved to Zhicha, where he stayed with us for some time, then again to Herzeg Novi. On his way to and fro he was steadily ac-companied by Rev. Jovan Rapaich, whom he loved most of all and who took true filial care of the old man. Fi-nally he returned definitely to Zhicha, his last resort. He stayed with us until the end of 1940. From there he wrote many letters to his Ameri can friends. In a letter to Mr. Niko Mussich he wrote: “My body is getting weaker and weaker. I would like to see once more the Golden Gate. All my dearest memories from childhood are concentrated in San Francisco and in the country I was born.” This letter has been published in I. Palan-dech’s Ujedinjeno Srpstvo, March 6, 1941.

I visited him frequently, asking how the brothers served him. His heart was failing. Father Rapaich was with him day and night. The last time, on my return from the diocese, I went to see him. Sitting in an arm-chair he was breathing heavily and spoke in a whisper.

— Do you have any wish, Father? I asked.— Only the Kingdom of Heaven.He spoke no more. These were his last words, rep-


resentative of his entire career on earth. After that he gave up his spirit. He died on November 30, 1940.

The next day he was buried in the monastery’s cemetery alongside another famous Archimandrite, Father Raphael, erstwhile the Superior of the great Serbian monastery Hilandar in Sveta Gora, who died in Zhi cha in 1937. During the night the first snow had covered the earth, and it was cold. Yet His Excellency the American Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane sent the American Consul General from Belgrade to represent him at the burial. For Father Sebastian was an Ameri-can citizen. Besides, Mr. Bliss Lane had great personal devotion to him, calling him “my spiritual father Dabo-vich.”

So ended the earthly pilgrimage of a great servant of Christ and the greatest Serbian Missionary of mod-ern times. He was a mission ary by words, by deeds, and—what is the greatest of all—by his personal char-acter. He was a viceless man. Meek and unpretentious, he was posi tive and constructive in all his words and works. He never engaged in fruitless polemics. Exter-nally he was a little, lean man, with beard. Just a priest the Serbian immigrants liked, remembering their

bearded priests in the Old Country. And behold, he was American-born and not an im migrant. But his conviction was that an Orthodox priest ought to be re-cognizable as Orthodox by his exterior, too.

This of course is not a full biography but only a short survey or di gest of the life of a man of God who for 53 years in the priesthood worked as a diligent bee to the glory of Christ our Saviour. Yea, and who wor-thily and nobly represented three great values: Ortho-doxy, America and Serbia, equally loving all the three and equally serving all three.

Ten years have already passed since his death. Here is a man who indebted all the Serbian race, especially all the Serbs and all the Serbian organizations in America. Should that man remain without a monu-ment or any sign of honor on the American soil? He does not need it. He did not wish it. All he wished to his last breath was the Kingdom of Heaven, which I be-lieve he has obtained by the grace of his Lord. But his people need it; his posterity needs it. The Serbian peo-ple always cultivated the noble virtue of gratitude. Let them express their traditional gratitude to this re-markable Serbian—Father Sebastian Dabovich.

Fr. Bratso Krsic with Fr. Marko Bojovic, Richard Carl and Juliana Marie Broderson at monastery Zicha in 2019 at the grave where St. Sebastian Dabovich was buried in 1940. His relics were transferred to St. Sava church in Jackson, California in 2007.

Relics of St. Sebastian Dabovich at St. Sava church in Jackson, California (built in 1894).


Note from editors: Beginning with this issue, this page of our magazine will be dedicated to the Orthodox Christian Cat-echism. With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Maxim of the Western American Diocese, we will be reproducing the text in small parts from the book titled: No Faith is More Beautiful than the Christian Faith, written by Bishop Danilo Krstich, of blessed memory, and then Hieromonk Amfilohije Radovich, now Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Coastlands. The book was published in Serbian language in 1982, and soon, for the first time, the Sebastian Press of the Western American Diocese, will publish it in English and it will be available for purchase at: www.west-srbdio.org. The Path of Orthodoxy will feature both, Eng-lish and Serbian text.

NO FAITH IS MORE BEAUTIFULTHAN THE CHRISTIAN FAITHBishop DaniloHieromonk Amfilohije

THE MYSTERY OF FAITH

What is true faith?True faith is faith in one God in Trinity, the Cre-

ator of heaven and earth, and of everything visible and invisible. God is the Being without beginning and without end. He is the Spirit that is not seen, but is everywhere present, sees everything, knows every-thing, can do everything, and is concerned about ev-erything. God is full of love for all people and all crea-tures.

Уводна реч: Са овим бројем Стазе Православља почиње-мо нову секцију која ће бити посвећена кратком изла-гању Православне вере, тј. катихизису. С благословом Његовог Преосвештенства Епископа западно-америч-ког Господина Максима, штампат’ ћемо текст књиге Нема лепше вере од Хришћанске коју су написали бла-женопочивши Епископ Г. Данило (Крстић) и јеромонах Амфилохије (Радовић) 1982. године, тј. садашњи Мит-рополит црногорско-приморски. Поменута књига ће по први пут бити издата на енглеском језику од стране Севастијана Прес-а, издавача књига западно-америчке епархије, и биће доступна за куповину ове године пу-тем веб странице: www.westsrbdio.org. Стаза Правосла-вља штампат’ ће текст у енглеској и српској секцији ча-сописа.

НЕМА ЛЕПШЕ ВЕРЕОД ХРИШЋАНСКЕЕпископ ДанилоЈеромонах Амфилохије

О ТАЈНИ ВЕРЕ

Шта је права вера?Права вера је вера у једнога Бога у Тројици, Тво-

рца неба и земље и свега видљивог и невидљивог. Бог је Биће без почетка и без краја. Он је Дух који се не види, али је свуда присутан, све види, све зна, све може, о свему брине. Бог је пун љубави према свим људима и свима створењима.

Orthodox Christian CatechismПравославни Хришћански Катихизис

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Who is God?True faith, the Orthodox faith, reveals to us and

proclaims the mystery that God is not only one, but that the one God is in three persons. God is the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These are not three Gods, but one, be-cause the Three Divine Persons share one and the same essence or substance, as they also share one love, one wisdom, one life and all the boundless trea-sury of divine and eternal powers and energies. We are baptized in the Name of that one God. We confess our faith in this one God—Father, Son and Holy Spir-it— every time we make the sign of the precious Cross upon ourselves. When we cross ourselves, we join to-gether three fingers of our right hand to indicate that the Trinity is inseparable—one God.

What is God like?God is Love. Unselfish Love. Even before the cre-

ation of the world God the Father was not alone (as taught by Jewish and Moslem religious leaders), but loved the Son and the Holy Spirit. And the Son loved the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit loved the Father and the Son. That means that God is Love from eternity, not only in time. The Holy Trinity is an example of how we people, who are created persons, different from one another by nationality and educa-tion, can, with the help of God’s Love, become one di-vine and human body—the Church. But as we become one, we do not lose the particular characteristics of each person.

