NGO against faith

Searching for something to talk about, i saw this article. This article that made my head burst into annoyance. Why? Of all the groups that will make this stupid statement, an NGO named Movement for Enlightened Society is against the celebration of Saint Sava as the patron saint of schools in Serbia.

Here is the article from B92:

The NGO also protested over Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) priests taking an active part in school celebrations, "with prayers and inappropriate sermons, and performance of religious rituals," in this way "additionally stressing the religious importance of the holiday." 

"By celebrating patron saint day of schools as a religious holiday, the Constitution of Serbia is being directly violated in Article 11 that mandates the separation of churches and religious communities and the state," said a statement. 

The NGO, which earlier this month criticized President Tomislav Nikolic for sending his Christmas message and taking part in Christmas rituals held at the presidency building as "impermissible abuse of the holiday and violation of the Constitution," reminded headmasters of state schools and "responsible persons in the government" that there are members of other religions, "as well as atheists," among schoolchildren and their parents and teachers.

According to the statement, they are denied the right to celebrate St. Sava's Day as "a true school holiday open to everyone, regardless of their religious and ethnic orientation."

This is the disease of ultra-liberalism in Europe and the discontent of some pro-EU trying to destabilize the Serbian state, that cannot recover in a hurry because of the events in it's history that made them bad in most states by means of false propaganda.

Značaj Svetog Save za Srpski narod

To those who don't know Saint Sava, this could be the article in my short words that, he is important to the Serbian nation from religious, social and political stand point of view. These are just simple but it meants so much to Serbia as a nation and he is one of the nation-builders.

Political-Sava returned to the Holy Mountain in 1217/18, marking the beginning of the real formation of the Serbian Church. He was consecrated in 1219 as the first Archbishop of the Serbian church, given autocephaly by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople, who at the time was in exile at Nicaea. In the same year Sava published Zakonopravilo (also St. Sava's Nomocanon), the first constitution of Serbia; thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious. Its purpose was to establish a codified legal system in Serbian Kingdom, and to regulate the governing body of the Serbian Church. In a small town of Ston, on the Peljesac peninsula, Sava founded an eparchy in late 1219.

Social-He then stayed at Studenica and continued his education of faith to the Serbian people, later he called for a council outlawing the Bogomils, who were regarded heretics. Sava appointed protobishops, sending them over all of Serbia to baptize the unbaptized, marry the unmarried etc. To maintain his duty as the religious and social leader, he continued to travel among the monasteries and throughout the lands to educate the people. King Stefan died on September 24, 1228, and was succeeded by his son Stefan Radoslav. After the Battle of Klokotnitsa (1230), Stefan Vladislav, Radoslav's younger brother, married Beloslava, the daughter of Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Asen II, subsequently becoming the new King by 1234.

Religious-Sava brought the regal crown from Rome, and crowned his older brother Stefan "King of All Serbia" in the Žiča monastery in 1217, hence Stefan's epithet "The First-Crowned".

Sava returned to the Holy Mountain in 1217/18, marking the beginning of the real formation of the Serbian Church. He was consecrated in 1219 as the first Archbishop of the Serbian church, given autocephaly by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople, who at the time was in exile at Nicaea. That moment was the religious independence of the Serbian nation away from the Roman Catholicism that tried to be an influence in the Balkans.

Without his strong zeal, the Serbian nation wouldn't have existed nor became another bastion of Orthodoxy.

Značaj Pedesetnica +++

Pentecost. Or in Serbian, Pedesetnica. Why is it important to the Eastern Orthodox Christians? It is because after Pentecost, the apostles spread across the world.

It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and to those who believed in Jesus Christ.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pentecost is one of the Orthodox Great Feasts and is considered to be the highest ranking Great Feast of the Lord, second in rank only to Easter/Resurrection Sunday/Passover. The service is celebrated with an All-night Vigil on the eve of the feast day, and the Divine Liturgy on the day of the feast itself. Orthodox churchess are often decorated with greenery and flowers on this feast day, and the celebration is intentionally similar to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Mosaic Law. The feast itself lasts three days. The first day is known as "Trinity Sunday"; the second day is known as "Spirit Monday" (or "Monday of the Holy Spirit"); and the third day, Tuesday, is called the "Third Day of the Trinity." The Afterfeast of Pentecost lasts for one week, during which fasting is not permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday. In the Orthodox Tradition, the liturgical color used at Pentecost is green, and the clergy and faithful carry flowers and green branches in their hands during the services.

The apostles spread and here is were they went:
Peter-Antioch, Corinth, Rome
Andrew-Scythia, Black Sea, Dnieper river, as far as Kiev
James(son of Zebedee)
John-Ephesus
Philip-Greece, Syria, Phyrgia
Bartholomew-India, Armenia
Thomas-India
Matthew-Judea
James(son of Alphaeus)-Lower Egypt
Thaddeus-Samaria, Idumea, Mesopotamia, Syria and Libya
Simon(the Cananean)-Egypt, Persia and Armenia
Matthias-Georgia
Paul-Rome

As time goes, the apostles became larger and larger and it continues to the present day. Some of them are equal to the apostles.

Here are some of them.

St. Nino-Georgia
St. Nikolai of Japan-Japan

St. Sava-Serbia

Mary Magdalene

Emperor Constantine and his mother, Empress Helena

St. Patrick-Ireland

Sts. Cyril and Methodius-Slavic lands

Olga of Kiev

Boris of Bulgaria

Innocent of Alaska

Stephen of Hungary

One day, who knows that there will be a modern day equal to the apostles by God's grace. Let's pray for the stability of the church.