Matica srpska – Association of Members in Montenegro with associates (Municipality of Nikšić and NGO “Friends of Nikšić”) cordially invites you to participate in the Summer School of Serbian Language, which will be organized from 9 July to 31 July 2023 in Nikšić and Budva.

The school is intended for students of Serbian language (European and world universities), the Serbian diaspora and all interested people over 18 years of age. Lectures will include learning the Serbian language (ekavian and ijekavian pronunciation, speaking skills, writing, grammatical and lexical system) and will be organized on three levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced). Lectures by university professors in the field of Serbian literature, film, history of Serbs and Serbian language, history of Montenegro, art, science, religion are also planned… This year, just like they did previously, the organisers will try to offer high-quality and diverse contents, so many extracurricular activities will be organised – visiting the Montenegrin coast (Budva from 26-30 July), tour of Zabljak and Black Lake, Skadar Lake, visit to the Ostrog monastery, and tour of cultural and historical sites of Montenegro, poetry and film evenings, festivals, concerts, learning folk dances … A short film about the Summer School of Serbian Language 2022 is available HERE.

Photography as an art and a hobby has gained new momentum with the spread of digital technologies and especially with the wide availability of smartphones, which effectively made each of us a photographer. In order to improve the quality of our photos and to better understand the messages they send and thus truly enjoy this wonderful art, we need to know the basics of camera operation, exposure control, tips for better composition and image processing methods. Therefore, as part of the 15th Serbian Month in Great Britain, on 4th March 2023, starting at 6:00 pm in Bishop Nikolaj Hall, the St Sava Church School is organising the first workshop on "Basics of Photography" in which Nenad Obradović and Goran Mašanović will discuss some of the above topics in engaging and interactive way. Tickets are £10 and all proceeds go to Serbian language schools in London. We invite you to improve your photography skills by participating in the workshop and to help our schools, which have been playing an extremely important role in our community for years. 

The St. Sava Church School in London in cooperation with the Matica Srpska Gallery from Novi Sad organised an online guide through the exhibition "Life dedicated to the beauty and art" about the famous Serbian painter Uroš Predić on Friday 10th February. The guide was in English, it was adapted to children, and it followed up the same online event in Serbian organised on 3rd February. 

The weekend celebrations started with a vespers service immediately followed by a folklore performance. His Grace Dositej welcomed a packed hall of guests for St Sava’s Evening. The parish’s ensemble Rastko welcomed special guests Gračanica, Serbian folk dance ensemble who had especially flown over from Boston, USA. Both dazzled the audience.

On Sunday, the parish came together in huge numbers to celebrate our national saint in a festive spirit despite the troubled times we presently live in.

Divine Bishop’s Liturgy was served by Dositej, Bishop of Britain and Scandinavia in concelebration with clergy from London and the rest of Great Britain. Parishioners, children and parents were joined by Her Excellency Ms. Aleksandra Joksimović, Serbia’s Ambassador and her partner, HRH Princess Katarina Karađorđević da Silva, Miss Marijana Ognjanović, Consul of the Republic of Serbia, the military attaché Mr. Dragan Dabović and his wife.

Luka Milivojević, captain of Crystal Palace FC, was also present along with his family, who often attend St Sava’s.

The host of this year’s St Sava’s celebration was Mr. Predrag Pisić, who presented all the students of the Church Sunday School with gifts.

During Divine Liturgy, His Eminence Bishop Dositej ordained Reverend Bojan Radičević, parish priest from Halifax, to the rank of archpriest in recognition of his dedicated service at Halifax parish. With the Bishop’s blessing, Father Bojan proclaimed the significance of St Sava’s character for our Church and his inspirational legacy for all the Orthodox faithful.

Bishop Dositej also announced a change in position. After many years in the post, Protopresbyter Stavrophor Goran Spaić had asked to be relieved of his role as the elder of St Sava’s Church and also as the eparchial emissary of the Bishop. The Bishop had therefore decided to appoint Protopresbyter Stavrophor Dragan Lazić in his stead and wished him every success. At the same time he thanked Protopresbyter Stavrophor Goran Spaić for his diligent previous service. Father Goran remains the Bishop’s official deputy.

After Divine Liturgy, the children of the Church Sunday School gave a festive academy together with the Rastko and Gračanica folklore ensembles. The St Sava sermon was delivered by subdeacon Siniša Macakanja, a graduate of theological studies from London.

A festive lunch was prepared by the parish’s industrious Kolo Srpskih Sestara “Kosovka devojka”.

PHOTO GALLERY

On 20th January 2023, pupils of our school virtually hosted the poet Tatjana Pupovac from Novi Sad. Although she writes poetry for adults as well, Tatiana is better known as a children's poet. He is a frequent guest in many schools in Novi Sad and throughout Serbia. Our pupil Aleksandra Tošić will recite poem "My Laza" written by Tatjana at the St Sava Academy on 29th January 2023. During the online session Tatjana recited several of her songs and answered questions of our pupils. Each of our students recited or sang something in Serbian. They invited Tatjana to visit them in London, and she promised to send several of her books as a gift to our School. 

Prof. Goran Mashanovich, member of the School Education Board was in Serbia during December 2022 and had a series of talks and visits to various institutions. At the invitation of the management of the elementary school "Milovan Glišić" from Valjevo, he visited this school, which was founded in 1961, as the sixth primary school in the city of Valjevo. The school has over 600 pupils and since 2019 is located in a new building equipped with modern classrooms, labs and teaching aids. In 2019, the Diocese of Valjevo awarded the school with the Order of Saint Bishop Nikolaj for "fostering the spirit of Saint Sava and for excellent organisation on the occasion of the consecration of the new building".

Prof. Mashanovich had the opportunity to visit the school and see of the quality of teaching, to talk with the school's management, led by the head teacher Nataša Badovinac, and to learn about the plans for future work. On this occasion, the "Milovan Glišić" school sent books and teaching materials to our school, and mutual visits and exchange of experiences are planned in the future.