Who is man?Man is the crown of all God’s creatures. God be-

stowed upon him His own likeness, and gave him the power of eternal life. He created him from a rational soul and a handsome body, that the body would serve the rational soul, and that both become the temple of the life-giving Trinity. As God is not alone, so man also is not alone, but has countless brethren both in heaven and on earth.

Who are man’s heavenly brethren?In the visible heavens we see the sun and moon

and countless stars that mysteriously twinkle and si-lently witness that God is indeed Light, Love and Beauty. But there is another unseen heaven. Only a man with a pure heart and a mind enlightened with spiritual vision can see this heaven, and see God, his

Ко је Бог?Права вера, вера православна открива нам и

јавља велику тајну да је Бог не само један него и тројичан. Бог је Света Тројица: Бог Отац, Бог Син, и Бог Дух Свети. То нису три Бога, него само један, јер Три Божанске Личности имају једну исту суштину, као и једну љубав, једну мудрост, један живот и све неизмерно богатство божанских ве-чних сила и енергија. У Име тога јединога Бога се ми крштавамо. Ту своју веру у једнога Бога Оца и Сина и Духа Светога ми исповедамо сваки пут ка-да ставимо на себе знак часнога Крста. Када се кр-стимо, ми саставимо три прста десне руке да на-значимо да је нераздељива Тројица – један Бог.

Какав је Бог?Бог је Љубав. Несебична Љубав. И пре стварања

света Бог Отац није био сам (као што то уче верске вође Јевреја и мухамеданаца), него је волео Сина и Духа Светога. Свети Дух је волео Оца и Сина. То значи да је Бог Љубав од вечности, не само у вре-мену. Света Тројица служи нам за пример како и ми, људи који смо створене личности, и различи-ти по народности и образовању, можемо уз помоћ Божије Љубави да постанемо једно богочовечан-ско Тело, тј. Црква, а да при том сједињењу не из-губимо посебне одлике сваке личности.

Ко је човек?Човек је украс свих Божијих створења. Бог га је

обдарио својим ликом и подарио му моћ вечног живота. Створио га је од разумне душе и дивног тела, да би тело служило разумној души, а обоје да би постало храм животворне Тројице. Као што Бог није сам, тако ни човек није сам, него има безброј браће и на небу и на земљи.

Ко су небеска браћа човекова?На овом видном небу постоје сунце и месец и

безбројне звезде које тајанствено трепере и својим немуштим језиком сведоче да је Бог заиста Свет-лост, Љубав и Лепота. Али постоји и једно друго небо, невидљиво. То небо могу видети само људи видовитог ума и чиста срца. Као и Бога, свога Тво-рца, који у њему обитава. То невиљиво небо по природи је духовно; то и јесу небеска браћа чове-кова: Серафими и Херувими, Архангели и Ангели и остале бестелесне Силе небеске. Те бестелесне Силе небеске пуне су љубави и светлости Божје,


Creator, who dwells within him. That unseen heaven is by nature spiritual; and these are the heavenly brethren of man: the Seraphim and Cherubim, the Archangels and Angels, and the rest of the bodiless Powers of heaven. Those bodiless Powers of heaven are full of God’s love and light. They continuously glorify God and communicate God’s will to men.

Who are man’s earthly brethren?All people are man’s earthly brethren. All men are

brethren with one another because they share one Father, the Creator of all creation. They are brethren also because they share the same human nature and the same forebears, Adam and Eve. Man is related to everything created, from the most minute to the greatest, from the atom to the stars. For God has stamped everything that exists with His creative power and glory. All things witness to the same Wis-dom of God. God’s love caresses us throughout all of creation, both seen and unseen. All that exists radi-ates love and inspires us to love.

What is God’s revelation?Revelation is all that by which God has revealed

Himself from antiquity and by which He revealed to men His mysteries and glory that are beyond descrip-tion. All creation is theophany; all creation witnesses and reveals the glory and power of God to those whose minds are not darkened and whose hearts are not im-pure. God revealed His Love and His divine will in particular through the holy Archangels and Angels, and through divinely inspired holy persons: Proph-ets, Apostles and Saints. And, finally, through His Only-begotten Son, Christ the Lord.

What is the Bible or the Holy Scriptures?The Bible, or Holy Scriptures, is the Book above all

books. It contains the holy writings of inspired men of God, where they recorded the truths and mysteries God revealed to men. The Holy Scriptures are the written Revelation of God. They are divided between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

оне непрестано Бога славе и јаљају људима вољу Божију.

Ко су земаљска браћа човекова?Сви људи су земаљска браћа човекова. Сви људи

су међусобно браћа јер имају једног Оца, Творца свих створења. Браћа су и зато што имају једну природу човечју и исте прародитеље Адама и Еву. Човек је у сродству и са свим осталим створењи-ма, од најсићушнијих до највећих, од атома до звезда. Јер на свему што постоји присутан је исти печат стваралачке силе и славе Божије, све је све-док исте Мудрости Божје. Бог нас милује својом вечном Љубављу преко свих створења видљивих и невидљивих. Све што постоји зрачи љубављу и подстиче нас на љубав.

Шта је Откривење Божје?Откривење је све оно чиме се Бог јављао од пам-

тивека и чиме је откривао људима своје неизреци-ве тајне и своју вољу. Сва творевина је богојављење; сва створења сведоче и откривају славу и силу Божју, наравно онима само којима ум није помра-чен и срце нечисто. Особито је Бог откривао своју Љубав и своју свету вољу преко светих Архангела и Ангела и преко богонадахнутих светих људи: Пророка, Апостола и Светитеља. И на крају преко Сина свог Јединородног, Христа Господа.

Шта је Библија или Свето писмо?Библија или Свето писмо је Књига над књига-

ма. То су свети списи богонадахнутих људи Бож-јих, у којима су они записали истине и тајне које је Бог открио људима. Свето писмо је записано От-кривење Божије. Дели се на Стари завет и Нови завет.


Sunday, October 3, will mark the beginning of the Sunday School year as well as the adult education programs for the school year.

These programs include Bible Study Groups, Cat-echism Classes, Book Club, and “Families Learning Together” and more!

Announcements will be made when each of the sessions will take place during the year, and we en-courage you to participate in them.

Почетак веронауке за децу и свих осталих еду-кативних активности парохије, 3. октобар, 2021.

Sunday school convocation Sunday, October 3, 2021

Митрополит Амфилохије: Етимологија речи „образовање“ и „васпитање“Образовање значи обнављање образа (слике, иконе, лика) Бо-жијег у човијеку, његово разоткривање и развој. Прост народ, неза-гађен површним европским рационализмом, никада није забора-вио у свом језику то дубоко етичко значење образа („образа ми!“ или „човијек без образа“, „гдје ти је образ“, „безобразан је“, итд.), што значи органску везу између образовања и етике, образовања и духовног живота уопште.

