Brought people together with kindness – Vesti online

It went by quickly, but a lot has been done in the last 35 years of the fruitful religious and spiritual life of the Serbs in Berlin, during which the Most Reverend Archpriest Stavrofor Dragan Sekulić served and received his old age pension there. After the last Holy Liturgy, which he held as a priest of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the Parish of Berlin, Father Dragan said goodbye to the faithful with a solemn Church-People’s Assembly in the gate of the temple.

He had great support from the priests who will continue to serve in Berlin churches, Father Radomir, Father Veljko and the new priest Father Aleksandar. This great celebration was also attended by the first counselor of the Embassy of Serbia, Ivo Vojvodić and the counselor of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Predrag Đokić.

Life path

In his homily, father Dragan spoke about his work and life path.

– My beginning as a priest was 43 years ago, in Šabac I was ordained as a deacon, and then as a priest, in August 1981. I was ordained by Bishop Jovan Velimirović, the nephew of our holy Bishop Nikolaj. Then I was a parish priest in Mionica for eight years. That’s where I baptized the first children, married the first newlyweds, consecrated the water for the first time, and in a way I became a priest. It meant a lot to me that I was a parish priest near famous monasteries, such as Čelije, Lelić and Bogovađa, where I often went and prayed at the grave of Saint Justin and in front of the relics of Saint Nicholas of Žički and Ohrid. In 1989, I came to Berlin for the first time to take over the parish and begin my pastoral ministry. I am glad that even today I see some of the faces that I saw at the first services I held then. Already the following year, we bought the “St. Sava” Temple in Veding, which we paid off in the following years, thanks to your contributions. The church choir “St. Stefan Dečanski” was founded near the church and the Serbian school was started. Today, this church is decorated with a copy of the Hilandar icon of the Holy Trinity, which we wanted to preserve the spiritual closeness to the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos, where we often went from Berlin in an organized manner. In 2008, the Serbian Orthodox ecclesiastical municipality of Berlin was enriched with another holy temple, namely this Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which we expect to be fully repaid next year – the priest began the story.

Teaching young people

– It was a great pleasure for me to teach children and young people, both in the Serbian school that we founded in this Temple, and I always encouraged them to study well in German schools as well, to adapt as well as possible, and later graduate from high schools and colleges and be successful and respected experts in their professions. Thus, he will best represent our Serbian community in this foreign country. If a child had a talent for sports or art, I encouraged them to persevere in developing that talent, and the most persistent went far and earned the attention of the German national media. Whatever work they do, it is important that they enjoy their work, as I enjoyed most every Sunday and every holiday when I served the Holy Liturgy in our holy temple. That was the most fulfilling for me, especially the moments when I give a blessing to everyone who fills the church, then my heart is full. Churches were not always as full as they are today, but when the faithful receive God’s blessing through the priest, my heart is full too. In my faith, I always tried to be strict, first of all to myself, to my family, and then to all of you, first of all for your salvation. My joy was so much greater, the more our spiritual community grew, and the more each of you progressed in your commitment to faith, and I rejoiced at every wedding and baptism and the numerous celebrations we held in both our temples. My family, my wife, children and grandchildren, played a big role in my pastoral service, which in their own way contributed to me persevering in my service. I want to remember all the beautiful events in this church, of which there were many, and all your characters, I also remember your names and the places where you stood during the Liturgy. I regret that it remains in my heart. A priest never retires, he remains a priest until the end of his life, but he is relieved of running a parish, running a temple. I will still be able to lead the service, give communion and give some instruction. Maybe I’ll be a little more in my homeland than here, or vice versa. Every priest lays down his soul for his faith, for his people, for his believers, but it’s nice when the time comes for us priests to dedicate ourselves a little more to our souls – said Father Dragan.

Gratitude to God

– I would like to express my gratitude to God because I became a priest, then to Bishop Jovan Velimirović who ordained me, to the former Western European bishop Bishop Lavrenti who had faith in me to enable me to lead the parish as a young priest, to my parents who taught me the faith and sent to the seminary, the Berlin priests with whom I served, Father Veljko, Father Radomir and Father Duško, who also served for a time in Berlin, the Church Board and the President of the Church Board, Dragan Mitrovski, and all the believers who were diligently engaged in the maintenance of the temple and to all religious services and festivities, and to all the children who come to us in increasing numbers. Thank you to everyone who listened and adopted my teachings, first of all to do something for their souls and save their souls. I leave a bequest to all of you to firmly hold your Orthodox faith, to teach your children and grandchildren on that faith, to progress in faith and piety, and to preserve the Serbian language. I leave you a bequest to preserve these two temples, to further maintain and beautify them, and, God willing, to open a third temple as well – said the priest.

A legacy to the community

Having come to Berlin in the year when the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo was celebrated, and when the Berlin Wall fell, the very next year, in 1990, in the city that then became the capital of united Germany, he managed to open the first Serbian Orthodox church “St. Sava”. In 2008, another Serbian church, “Vaskrsenja Hristovo” followed, whose elder until now was Father Dragan, and at his farewell, he gave a bequest to the faithful to build a third Serbian church. It is not easy to describe in words how much faith and effort he has woven in these 35 years to enrich the religious and spiritual life in Berlin, and how much love for God and his neighbors he has managed to instill in the now very numerous Serbian community. For many Serbian believers in Berlin, this farewell is not at all easy, because they connected many of their important life events to regular gatherings at liturgies, shared their joys and sorrows with Father Dragan, who always had time and understanding to listen to them and guide them. instructive words of kindness. This has successfully completed a very important, initial phase of the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Berlin, which will continue to be led by the priests, Father Radomir, Father Veljko and the new priest Father Aleksandar, and Father Dragan Sekulić hopes that the Serbian Orthodox Church in Berlin will year and continue to have an increasing number of believers and that it will last forever.

Sadness over parting

Last week, the Holy Liturgy in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ began like many in the last 35 years, which was held by Archpriest Stavrophor Dragan Sekulić. Just before Holy Communion, in a full church, the faithful were slowly overcome by the thought that this was also the last Liturgy held by Proto Dragan as the head of the Temple, so the sadness over this parting after 35 beautiful, meaningful and magnificent years could no longer be suppressed. The eyes of many believers lit up, and tears could no longer be held back. Only after the end of the Liturgy did Father Dragan succeed in his sermon to restore optimism to the present faithful and assure them that only with strong faith can one overcome all life’s challenges, including the inevitable changes that we have to face sooner or later.

Hundreds of believers

The Great Church-People’s Assembly on the occasion of this solemn event was held in the gate of the temple with music, barbecue specialties and hundreds of Berlin believers, who came to say goodbye to the dear priest, prote Dragan Sekulić. Tempelhof was shaking with the temperamental Serbian car, and the many believers who were clinging to the car tried to, with energetic steps and with the loud rhythms of Serbian folklore, as much as possible to dispel the grief over the departure of Reverend Dragan Sekulić as a priest of the Berlin parish and elder of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.