Voice of St George - Winter 2015 & Spring 2016

Spring 2012

Christ Is Risen!

Indeed He Is Risen!

THE VOICE S .G OF

T

EORGE

WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016

St. George Serbian Orthodox Church

Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North & South America 3025 Denver Street • San Diego, CA 92117 telephone: (619)276-5827 web: http://stgeorgeinsd.com Church Board/Parish Council/Organizations PARISH PRIEST V. Rev. Protopresbyter Bratislav Krsic email: frbratso@sbcglobal.net PARISH DEACON Rev. Deacon Paul Germain PRESIDENT Kathryn Thickstun

Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen! We have just finished commemorating the greatest event in all history—the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The meaning of this event is central to our faith and our purpose in living. So it should be no surprise that our center for worship reflects and honors our Lord as do all of our activities, including this publication. That being said, it is with some sadness that I am passing the editing and publishing of the Voice of St George to a new generation. It has been a long journey (nearly 20 years), and I trust each issue has been useful and interesting to you. With that in mind, I am republishing some of my favorite articles in this final issue, one of which is the amazing story of beloved Milanka Vlasovich, who as a girl suffered the incredible horrors of her country breaking apart with war and civil war in 1941. Eye witnesses to these events are becoming rare as those remaining are now in their 80s and 90s. Those of us who escaped the pains of war—any war as we have had several since World War II—need to listen carefully to our brothers and sisters who did not escape. “Why suffering?” is one of the great controversial questions of theological discourse. And there is no simple explanation. We can only take the words of our Lord as he died on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” in order not to be consumed with hatred and revenge. It is this supernatural ability, given from God, that sets us apart from the world. So during Pascha season, prayerfully renew your own commitment to the Lord and His Church.

We are given a great opportunity, facilitated by the faithful members of our church, to continue our legacy as Christians in this great community and country. Do it as a follower of Christ and in memory of those who suffered and even died because they were Orthodox Christians.—Marsha Jovanovic

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Dusan Selezan SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Velimir Jovanovic TREASURER Milos Belcevic SECRETARY Jeff Nicholas Schrandt MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Vojkan Popovic, Nebojsa Rajkovic, Vladimir Kezic, Radovan Borovic, Dorde Petrovic, Simona Trifunovic, Andrew Marin, Lisa Krsic STEWARDSHIP CHAIRMAN Zeljko Milasinovic AUDITING BOARD Miro Copic, Vesna Jovanovic, Dusanka Klacar TUTORS/VESTRYMEN Milos Lukic, George Skaljac, Nebojsa Rajkovic, Miro Copic, Radovan Borovic S.S.S. ST. GEORGE CHOIR Velimir Jovanovic, President Kathryn Thickstun, Director CIRCLE OF SERBIAN SISTERS Marija Milasinovic & Vera Rakic Co-Presidents MORAVA FOLKLORE ENSEMBLE (SENIOR) Dobrila Undheim, Director VOICE OF ST GEORGE Marsha Jovanovic, Editor Srdjan Dragic, Cover

Morava! Representing St George Church at home and around the World!

Commemoration of The Great and Holy Feast of Pascha

Holy Week comes to an end at sunset of Great and Holy Saturday, as the Church prepares to celebrate her most ancient and preeminent festival, Pascha, the feast of feasts. The time of preparation will give way to a time of fulfillment. The glorious and resplendent light emanating from the empty Tomb will dispel the darkness.

Christ, risen from the dead, cracks the fortress of death and takes “captivity captive” (Psalm 67:19). All the limitations of our createdness are torn asunder.

Death is swallowed up in victory, and life is liberated.

“For as by a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Corinthians 15:2122). Pascha is the dawn of the new and unending day. The Resurrection constitutes the most radical and decisive deliverance of humankind. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fundamental truth and absolute fact of the Christian faith. It is the central experience and essential kerygma of the Church. It confirms the authenticity of Christ's remarkable earthly life and vindicates the truth of His teaching. It seals all His redemptive work: His life, the model of a holy life; His compelling and unique teaching; His extraordinary works; and His awesome, life-creating death.

Christ's Resurrection is the guarantee of our salvation.

Together with His Ascension it

brings to perfection God’s union with us for all eternity. The Resurrection made possible the miracle of the Church, which in every age and generation proclaims and affirms “God’s plan for the universe, the ultimate divinization of man and the created order.” The profound experience of and the unshakable belief in the risen Lord enabled the Apostles to evangelize the world and empowered the Church to overcome paganism. The Resurrection discloses the indestructible power and inscrutable wisdom of God. It disposes of the illusory myths and belief systems by which people, bereft of divine knowledge, strain to affirm the meaning and purpose of their existence. Christ, risen and glorified, releases humanity from the delusions of idolatry. In Him grave-bound humanity discovers and is filled with

incomparable hope. The Resurrection bestows illumination, energizes souls, brings forgiveness, transfigures lives, creates saints, and gives joy.