На тим основама утемељено васпитање би могло бити дефини-сано сљедећом кратком дефиницијом: Васпитање је – обнављање и обликовање човијека по Образу Онога који га је створио и његово питање вјечном Божанском свијетлошћу, истином, љепотом и добром; једном речју, свим Божанским савршенствима.

Education is a renewal of God’s image in man (and woman), its discovery and development. Our people, not polluted with artificial European rationalism, never forgot in their language this deep eth-ical meaning of image (they would say “obraza mi!” – I swear by my image or “a man without image”, “where is your image”, etc.), which means the organic connection between the education and ethic, the education, and a spiritual life in general.

On these premises, founded education can be defined with the following short explanation: Educa-tion is – renewal and shaping of man according to the Image of Him Who created him and his nourish-ment with God’s eternal light, truth, beauty and goodness. In short, man’s nourishment with all Divine perfections. Metropolitan Amfilohije

Institute at St. George Parish – Институт при парохији Св. Великомученика Георгија

Coming up – Ускоро нудимоLectures on Spiritual, historical, and cultural themes

and Serbian language classes.Предавања на духовне, историјске и културно-актуелне теме, као и часове српског језика.


Let us gather

“Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west.” Isaiah 43:5

Gathering or coming together is one of the essential activities of human beings. We are social beings cre-ated by God for interaction and fellowship. When we are together, we are given an opportunity to learn from each other as well as to learn or even discover something new about ourselves. We discover our strengths and weaknesses. We become pupils and teachers at the same time without even noticing it. Ev-ery new encounter is an occasion to grow in our faith because we are disciples of Christ.

The second week of St. Sava camp presented camp-ers and staff with the prospect of reflecting on the pre-vious year, which on many levels has been a year of uncertainty and new occurrences related to the Cov-id-19 pandemic. How did we respond to these new events and how did they affect our lives?

Gathering at camp St. Sava, helped us sort out some of our most inner thoughts, feelings and effects of life since March 2020. We did so through the lance of our Orthodox faith.

We live by faith

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evi-dence of things not seen.”

Hebrew 11:1

Saint Paul in his letter to the Hebrews defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. When we come together as Orthodox Christians, we in actuality become a part of the sub-stance of things we hope for in our life. What is that for which we hope? We might not be able to express it at first, because we haven’t developed our inner eyes or the vision to see it. This is why we wander around looking for it. Yes, our parents, who bring us to the church camp, along with everyone else who assists

Second Week of 2021 St. Sava Camp

St. Sava Summer Camp, Jackson, California, in pictures (Week II, July 26-31, 2021)


there, help us see it and find it. Yet, in this endeavor, they are not alone, for He Who is the One we hope and long for is helping and leading us all to Himself. Who is He? He is the Fountain of Living Waters. He is our Sav-ior and Lord Jesus Christ. We then become a part of Him and already are, by the virtue of our baptism, members of His Body – the Orthodox Church. But, when we gather, which is the main work of God’s peo-ple, we perform the common work, service of the Lit-urgy, and the liturgy after the Liturgy. In other words, we live our lives according to our faith.

So, what the camp does for our children is to show them the way to the Fountain of Living Waters. It is at camp that the Lord prepares the hearts and young lives to live by the faith. The Lord removes layer after layer of worldly grime from our spiritual eyes so that we may see the evidence of things not yet seen by us.

How blessed we are for having St. Sava and St. Se-bastian, among other saints, whose eyes were opened and who beheld the glory of God in their life?! They shine before us like bright stars illumining the sky and the path for us to follow.

The Lord has been at work in the life of each camp-er. Will they recognize that? Will they allow Him to guide them, to correct them, to carefully shape them with their distinctive characteristics that are like no one else in the world? Clearly, God created them with a purpose. As it happens, some of the volunteers at the camp are parents who attended camp as children a de-cade or two ago. They come to help in the camp, pray-ing and hoping that their children will also receive that seed of faith that will blossom into a beautifully colorful flower of faith. “For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9

We are iconographersand photographers of our life

The beginning of the second week of camp laid a good foundation for understanding some aspects of our Orthodox faith. His Grace Bishop Maxim taught the three groups of campers how to paint an icon of Christ. With his gifted and trained hands, His Grace during each session lasting about 40 minutes, demon-strated the basics of iconography. The sketching and the application of dark colors followed by layer after layer of lighter colors is synonymous to our purifica-tion and sanctification by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We are illumined children of God called to become beacons of light.

Our life has the potential to become a beautiful painting. Examples of our saints attest that God Him-self is a painter of our life. We need to allow him to guide our hand as we make a stroke with a brush on the canvas of our life. What kind of painting are we going to paint?

Bishop Maxim pointed out that the iconographer, the one that writes an icon occasionally makes a mis-take. The beautiful thing is that he can correct those mistakes by carefully choosing a color and the next brush stroke. In our spiritual life this corrective mea-sure is called repentance, the change of mind. We are given an opportunity to change our mind, that is, to repent daily. Like the father in the story of the prodi-gal son (St. Luke 15: 11-32), God loves and embraces us unconditionally when we repent and approach Him with a contrite heart.

This is the most uplifting reality of our life. We, to-gether with our loving Lord, become iconographers and photographers of our life. When we photograph something, we capture the light. What light will we capture in our life? “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.” St. John 8:12

Larry Lazar Angier, the photographer of camp groups and the church life in our diocese and wider, pointed out that a photographer is a light-writer (svet-lopisac).

We are iconographers and photographers of our life and our life’s stories. The album of our life’s work and photographs of our joys, struggles and growth are being stored in our hearts and are being presented to the Lord every day. So, be watchful and choose wisely what images you paint and what photographs you’re storing in your heart! Indeed, they will one day be open before the Lord Himself.

We encourage and lift each other up

It is very easy to bring someone down and to dis-courage him or her on the path to Christ. But to lift someone struggling to overcome addiction or dispar-aging thoughts, takes love, strength and a special call-ing. Yet, by the virtue of our baptism, we are all called to be evangelizing people. We are called to bring the good news into everyone’s life. The good news is just that – The Good News – that Christ having voluntarily gone to the cross has been raised on the third day and has ascended to heaven with His divine and human nature. Our human nature sits at the right hand of God


the Father! This is the most uplifting news! We are called to share this news with each other. We are called to encourage and lift each other up with words of prayer and brotherly love. St. Paul the Apostle in his missionary work was driven by gratitude and love. “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my wit-ness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Je-sus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-8

When we are young, we are told that life is about happiness, but we often forget the second part of that ostensible reality which is joy. We can be joyful even when we are not happy. The joy comes from our Lord and our faith and trust in Him that no matter what cir-cumstances we find ourselves in, we know that He will deliver us. “But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7

The Holy Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy said: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

We are called to encourage each other and lift each other up with our words and prayer to our loving Lord. Give it a try! It will totally change your life. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

