Cleveland, OH - The funeral for the late Protojerej-Stavrofor Nenad Resanovic took place Wednesday morning, March 9, 2005 at St. Sava Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. Joining His Grace Bishop Mitrophan in prayer at the funeral were 17 priests and 2 deacons. There were other clergymen that attended but did not serve. Also, in attendance were the sisters from Monastery Marcha as well as the Monastery of the Holy Theotokos from New Carlisle, IN.

Following the service His Grace, the bishop, delivered the following eulogy:

“For we walk by faith not by sight”
(2. Cor. 5:7)

Dear members of the family,
Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers,
Dear brothers and sisters,

Those words of the holy Apostle Paul could fully apply to our dear Fr. Nenad. When I spoke to him a few months ago, I asked him: “How is your health, my dear Fr. Nenad?” He answered: “Don’t ask me, your Grace, how is my health, but rather how is my illness. I lost my health a long time ago. But, thank God, I can still walk.” And following the Divine Liturgy, during which he communed, he told me: “I beg of you, your Grace, pray for me that I don’t lose my sight. It would be most difficult for me if I couldn’t read.” And I noticed, as many of you did, that his physical sight began to slowly decline. On the other hand, his spiritual sight was becoming all the more clearer. But that was his faith.

Also, he always asked of his brother clergy to pray for him that he endure for a peaceful, quiet, sinless Christian ending to his life. Not only did he ask others to pray for him but he prayed as well. For what use is it to us that others pray for us if we ourselves to not pray. And the Lord granted him this peaceful and Christian ending to his life. He was not afraid of death, but, as St. John Chrysostom says, he was only afraid of sin. For death has its strength and power in sin (I Cor. 15:56) as one church hymn so beautifully states: “Before the Resurrection of Christ death was frightful for man, but after Christ’s Resurrection, man was frightful for death.”
Fr. Nenad was a man of steadfast faith. He was attacked by great physical and spiritual temptations. First, he lost his life companion, Emilija, and then two years ago he lost his son Stevan. I believe that God wanted to test his faith as He did with Abraham (Gen. 22:1). And when one fellow priest offered his sympathies saying, “Father I am sorry for your great loss.” He replied, “What loss? If my son is near Christ there is never a loss. If he is without Christ, and even if he was alive, it is a loss for me.” In all of his troubles and sufferings he was strengthen by the words of the holy Apostle Paul: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13). Therefore, he could say together with the Old Testament righteous man, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

He fought long with his illness and was never spiritually exhausted. He was aware that the temporary sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18). His suffering was similar to that the righteous Job. He lived in the hope of Christ, that we when “our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.” (2 Cor. 5:1-3). Isn’t this similar to what the righteous Job says, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:25-27).

All of his faith, hope and love he rested on the Resurrected Christ. Frequently I heard him teach others at Monastery Marcha or in this church, that the Resurrected Christ is the center of everything. In Him is the meaning of our lives (Rom. 5:18). The words of the apostle Paul, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (I Cor. 15:14) were constantly in his heart and in his soul. When Christ, or the Church, the Gospels or the Holy Canons were in question there was no compromise with him. For him Christ was the measure of all things. He considered all things harmful and minute compared to the great knowledge of Christ our God. His rule was: All things should be left behind that we might only gain Christ (Phil. 3:8). This was noticed by many during his active ministry in this parish.

I am not aware if our dear Fr. Nenad left many written things behind. But what is most important, his writings that remain are not written on paper or stone tablets but on the bodily tablets of our hearts (2 Cor. 3:3). Every Thursday at this holy Church he regularly held religious classes for adults, interpreting the words and lives and giving drink to the thirsty from the eternal waters and feeding the hungry with the heavenly bread. This is what remains eternally and is more important than if he had written volumes and volumes of philosophical works “according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8). At every occasion he taught the Orthodox souls to watch for the infectious spirit of this world, syncretism and distorted Christianity.

Dear Father Nenad,

The hour has come for our separation from one another, but only temporarily. And I know what you would advise your son Nikola and the rest of your family and friends and acquaintances as well as your brother priests: “Do not be sorrowful like those who have no faith” (2 Thess. 4:13). Do not forget the words of Christ: “I am the Resurrection and the Life; whosoever believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (Jn. 11:25). You have now troubles and sufferings. But do not forget: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17). And I am certain you would tell them, together with St. Cyprian: “When our dear ones leave this world, we should rejoice more than be sorrowful. Remembering this truth, the holy Apostle Paul, in his epistle writes: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

Thank you for all that you did for the Serbian Orthodox Church and your suffering people. You suffered with them as well. You passed, together with them, through the fire and the water. But just as God brought you to your rest (Heb. 4:9-11), may He also bring all of us. Thank you for your work in the parishes in which you served. Above all, your preaching of the Word of God to your spiritual children at St. Sava in Cleveland in whose hearts you formed the image of Christ (Gal. 4:19). You continued to do this “in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2). Already at this moment we begin to miss you. Do not forget us before the holy Throne of the Almighty (2 Pet. 1:15).

May your memory be eternal and may God have mercy on your soul!

ST. SAVA PROGRAM AND CHURCH SLAVA IN ST. PETERSBURG

St. Petersburg, FL - Although it was on Thursday January 27th that Serbian churches throughout the world celebrated the feast day of the first archbishop of Serbia - St. Sava, many churches observed the feast with traditional children's programs this past weekend.

Along with the children's programs the churches in New York, Boston, Cleveland and St. Petersburg also celebrated their Church Slava. Images below are from the parish in St. Petersburg, FL where Fr. Stephen Zaremba, together with the children of the parish, festively celebrated their Church Slava.