The Resurrection has not yet abolished the reality of death. But it has revealed its powerlessness (Hebrews 2:14-15). We continue to die as a result of the Fall. Our bodies decay and fall away. “God allows death to exist but turns it against corruption and its cause, sin, and sets a boundary both to corruption and sin.” Thus, physical death does not destroy our life of communion with God. Rather, we move from death to life, from this fallen world to God’s reign.

Father Bratso Krsic

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 3

eyes of modesty, the blush of innocence.

Such people do not know the live sense and fine impulse of a pure conscience.

When a young man puffs tobacco smoke or shows his teeth with a disapproving smile in the presence of and at the conversation of older people, then society is wrong; something is the matter with his family.

The Condition of Society How long will it thus go on! When will the baptized become active Christians, so that the pastors may give their attention to the conversion of the heathen?

What a terrible battle we must fight.

Already the fire of hell is in the world.

Great cities are multiplying throughout the land. The farmer, as the word is defined in our dictionaries, is a thing of the past. It is now the land-owner with a mansion in the city, a yacht on the sea, and with a private train across the continent.

In view of all this, beloved, the preacher of the Word of God is obliged by a terrible oath he has given before he received the gift in Apostolic succession at his ordination, to present to you the whole of the Truth, not a part of it.

There are comparatively but a few laborers in the fields – too poor to support families. The quiet country homes are becoming few, shall I say precious?

I fear not so, because people are fast losing their ability to rightly estimate the value of things. Most of the cities in all the world are overcrowded. The female portion of the population is most conspicuous.

A stupid craze after unwholesome fashions is the one all-absorbing passion of the majority of women. There is no room for gardens and yards; most of the children in San Francisco are actually brought up in the streets. Oh, how few of them feel the blessed influence of a Christian home!

Young men and young women are continually “on the go,” as they say. And this “go” is a nervous, unsteady rush to “keep up with the times.” And after all their hurry nothing is left but steam and vapor, for they are empty, as empty as the changing and vanishing world can be.

Yet they fret and inquire: “Where shall we go to and what shall we see? What shall we do? Oh! What can we do?” If you promenade along the broad avenue or pass through the narrow lane, if you visit the meeting halls in the city or look into the factories, everywhere you see that same all-devouring gaze of the bold young woman, who stares with a kind of artificial movement of the eyes. And sometimes you hear even so-called Christians say that it is a weakness of character in one who has the downcast

The number of unmarried people is increasing. And there are some married people who say: “We do not want children, because we want to have as much pleasure as possible.” This is a false position, for in a Christian marriage one kind of pleasure is not allowed continually.

Christians marry for the sake of God and His law as much as they do for themselves. But Christians who remain single renounce marriage and live holy for the sake of God and Him alone. Thus we find that the family tie is abused, as well as the single state. Courtship of young people just out of school is not to be advised, because it often leads to debauchery. A courtship running through long years also gives occasion to sin and a species of wrongdoing to God, for the heart and its love are stolen from God and thrown away on man.

Throughout all the long centuries of Christianity there have been in the Church heroic members, young people of both sexes, who by the grace of God have kept their souls pure and intact, and have dedicated to the honor of God the noblest attribute of their human life, namely, an untarnished purity of soul and body. Such persons have had the courage and such unbounded confidence in God’s assistance that, although living in the world and its dangers, though threatened by the cravings of their own individual passions and by the temptations of the devil, yet they have succeeded bravely in preserving this treasure even in a frail earthen vessel, have carried it uninjured through life’s

long journey here below, and have finally presented it to their Lord.

Christians heroes and heroines, you who have imitated or who still do imitate the sublime example of the Most Blessed Virgin, the Church admires your spirit of sacrifice as she does that of the holy martyrs, who in a few hours finished their contest and proved their fidelity to God and their faith; because you have to combat, to suffer, and to sacrifice your whole life through.

With joy and veneration do the angels look down upon you, for you resemble themselves. With motherly affection and with mighty power does the Holy Virgin Mary when you earnestly pray throw her sheltering omophorion around you, for you are her pupils and imitators. With the sweetness of divine love the heavenly Bridegroom will fill your heart and more than compensate you for the fleeting, transient, worldly love that you have laid down at His feet. The eternal Judge will find you waiting like the wise and prudent virgins who all through life carry in their hands the pure oblation of love and the burning light of good example.