We commune with our Lord and each other

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

When one arrives at camp, it is a common occur-rence to hear happy and joyful campers’ voices. Chil-dren run from one activity to another. You see them playing ping pong, basketball, swimming, and even screaming as some of them might play a prank, usual-ly on counselors. A safe and fun time is enjoyed, and memories are created. But there is an evening when all this quiets down. It is on Wednesday after Vespers when the priests have campers come for confession. This is the time when each camper and staff member descend into the deep corners of their heart, examin-ing their life in the light of the Gospel. They reflect on

Campers participate in the Liturgy on Thursday, July 29 at St. Sava church

St. Sava 2021 campers in front of St. Sava church in Jackson, CA, July 29, 2021


their life and their relationship with God, family, neighbors and God’s creation. This evening prepares us all to encounter the Lord the following day. It be-comes our own journey on the road to Emmaus. The Lord speaks to us, and we ask: “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road.” St. Luke 24:32

This journey brings us to the Divine Liturgy – the common work of God’s people. We belong to Him. We are His people. We proclaim the Kingdom of the Fa-ther, the Son and the Holy Spirit and we participate in it with invisible hosts and saints, among them St. John Chrysostom, St. Sava, St. Sebastian and countless oth-ers. We are a part of something awe-inspiring and humbling – we are a part of Christ’s Body.

Finally, the words in the fear of God and with faith draw near. We taste of the fountain of immortality. We

partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord. We get united with the Lord. O come and see how the Lord is good. We are united with the Lord and with each other.

I know you by name

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have re-deemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Camp taught us that we belong to God and each oth-er. There are many laborers who make the camp pos-sible. Here we recognize some by their names. First, we thank His Grace our Bishop Maxim for his archpas-toral care and guidance. Our diocesan clergy among them: Fr. Steven Tumbas, Fr. Marko Bojovic and his popadija Biljana, the local clergy of Jackson, Fr. Drag-omir Tuba of Phoenix and Fr. Bratso Krsic of San Di-ego. Diocesan staff members and camp administra-tors: Protinica Rada Bojovic, Nick Salata, Mandie Kristofersen and lay directors, Henry Burge and Jelena Tasic. Our mighty kitchen chef, Miroslav Milovanov-ich and his crew members: Mira Tonis, Lori Ajax, Za-gorka Ralic, Jovana Tvrdisic. Those who years ago were campers and now grew into wonderful counselors: Ro-man Vukovich, Slavko Gajic, Stefan Bokaric, Nikola Bozic, Frederic Lemonnier, Ilija Zivanovic, Nikola Zlatic, Daniel Kosanovich, Kai Nikchevic, Teodora Su-tilovic, Adriana Kristoffersen, Mia Robles. Our thanks also go to svetlopisac, Larry Lazar Angier for his unique and sharp eye in photographing our campers and ac-tivities. We thank everyone else who put time and ef-

St. George 2021 campers:(From front left to right) Stefan and Filip Jovanovic,

Nikolaj Krsic, Daria Tvrdisic, Dorde Petakovic, Luka Krsic, Fr. Bratso Krsic, Igor Tvrdisic, Nikola Petakovic

Dining hall at St. Sava Camp, Jackson, CA


fort into the second week of camp, but was not men-tioned here by name. Remember, the Lord knows you by your name.

We acknowledge many parents’ selfless love and sacrifices for their children. Driving many hours from their homes to the camp at the beginning of camp week and back on Saturday for a pickup is not easy. We recognize and honor your undertaking and loving care for your children in order to “bring them up in the train-ing and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

Finding beauty in everyone and everything

“The quest for beauty is the quest for God and oneself and this is what I feel my whole life journey has been about.” Larry Lazar Angier

Final word

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the

heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” Ephesians 1:3-5

We ask you all, our beloved brothers and sisters, dear children of God, to take a more active part in your local parishes. Become seekers of God within the Church, pursue the Lord with your heart as He is pur-suing you even with this written word. Parents, please bring your children to camp again next year. Surprise yourself and us and bring another family with you. Maybe someone whose never been to St. Sava camp. Farewell and God’s blessing and loving embrace be with all of you, through the prayers of Saint Sava, St. Sebastian and all the saints.

On behalf of the Western American Diocese,Protopresbyter Stavrophor Bratso Krsic

Daily services, Matins and Vespers at St. Sava Camp

From St. Sava Camp talent show, July 26-31, 2021

Kitchen crew for the second week of camp, July 26-31, 2021

Relics of St. Sebastian Dabovich at St. Sava church in Jackson, CA


Тропар Лазару, глас 3. Заволео си лепоту славе Божије, међу земнима

си Му угодио и добијени талант добрим делима си удвостручио. Њему си се

одужио подвигом до крви и плату за страдања твоја

као мученик си примио од Христа Бога: Њега моли да спасе, нас који те песмама

славимо, Свети Лазаре.

Troparion — Tone 3Longing for the beauty of God’s glory, / you were found pleasing

to Him while yet in the flesh / and by good deeds multiplied the talents entrusted to you. / Having suffered greatly, even to the shedding of your blood,

/ you received the crown of martyrdom from Christ. / By

your prayers, O Lazar, entreat Him to save us who sing to you.

Vidovdan celebration at St. George Sunday, June 27, 2021



Kate Thickstun with Aleksa Radomirovic – the recipient of Dr. Aleksandar Srbich scholarship

Kate Thickstun with Lazar Katanic – the recipient of Milojko Mike Vucelic scholarship


WESTERN AMERICAN DIOCESE – DIOCESAN DAYS 2021 – DAY ONE

With the blessings of His Grace Bishop Maxim of Western America the Saint George Serbian Church in San Diego served as host to the 25th Annual Diocesan Days Gathering which began on Friday, September 3, 2021. As clergy arrived from all directions of this vast Diocese they were warmly greeted by this year’s most gracious host, V. Rev. Protopresbyter Stavrophor Bra-tislav Bratso Krsic.

Following the luncheon, His Grace met with the clergy. In his opening remarks he gave a pastoral re-

flection of the past year and this pandemic which, in many ways, we continue to deal with to this day. He in vited each of the deans to say a few words. One of whom spoke of how many years ago when he first came to America he witnessed how, to his pleasant surprise, there were many Serbian people active in the life of the church. But he also noticed that their chil-dren were not as active and so he would often ponder: Who will replace that generation and what will hap-pen to the future of our church here? Yet, he contin-ued, just as we read in Scripture that those things which are impossible to men are possible to God we can witness to the fact that our Diocese is growing, de-

WESTERN AMERICAN DIOCESE

DIOCESAN DAYS 2021


spite the fact that that generation is gone. Glory be to God, we have a new generation just as active in the life of the church. A great part of that progress, he con-cluded, can be accredited to Bishop Maxim who this year marks his fifteenth year in this diocese.

This led to an open discussion about the various ex-periences of the clergy from different parts of the dio-cese during these long months of the pandemic. Fol-lowing a short break, His Grace introduced Luka Erceg and Nemanja Selezan who delivered a presentation about a new and much improved Clergy Life Insurance Plan which would greatly benefit our clergy. After-ward, in fielding questions from the clergy, Nemanja educated many of the clergy who, coming from Serbia, were not knowledgeable in the benefits that insuranc-es such as these can offer and how our church and cler-gy, in particular, can take advantage of them.