SERBIAN TRIPLETS PERFORM AT SERBIAN CHURCHES

Diocesan Headquarters - The Serbian triplets, Vera, Nada and Slobodan Brkic performed at Pittsburgh area churches over the past weekend. During their stay at St. Nicholas Church in Monroeville, PA they traveled to northern Pennsylvania where they were guests of Fr. Milovan Katanic and the parishioners of St. George in Hermitage on the evening of Friday January 21. On Sunday after liturgy they performed at Monroeville and then traveled to St. Sava Church in Cleveland, Ohio where they were welcomed by V. Rev. Protojerej-stavrofor Djuro Majerle and Rev. Zivojin Jakovljevic and all the Cleveland Serbs. Collections were taken at all churches to go towards the further medical treatments for Nada and Slobodan Brkic who, because of a faulty incubator, are blind.

LANGUAGE AS A PROTECTOR OF OUR ROOTS

Cleveland, OH - On Saturday January 8, 2005, the second day of Christmas, a Christmas Program with a dance following, was held at the church hall of St. Sava Cathedral in Cleveland. The event was organized by the School Board, teachers and students and of the St. Sava Serbian School. Clergy, headed by His Grace Bishop Mitrophan of Eastern America, attended the event, showing their support to the children.

At the beginning of the program Cathedral dean, Fr. Zivojin Jakovljevic, thanked Bishop Mitrophan, the clergy and all those who came in such great numbers. This was followed by the children singing the St. Sava Hymn.

The program was led by the President of the Serbian School, Goran Debelnogic. He began the program by thanking all attending clergy and parishioners. "Since we considered the Birth of Christ to be the most joyous day, a day of our children's joy, we considered it most appropriate for the first program of our school, which open's new oppurtunities for our future in this area, holding on to that folk saying: "plant the fields for future days and work in the fields from all sides."  All of you, dear brothers and sisters, who came this evening, I thank from the bottom of my heart.  That which guided us in organzing this evening's event is perhaps best illustrated by the old verses: "from my heart I've retained three beautiful gifts, the Serbian name, the sword and blood which in the heart boils, and from my mother the holy gifts of the Serbian language and altar." Our little ones will demonstrate to all of us the need and significance of our Serbian school and for this reason we are reminded of the words, "hold schools, the children beg of you, for is there greater shame than to give your children a vision." Truly it is a wonder that even here, away from our homeland, we have such a school and that it exists through the efforts of those who have been entrusted with the enlightment of our young ones - the teachers of our school. We take this oppurtunity to introduce them, to thank them for their hard work, especially for their enthusiasm, which they demonstrate both in the classroom and outside, as this program, for example, proves as they have spent countless hours preparing the children. Nada Mirkovic is the first grade teacher. Mira Lazic is the second grade teacher. Jovan Gulic is the third grade teacher. Gordana, who is not present this evening, works with the children who do not know Serbian," said Goran Debelnogic.

The youngest children were first to perform, with a recital and a dramatic part, while brother and sister Jelena and Stefan Debelnogic sang the Montenegrin song, "Sing Maro". Following this, the second and third graders performed. The children, the majority born in America, demonastrated to all those in attendance the stength of the Serbian school.

All three grades competed in art words on the themes of: Christmas, the Nativity of Christ and Christmas as celebrated by the Serbs in their home. The older students also competed in written works on given themes: "letters to family in the homeland" or the theme, "personal Christmas experiences". The works were graded by the teachers of the school, a memeber of the school board Dejan Markovic, Milan Kecman of the Cleveland newspaper the "Plain Dealer".

The members of the school baord, Branimir Stankovic Buca and Boro Vukovic announced the top three places in each category. The winners received diplomas and awards. The winners of the written works, Jelena Debelnogic and Jelena Majstorovic, read their works.

At the end of the program Goran Djogo, of the school board, addressed the crowd: "Dear brothers and sisters, I don't wish to be long as the program has been quite extensive. On behalf of school board I would like to thank His Grace Bishop Mitrophan for finding the time to attend this event and support our children and parents. I would also like to thank the reverend fathers, Proto Vasilije, to our priest Fr. Zivojin and deacon Milan, who supported us and continue to support us in our work. I would like to thank our parents for the time they have dedicated and the care they have for their children in educating them in the Serbian language, Christian education, Serbian culture and history. I wish to thank the parents on their expectional work with the children and all of you who came this evening in support of our little ones. I wish to thank sister Jelka and sister Gina Aleksandrovic and all the mothers of our children who prepared the food for this evening. Thank you greatly for your efforts. I wish to also thank the fathers who worked in the background for this evening's event," said Goran Djogo. Following this Goran introduced Bishop Mitrophan.

"Very Reverend, Reverend fathers, dear teachers and children. An old Latin saying states, 'a good start is half the work'. I think that you have started very good and wish that you only continue in this fashion. Our people have rephrased this saying, "he who labors God will give strength". God will give you strength. I also thank you for your efforts, I thank Fr. Zivojin and all of those who work with you, together with all the parents, for without the parents we can do nothing. To our children I wish to say that they not forget who they are, that they not forget their name nor their history, that, above all, they not forget their faith. Only this way, through this rememberance of our history and our ancestors, we will continue our existence in this great country. With all of my heart, I greet all of you with the joyous greeting, "Christ is Born" and wish you a happy St. Sava slava for many years," said Bishop Mitrophan.

A dance followed the program with Drago Micic of Zuta Osa, playing.

Jovo Batkovic