Therefore, faithful to the end, he will invite you to the eternal wedding feast in heaven. Amen.

Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich, now St Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 4

My prayer wasn’t answered; or was it?

Recently, after asking God for a special favor, I waited and waited for my prayer to be answered. After what I thought was a reasonable time for a response, I began to wonder, did God hear me? Was He very busy at the time? Why didn’t I get an answer? It was then that I decided to try and figure out two things. What must a person do to have a prayer answered and what if God felt the prayer was not good for me and His answer was no? The scripture tells us about when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, His response was, “Our Father, Who art in Heaven,...”

(Mat 6:9). If we examine this passage we find specific elements that one should remember when praying.

• Acknowledge the existence of God in Heaven.

• Give praise and honor and recognize the power of God. • Have faith that Heaven exists and is perfect.

• Feed our body and soul every day with the teachings of God. • Humility, repentance, compassion and love.

• Guidance and protection.

So you see, Jesus did not teach them methods or techniques, He said that we speak to God as to our Father, our loving Father. In order for prayer to be answered, these basic elements must be present within the person seeking help from God. A true belief in the existence of God and God’s all powerful being.

That is why we believe the Profession of Faith (Apostle’s Creed). This, plus studying the scriptures, gives us the foundation for our trust and faith in the knowledge that God loves us and will watch over and protect us. God loves us and wants us to return that love.

We must praise and honor God in order to show that love and acknowledge His power. We must have faith and trust.

Faith above all else, that God will listen to us if we follow the rules and lifestyle He has planned for us. This is the first

key necessary for our prayers to be answered. Sportsmen call it confidence in the ability to perform acceptably. We must constantly feed our body and soul with healthy “food” to ensure a clean conscience and acceptable mind and body to receive God’s guidance.

God will not speak to a cluttered, unclean body and mind. Be humble, accept God’s will and guidance. Open your heart and mind and listen for God’s advice. Have faith! Always be grateful for whatever response you receive from God, for in His wisdom, He will guide you along the right path. In the face of all difficulties, doubts, and objections, trust in God. He will not let you down.

If God does not grant the means, that shows He does not want you to do that particular deed. If He wants it done, He will give you the means. Therefore, don’t worry. He will never grant an answer that will do you harm. Do you suppose I received a No answer?

Christ Is Risen!

Indeed He Is Risn!

BEAUTIFUL Words of Wisdom 1. Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.

2. So why is a car's windshield so large and the rear view mirror so small? Because our past is not as important as our future.

So, look ahead and move on.

3. Friendship is like a book. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

Prayer is simply a conversation with God, Jesus, or Mary, the Mother of God. A conversation involves speaking and listening, with the emphasis on listening. So open your heart, soul, and mind to be receptive to God’s advice and response. Have faith and confidence that God will answer with the response that is best for us. Trust Him! Just be sure that you do your part, have faith, trust, and a clear conscience. Listen to Him! Think about this: A man prayed to God asking to win a million dollars.

“God if you let me win, I’ll give half to the poor.” God’s response: “I’ll let you win if you will give it ALL to the poor!”

4. All things in life are temporary. If it’s going well, enjoy it, that won't last long. If it’s going badly, don't worry, that won't last long either.

Ask and it shall be given you...

Matt 7:7

8. A blind person asked St. Anthony, “Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?” He replied, “Yes, losing your vision!”

Donald H. Germain, Deacon Paul’s father

9. When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

5. Old friends are gold ! New friends are diamond! If you get a diamond, don't forget the gold ! Because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold!

6. Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, God smiles from above and says, “Relax, dear one, it's just a bend, not the end!”

7. When God solves your problems, you have faith in His abilities; when God doesn't solve your problems, He has faith in your abilities.

10.Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today’s peace.

Shared by Natalija Germain

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 5

Fr. Bratso’s Annual Report for the Year of our Lord 2015 It is a delight to present this annual report for the year of our Lord, 2015. This is an attempt to let you know some of my pastoral work, the spiritual state of our parish, and to acknowledge the generosity and sacrifices of so many, which has enabled our parish to maintain all of our ministries and make a difference in the lives of our parishioners and beyond our parish boundaries. Though we occasionally face challenges, our parish is alive, active, and it continues to grow. The Divine Liturgy, the Holy Eucharist, our Ministries and Education programs are truly forming our children and us. We are so blessed, with much to be grateful for. First and foremost, we thank God for everything, as we extend that gratitude to one another.

Stole Report 2015 • Baptisms: 32 • Weddings: 4 • Funerals: 8 • Pastoral/hospital visitations: 42 • Home blessings with TheophanyBogojavljenskom vodicom/Holy Water (some homes are blessed during a family’s slava celebrations) outside of slava celebration: 39.