As the presentation continued the bishop and mem-bers of the Diocesan Council excused themselves for a meeting. This was followed by Vespers and dinner in the main hall. Fr. Bratso greeted the bishop, clergy and the guests and welcomed them to the St. George parish in San Diego during the dinner.

A Question and Answer session followed in which His Grace invited any questions about our faith. This segment, though fairly brief, ranged in topics from science, movies and social media. This last question in particular, about the temptations of social media, the bishop directed to Fr. Panayiotis, a trained psycho-therapist. In his response Fr. Panayiotis noted how it was one of our contemporary elders who had said that we don’t fight the devil directly, rather we start build-ing virtues and fill our hearts with those things and then gradually all the other things that we are bom-barded with won’t have room to grow.

With these spiritual words the first day of the Dioc-esan Day Gathering came to a close and the clergy and delegates made their way to their hotels in prepara-tion for tomorrow’s events, beginning with Matins and the Holy Hierarchical Divine Liturgy.

WESTERN AMERICAN DIOCESE – DIOCESAN DAYS 2021 – DAY TWO

Matins and the Holy Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on Saturday, September 4, 2021, the feast day of the Holy Martyr Agathonicus, marked the beginning of the sec-ond day of the Diocesan Days Gathering at St. George Church in San Diego. Towards the end of the liturgy all

the faithful, following in like manner of His Grace Bishop Maxim, knelt for the prayer of Invocation of the Holy Spirit. Bishop Maxim welcomed everyone at the conclusion of the liturgy noting that through the liturgical celebration everything is illumined. “We of-fered our thanksgiving,” he said, “and our delibera-tions, and the assembly and the many ministries of the Diocese we humbly submit and offer to the Lord. Whether they will be accepted depends exclusively on Him and His love and lovingkindness”.

Following a continental breakfast the bishop, cler-gy, and delegates made their way to the patio area where this year’s Diocesan Annual Assembly was held. Following the opening prayer, led by His Grace, Ron Radakovich was introduced and invited to run the meeting in place of Debra Tasic. Among the first items on the agenda was the bishop’s address. He noted that all Diocesan parishes and monasteries are in very good shape despite the pandemic. He thanked the Diocesan staff, the Diocesan Council as well as all clergy and parish boards for their kind hospitality upon his visits throughout the diocese. The bishop noted that the clergy made every effort the past year to accommodate and respond to the challenges of all the faithful during the pandemic and congratulated them for using their discernment and pastoral wisdom.

A great deal of attention was given to one item on the Assembly Agenda, the Clergy, and Diocesan Em-ployee Life and Disability Insurance. Luka Erceg pre-sented the results of hundreds of hours of research on what was intended to be an insurance plan for all Ser-bia clergy nationwide. Since the other dioceses were not prepared to move forward with this, a motion was


made, after lengthy discussion, that our diocese be the first to proceed. The motion was passed. The assembly felt convinced that, in time, the other dioceses would join us and this historic moment towards more quality coverage for our clergy which would, in fact, be a real-ity of our Serbian Church on this continent.

Host priest, Fr. Bratso Krsic, emceed the banquet at the conclusion of the assembly, which began with an energetic performance by the Morava Folklore Ensem-ble. During the program, Episcopal Deputy and Chan-cellor V. Rev. Protopresbyter Stavrophor Nicholas Ceko noted that this year marks a very important anniver-sary in the life of our diocese: 15 years since the instal-lation of His Grace Bishop Maxim as diocesan bishop. In gratitude, for his many years of service, the dioce-san clergy presented him with a pectoral cross and panagia which was given to the young children pres-ent at the banquet to gift it to him.

Special guest and keynote speaker Presvytera Dr. Jeannie Constantinou delivered the keynote address

during the banquet on the theme of this year’s Dioce-san Days Gathering: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

She began with a hypothetical question: what if someone gave us three precious gems? If we knew what they were and knew these gems might change our life, what would we do with them? Would we use them or just put them in our pockets and forget about them? But let us consider, she continued, what we al-ready possess, something far more valuable than those gems: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Those gems that we image are not real, they are merely created objects and we don’t have them. But what we have is something far more valuable and precious; not something created but the Creator. This, which the Church has given us, is more valuable than anything we could acquire on earth. And though we might know this fact intellectually we certainly don’t behave as if we do. All of the things we spend lifetimes achieving are fleeting, they are dust. But whatever things we do in the church and we receive in the church remain be-


cause those things are for eternal life. This apostolic blessing of the Apostle Paul from Second Corinthians, the theme of this year’s Diocesan Days, we know from the Divine Liturgy. What we need to remember, how-ever, is that this blessing is a wish and not a command. Or, in other words, we don’t say, Grace be with you but May the grace of God be with you. We don’t pray for our deceased Memory Eternal but May their memory be eternal. We’re not commanded to have these gifts, God doesn’t force them on us, rather we are invited to partake of them. Furthermore, this means that the priest offers these words, he gives this invitation, and it’s up to us whether we will receive it and do some-thing with it. God is the one who is always ready to give us these gifts but we’re not always open to receive them. St. John Chrysostom once said that God would perform miracles but we don’t let Him! When we re-

ceive the blessings in Church what do we do with them? Do we put them in our pockets like the gems? We’re called to evaluate the treasures we’ve been given and use them.

The banquet concluded with a word from His Grace who thanked everyone for attending, for their love and support of this diocese. He thanked the clergy – and the children who presented him with his gift, “since my priests know that I would only take it from your hands,“ he added. “These fifteen years were the best of my life.“

Filled with prayers that God grant our Bishop Max-im many, many more years in our Diocese of Western America the clergy, monastics, delegates and guests continued their fellowship before, one by one, they each left for their home parishes.


EducationThe Elementary School and the first seven years of

Gymnasium, Michael completed in Bjelovar. He obtained his Gymnasium baccalaureate from the Third Boys’ Gym-nasium in Zagreb. In 1954, Michael completed his studies of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zagreb. He studied with Pro-fessor Bazjanec and his thesis was in the area of theoreti-cal mechanics. During his studies, Michael got interested in aviation. He completed aviation school and got his pilot license in Vrsac. He was an active member of Aeroklub Za-greb and had worked as a technician in the aviation work-shop. After graduation from the college, Michael emigrat-ed to Germany, where he first worked for Mercedes Benz I Stuttgart and then for Ford in Collogne.

NASAAfter working in Germany for two

years, Michael left for the USA where he got his first job at Cessna Aircraft Company. He was working on the de-sign of landing gear for the Cessna airplane C182RG. After Cessna, Mi-chael worked for the North American Aviation, where he was a designer of the pilot rescue gear for the intercep-tor aircraft F-104 Starfighter and stra-tegic bomber B-58 Husstler.

