Belgrade, February 18, 2025
Photo: architectureguru.ru
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić honored prominent individuals, organizations and institutions on February 16, in honor of Serbian Statehood Day, which was celebrated the day before. Among the honorees was Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery.
One of Serbia’s most prestigious awards, the Sretenje Order III Class, was presented for the monastery’s “exceptional and active contribution to strengthening spiritual and friendly relations between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church and between the two peoples,” the Serbian Orthodox Church reports.
The order was received by Sretensky’s Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov).
“This is a pleasant surprise and a great honor for us,” Fr. Ignaty said.
“Right now there are many Serbs studying in Russia, which has never happened before, and many of them come to Sretensky Monastery, and we talk there, we serve Liturgies, molebens, and try to gather them together and help them become closer friends,” he added.
St. Petka Monastery in Izvor, Serbia, and Novo Hopovo Monastery on the Fruška Gora Mountain were also awarded the Sretenje Order II Class.
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