Michael was engaged with the Apollo program since its inception in February, 1962 as a member of the North American Aviation, today’s North American Rock-well who had a contract with NASA to work on the Apollo spaceship. Few months before he started his Apollo work, Michael obtained his US citizenship. He analyzed differ-

ent Moon landing concepts and plans and he worked on developing specifications for different spaceship systems. He commenced his Apollo work as an engineer and later on he became a Manager in NASA’s Houston headquar-ters. His task was to eliminate all possible errors that could occur during the flight and his colleagues called him the “manager for problems”. During that period of time he closely collaborated with the main flight controller Gene Krantz.

“Michael Vucelic’s name will not be know as those of Arm-strong, Aldrin and Collins, but it is him and hundreds of engi-neers, that were the real power behind the Apollo Program.” Associated Press, “Unknown Heroes of the Appolo Program”, published after Apollo 11 landing.

In his 2004 interview for the portal of Croatian Space Agency, Michael said that his most important accomplish-ment in the Apollo program is the Apollo 8 mission,

launched on December 21, 1968. He was able to make an argument to the program leaders to perform the mis-sion to the Moon rather than just use the Saturn V rocket resources to re-peat the mission within the Earth or-bit. During the mission, astronauts orbited the Moon ten times and suc-cessfully landed back on the Earth.

After the historic Apollo 11 landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969, NASA abandoned the missions 18, 19 and 20. Vucelic got an assignment to expand the possibilities for the basic space-

ship to investigate Moon from the orbit (Lunar Orbital Sci-ence Mission) in the last three missions – 15, 16 and 17, by adding research instruments. He was also asked to lead the research from the Moon orbit.

Milojko Mike Vucelic

Milojko Mike Vucelic (Michael Vucelic, Garesnica, 1930) is American mechanical engineer of Serbian ori-gin. He was a project manager and in the period of 1966-1978 one of the directors of the US Space Program Apollo. For his contributions to the Apollo program he has received a number of awards and acknowledge-ments. Mike was awarded the highest US civilian award – Presidential Medal of Freedom. After his work in NASA, Mike was the CEO of his own company, Ideal Electric. He resides with his wife in Mansfield, Ohio.


It is certain that there is other intelligent life in the Universe, in addition to us. But, when the aliens observe the Earth in her blue colors, because most of the planet is covered by the water, it is certain that they had sent their expedition to the Pacific Ocean and not to the land. Aliens were on the Earth several times and they talked to the dolphins. And dolphins are trying for decades to tell us something but we, the humans, are such egotists and do not want to hear the messages from other planets. (Anecdote about aliens)

After the Apollo 12 routine mission, the next mission employed a new system of emptying the tanks by heating them with a liquid oxygen. During the mission preparation the liquid oxygen discharge caused the burning of the insulation on the electrical cables in the reservoir. No one was aware that the mission was launched with damaged insulation. After 55 hours of space flight, before astronauts were supposed to go to sleep, it was nec-essary to switch on the heaters in the reservoir number 2 to increase the pressure and prevent the low pressure alarm during their sleep. When the astronaut Jack Swigart turned the switch the short circuit cause the explosion of the reservoir 2. Vucelic was in charge of the successful as-tronauts rescue and, as a member of the Apollo 13 mission team, Richard Nixon, the US president awarded him on April 18, 1970 with Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award.

Michael participated in the program of the first Amer-ica orbital space station – Skylab, launched in 1973. After the completion of the Apollo program, NASA had three unused spaceships with three LEM modules and also three three-stages rockets Saturn V and two-stage Saturn I B. Vucelic was asked to find possible applications for these spaceships. Starting in October of 1969, when he met the Russian astronaut Beregojev, since he spoke Russian, Mi-chael assumed the role of the leader of US-Soviet space programs collaboration. The collaboration was initiated by Richard Nixon, US president. The unused spaceships were then used in the Apollo-Soyuz program. Mike was working on adjusting the spaceships to merge with Soyuz. He collaborated with Aleksej Leonov, soviet astronaut and Tom Stratford, the US astronaut. Just before the Skylab launch, in summer 1975, Michael was sent to London as the VP of East West Trade for Rockwell International Com-pany. His role was to develop trade relations with the East-ern Europena countries. That concludes his work for NASA. During the mission he was a special NASA corre-spondent reporting for BBC.

In his new role Michael worked on developing trade re-lations with the Eastern Block countries. The Aeroflot air-craft that flew outside the Soviet Union were soon equipped with the control, navigation and communica-tion instruments made by Rockwell Collins. The Kamazov

trucks were equipped with drive shafts and breaks made by Rockwell. The collabora-tion on the development of the Jak-40 air-craft was also initiated. Michael led the joint American-Polish development of the agricultural plane M-10, Dromader, still produced today by the Polish company PZL Mielec. From 1981, Michael worked for ATT, the US telecommunication company in New York, organizing and leading the new ATT unit. After five years with ATT, 1986, he bought the Ideal Electric Company with 200 workers in Mansfield, Ohio, with

his wife. After 20 years, Michael sold his company to South Korean company Hundai.

In September of 2009, at the invitation of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Serbia, Michael visited Bel-grade with his colleague Slavoljub Vujic, after 30 years. They gave a presentation at the Faculty of Mechanical En-gineering with a goal of motivating students to implement their knowledge in their home country. They also present-ed at the Aviation Alliance of Belgrade.

Family OriginIn 1704, after the Big Serbian migration led by the pa-

triarch Arsenije III Crnojevic, the Vucelic moved from Ko-lasin in today’s Monte Negro to the village Dubrava next to Ogulin in Austrian Empire. Rafael Vucelic, Michael’s great-grandfather, the officer in the Slunj Regiment, received the nobil-ity title from the Emperor Franz Jo-seph. Vucelic is a member of the Croatian Nobility Association.

Michael is married to Dr. Inge Perzl, PhD psychologist. She is of German origin, from Munchen. They have two sons, Alexander and Nicholas, and five grandchildren.

PublicationsApollo XIII javlja… Houston,

imamo problem, Teh nicka Knjiga, Zagreb, 1970.

General Information• DOB – June 11, 1930• Place of Birth – Garesnica, Kingdom of Yugoslavia

(Croatia today)• Professional Field – Mechanical Engineering• Education – Third Boys’ Gymnasium, Zagreb; Fac-

ulty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Za-greb

• Work History – Mercedes Benz, Ford, North Ameri-can Aviation, NASA, ATT, Ideal Electric

• Awards – Presidential Medal of Freedom


“Six or seven out of ten young people will leave the church in college and never return.” This quote, or oth-ers like it, has been used by anxious youth workers and campus ministers for at least the past decade. For par-ents who want their kids to stay connected to the Church, this sounds terrifying, and it is.

But there is a caveat. In a 2011 report, the Barna Group-- who conducted the original research to which people are usually referring-- clarified a few things. Per-haps most surprisingly was this observation: College ex-periences are generally not the main reason young peo-ple disengage from church life or lose their faith. David Kinnaman, the director of research for the Barna study, says that it is not the experiences of anti-Christian aca-demic courses, Saturday night parties, or even the casual hook-up culture alone that draw students away from the Church. Rather, the bigger issue is their lack of pre-paredness to face such obstacles and turn to Christ and His Church when college life gets difficult.

“’The problem arises from the inadequacy of prepar-ing young Christians for life beyond youth group.’ Kin-naman pointed to research findings showing that ’only a small minority of young Christians has been taught to think about matters of faith, calling, and culture. Fewer than one out of five have any idea how the Bible ought to inform their scholastic and professional interests. And most lack adult mentors or meaningful friendships with older Christians who can guide them through the inevi-table questions that arise during the course of their studies. In other words, the university setting does not usually cause the disconnect; it exposes the shallow-

faith problem of many young disciples.’ The Barna Group further points out that many young people feel “emo-tionally disconnected from church before their 16th birthday.”

This changes the conversation about preparing our young people for college entirely. Instead of putting our primary emphasis on teaching high schoolers how to stay out of trouble or how to intellectually assent to a set of Orthodox tenets, our emphasis has to be on forming whole persons who have internalized God’s love and His commandments and who know where to turn when they face the world’s challenges.

So here’s our challenge to parents, youth workers, catechetical school teachers, and parish priests: Before you send your kids off to college and to OCF, give them a lifetime of love, knowledge, and faith. What you do in the parish and the home the first eighteen years of their lives will impact their college careers far more than any-thing campus ministry can provide them in four short years. Specifically, here are three things they need to face the challenges of college life:

THEY NEED TO KNOW THEY ARE LOVEDThis may sound obvious, but one of the points the

Barna research brings to light is the need for faithful, unwavering Christian mentors and peers for our youth. Our kids need to know that our love–and by extension, the Church’s love–for them is unconditional. They need to know this through our actions and not only our words. Children should know that their parents, grandparents, godparents, teachers, priests–the whole Church com-

Preparing Our Youth for College LifeBy Christina Andresen


munity– cares for them and can be relied upon in good times and in bad. This means giving them space for mis-takes, showing them the path of repentance, and offer-ing them true forgiveness when they fall.

More than perfect children, we should pray for and raise repentant children who know not only God’s ex-pectations for life but His mercy and love. More specifi-cally, our children should have connections with indi-viduals in the parish wrought in this kind of love. Long before the Barna group pointed out that young Chris-tians need people of strong faith to be their mentors, the Church offered each and every Christian this very rela-tionship in their godparents. And even if godparents don’t live nearby, our youth should have opportunities to spend time with adults of all ages to witness their faith in action and be loved unconditionally outside of the home.

THEY NEED TO KNOW HOW TO THINKAND DO FOR THEMSELVESStarting in middle school, the goal of our catechetical

programs must be to teach our children how to ask and answer the right questions. In their school classrooms, they are being taught to think critically, analyze, re-search, and draw conclusions on their own on all sorts of topics, but too often, we aren’t doing the same in Sunday school and GOYA. This means we need to create a space to hear their questions, their doubts, and their personal opinions even if they are not fully in line with the Church’s teaching. While remaining unwavering in our own devotion to the teachings of Christ in His Church, we need to be prepared to let our young people disagree with us, challenge us, and come to terms with the Church’s teaching in their own way. We do not need to be afraid of doubt. Doubt is a catalyst for deeper faith when we view it as a calling to know Christ more intimately rather than as a challenge to an ethical or institutional expectation.

We want our kids to ask the tough questions (and find the answers to them) in the context of our unconditional love with peers and mentors that pray for them and de-sire that they come to know the Way, the Truth, and the Life. That way, they are prepared to face the challenges and questions which they will inevitably face on campus when the context is less than supportive and the ques-tions are not posed to sharpen their faith but to tear it down.

THEY NEED TO KNOW CHRISTAs Kinnaman points out, the real problem with our

young people is not that college life turned them from faith to unbelief, but that their faith was weak when they arrived on campus. Like the seed that falls on stony ground and is easily uprooted in the parable of the sow-er, the faith of too many of our young people is not deep-ly rooted in their hearts. It is our responsibility as par-ents and teachers to make sure that our kids don’t just know about Jesus, as if He were a character in a novel or a subject to be studied in a textbook, but know Him per-sonally in prayer and worship. Bring them to liturgy. Say morning and evening prayers as a family. Pray at the ta-ble. Read Scripture. Introduce your children to the saints who love Christ with all their being. Turn to God in prayer in times of distress and in times of thanksgiving. When they are raised in an environment where Christ is always at the center, our children will come to know Him and rely upon Him truly, and they will not be swayed by the world when its temptations combat them.

Our children will face all sorts of challenges—both expected and unexpected—when they leave our homes and go out on their own. It’s inevitable. But these chal-lenges need not be feared. If our children are raised with love and forgiveness, given the chance to ask tough ques-tions, and have met Christ themselves, the trials of col-lege will be the fire in which their faith becomes purified like gold in a furnace rather than the place where it is burned up like chaff. May it be so, and may God bless you and your children as they enter college life. Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) is the campus ministry agen-cy of the Assembly of Bishops. To make sure your stu-dents are connected to an OCF chapter this fall, visit our website at www.ocf.net/firstfortydays to submit their contact information.

Fr. Bratso’s note: Please, know that all of our students and youth are in my daily prayers and can always reach out to me, 619-316-2362 or [email protected].

Christina Andresen serves as manager of chapter rela-tions for OCF. She loves working with students to help them grow in faith as leaders on campus, in the Church, and in the world. Christina has her Master of Divinity from Holy Cross School of Theology.



Photos by: Lazo, Svetlopisac


Filip JovanovicAge: 11Slava: Sv. Alimpije (9 Dec)Where my parents are from: mama, Vesna – Zemun, Serbia and tata, Toma – San Diego, CA (and tata is former Morava dancer!)Started dancing: 2015

St. George Morava 2nd Ensemble UpdateIt is my pleasure to introduce you to Morava’s second ensemble (formerly known as Morava, Jr)! My connection to Morava runs deep since its inception in December of 1987. My mother, protinica Bozana Draskovic created Morava Folklore Ensemble to help my sister, Milena and me adjust to our new home in San Diego. When we arrived her so many years ago, we were greeted by a loving, but very “mature” parish. Luckily today, we see all ages at this parish, which I would say was facilitated by the start of our folklore group 34 years ago.

I had the pleasure of dancing in Morava and then later teaching Morava when I returned from living In Australia. Though I have had to take some breaks from dancing and teaching for various “life” reasons, I am back now to work with this fine group of dancers. We are experiencing something relatively unheard of in Serbian folklore – more male dancers than female dancers! So, if you know of any young girls ages 10-15 who might be interested in learning Serbian dancing and their culture, please let me know.

We have quite an outstanding group, with a group of parents who are both very supportive and very social. This has meant that despite covid-related limitations, our sweet folklore parents managed to physically distance all of us in order to celebrate dancers’ birthdays and even host a baby shower (all on the patio)! Our parents have organized meals after folklore practices, which allowed for our children to socialize through good food.

Our director is Jovana Tvrdisic, and she manages the group very well and has been doing this for a few years now – I am very grateful for her. Below is Morava’s current second ensemble, and we look forward to performing for you when our events resume.


Stefan JovanovicAge: 9Slava: Sv. Alimpije (9 Dec)Where my parents are from: mama, Vesna – Zemun, Serbia and tata, Toma – San Diego, CA (and tata is former Morava dancer!)Started dancing: 2016

Luka KrsicAge: 15Slava: Great Martyr St. George (6 May)Where my parents are from:Tata, Fr. Braco – Crnojevic, Republika Srpska and mama, protinica Lisa – Libertyville, ILStarted dancing: 2014

Nikola KrsicAge: 12Slava: Great Martyr St. George (6 May)Where my parents are from:Tata, Fr. Braco – Crnojevic, Republika Srpska and mama, protinica Lisa – Libertyville, ILStarted dancing: 2014

Lelan MarooneyAge: 14Slava: Sv. Arandjelo Mihailo (21 Nov)Where my parents are from:Mama and tata are from San Diego, CA; grandparents are from Bela Crkva (raised in Pančevo) and BanatStarted dancing: 2020

Marija MilicevicAge: 10Slava: Sv. Nikola (19 Dec Where my parents are from:Mama, Melanie and tata, Jimmy – San Diego, CA (and both are former Morava Dancers); grandparents are from Vrginmost, Beograd, Serbia and BosnaStarted dancing: 2015

Marko MilicevicAge: 11Slava: Sv. Nikola (19 Dec)Where my parents are from:Mama, Melanie and tata, Jimmy – San Diego, CA (and both are former Morava Dancers!); grandparents are from Vrginmost, Beograd, Serbia and BosnaStarted dancing: 2015

George PetakovicAge: 15Slava: Sv. NikolaWhere my parents are from:tata, Deyan – Gary , IN and mama, Nataša – Valjevo, Serbia (grandparents are from Beograd, Serbia)Started dancing: 2011

Bogdan SimjanovicAge: 14Slava: Sv. Nikola (19 Dec)Where my parents are from:Tata and mama are from Belgrade, Serbia; grandparents are from Belgrade and Travnik, PirotStarted dancing: 2020

Marko SimjanovicAge: 11Slava: Sv. Nikola (19 Dec)Where my parents are from:Tata and mama are from Belgrade, Serbia; grandparents are from Belgrade and Travnik, PirotStarted dancing: 2020

Djordje TopalovicAge: 8Slava: Great Martyr St. George (6 May)Where my parents are from:Mama, Maja – Arandjelovac, Serbia and tata, Vojkan – Belgrade, Serbia; grandparents are from Arandjelovac, Hercegovina, and Banat. Started dancing: 2019


This is our youngest group here at St George. The ages range from 4 years old to 9 years old. We practice every Wednesday evening from 6:30-7:30.

We will be traveling soon with our group.Always welcoming new little dancers.

We are always looking for new members and are excited to be able to start performing again and traveling around to other Serbian communities to meet new people and share our culture.

By Marija Milasinovic (instructor)

Marko TopalovicAge: 12Slava: Great Martyr St. George (6 May)Where my parents are from:Mama, Maja – Arandjelovac, Serbia and tata, Vojkan – Belgrade, Serbia; grandparents are from Arandjelovac, Hercegovina, and Banat. Started dancing: 2019

Milan Topalovic Age: 10Slava: Great Martyr St. George (6 May)Where my parents are from:Mama, Maja – Arandjelovac, Serbia and tata, Vojkan – Belgrade, Serbia; grandparents are from Arandjelovac, Hercegovina, and Banat. Started dancing: 2019

Daria TvrdisicAge: 13Slava: Sv. Nikola (19 Dec)Where my parents are from:Mama, Jovana – Belgrade, Serbia and tata, Miso – Bijelo Polje Crna GoraStarted dancing: 2014

Igor TvrdisicAge: 13Slava: Sv. Nikola (19 Dec)Where my parents are from:Mama, Jovana – Belgrade, Serbia and tata, Miso – Bijelo Polje Crna GoraStarted dancing: 2014

St. George Morava 3rd Ensemble


Congratulations! Честитамо!

Reader Seraphim (Daniel de la Vega III) is a first year student at Butler University studying classics and minor-ing in anthropology. He re-cently graduated from Point Loma High School as the drum major of the Vanguard march-ing band. Daniel was extreme-ly blessed to have found the Orthodox Church just over two years ago and has tried his very best to continue learning the faith and it’s many mysteries. Though both of his parents are Catholic, they have remained extremely supportive of him and have learned to appreciate their own faith even more. Daniel looks to become an educator, most likely as an english teacher for high schoolers, then once he has had enough he will likely attend seminary for a greater theological education, and perhaps (God-will-ing) be elevated to the priesthood. However, Reader Seraphim knows how much lies ahead and so he tries to keep as many options open as possible, we all know that having plans to fall back on are more necessary now than ever before.

Daniel has always loved to learn and since becoming illumined, his desire to understand what lies beyond this reality has only grown. Often battling thoughts of

existentialism and navigat-ing the social complexity of being a college student, he has found great peace in the Church. When he is away in the Midwest, he attends St. Nicholas the Wonderwork-er Serbian Orthodox church in Indianapolis where he has been under the mentor-ship of Fr. Dragan Petrovic and Fr. Jovan Todorovich.

Due to the pandemic, Daniel will be staying in San Diego to work until the fall when circumstances will be better. His current

employment as an engineering technician for Mesa Biotech places the responsibility of the construction and maintenance for the automated manufacturing of Covid-19 test kits. He has felt extremely blessed to have such an opportunity alongside his father, the di-rector of operations at the site. Daniel has remained optimistic during this pandemic, as he understands it, this is an opportunity to reevaluate what is most valu-able to him and us as people, and looks forward to a return to normalcy. He is exceedingly grateful for the anchoring love the Church has shown him and hopes to give as much as he possibly can to further his search for meaning amidst this storm.

Congratulations to Djordje and Karolina Popovic on the birth of their son Milos who was born on January 22, 2021. At 4100g/9lb, he’s a healthy little boy who makes it easy on his parents. Milos’ sister Ana and brother Dusan feel blessed with their newly born brother.


Before you begin to judge me and my life,Put on my shoes and walk my path!Go through the streets, hills and valleys and feel the pain and happiness!Go through the years that I’ve gone through,Stumble on every stone which I’ve encountered on my path!Get up every time and walk the same path,As I am walking.Only then can you judge me.- Patriarch Pavle

God will always put you to the test through various struggles,But, never with those that you are not prepared for.- Patriarch Pavle

Food for Thought – За размишљање



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