Liturgical Life. The Divine Liturgy is indeed the center of the Orthodox Christian life. It is the sacrament of sacraments, or to use the more traditional Orthodox expression, the “mystery of mysteries.” The word for “sacrament” in the Orthodox Church is usually “mystery.” The central mystery of the Orthodox faith is the service of Holy Communion, called the Eucharist. As words, Liturgy means “common action” and Eucharist means “thanksgiving.”

The first action of the liturgy is the gathering in common. The baptized and confirmed gather in one place. After the common prayer of the Church called the Great Litany, in which petitions are made for all of the essential elements of life, biblical psalms are sung and the Word of God is presented to the faithful.

Here the emphasis is on the epistle, the Gospel and the sermon.

Then follows the offering of the bread and the wine as the offering of our world

and ourselves to God in Christ. We ask God to accept our gifts and us (the bread and wine) as we love one another and confess the Orthodox faith; the Nicene Creed that we, or our sponsors for us, proclaimed at our baptism. We then offer up ourselves and our gifts to God in Christ in remembrance of all that He has done for us: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the sitting on the right hand of God the Father, and the second and glorious coming again.

We then call the Holy Spirit “to come upon us and our gifts” and to make them the Body and Blood of Christ and to give us the experience of the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus we receive back our gifts of bread and wine, as the gift of Holy Communion with God the Father through Christ and the Spirit.

Finally we depart in peace to bear witness in the world to the Kingdom of God, which has been given to us, calling all men into this unity with God and each other in Him. The Orthodox celebrate this Mystery of the Kingdom of God, the Divine Liturgy on each Lord's Day as well as on feasts and special occasions. It is the living experience of what all Christianity, and indeed all of life, is really about.

Serving in the Altar. Deacon Paul Germain, readers Aleksandar Bradic, Radovan Borovic, and Nicholas (Jeff) Schrandt serve in the altar regularly with the help of several altar boys. Among other ministries, deacon Paul oversees the preparation of Prosphora. Prosphoron (Greek: πρόσφορον, offering; plural form is prosphora (πρόσφορα)) is a small loaf of leavened bread used in Orthodox Christian liturgies. A small group of parishioners was trained how to prepare and bake it.

on Sept. 4-6, 2015, in Alhambra, California: He followed in the footsteps of Saint Sava. Patriarch Irinej Prayerfully Leads our Serbian Church in America in Canonization of St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson.

The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church led throughout the centuries by the Holy Spirit calls and sends to the world ministers of Christ's Gospel of salvation and entrance into God's Kingdom.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

(Matthew 28:19-20) are the words of Christ addressed to the Apostles, and through them to all of us. The Local Serbian Orthodox Church, founded on Christ beginning with St. Sava and to this day, and by apostolic succession and priestly tradition, led by the Holy Spirit, added divinely wise and inspired hierarchs, equal to the apostles, fathers, confessors, martyrs, and venerable ones to the calendar of the Holy Orthodox Church. Following that living tradition of Christ's Church, and per the decision of the Holy Assembly of Bishops under the presidency of the first hierarch and Patriarch, His Holiness Irinej, held in Belgrade from May 14-29, 2015 rendered the following decision which appeared on the official proclamation as follows:

Our St. George choir continues to lead us in singing and beautifying our services. My sincere appreciation and prayers to all the members and especially our choir directors: Kate Thickstun, Pam Naughton, Dobrila Undheim, and Rankin Fisher. Rankin will be leaving for Ellinwood, KS, to be near his brother Randy. We wish Rankin God’s blessings and protection expressing our thanks to him for helping us with our liturgical music ministries over the years.

Highlight event of 2015 . Here is a part of the article for the canonization of St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 6

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us (Acts 15:28) that at the priestly Assembly of Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, to the glory of God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, who is glorious in His Saints, and for the spiritual good and overall progress of our local Church and the entire One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, to add to the Synaxis of Saints Venerable Archimandrite Sebastian, who had glorified God with his life and works and whom the Lord has already glorified through precious signs and reverence of all people.

Proclaiming him a holy, Christ-bearing God-pleaser of the Orthodox Church, we pray to the Lord that his witness of the Only Lover of man, and his living examples of faith and love be an invitation to us all that we follow and glorify him in Christ's Church in the divine services and through hymns of praise. This glorification bestows upon God's Church a great spiritual joy and thanksgiving to the Living Lord. Through the prayers of our Venerable Father Sebastian, O Most Holy Trinity, our God, have mercy upon us and save us. To the Only All-Wise God the Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit, glory and majesty, power

and dominion, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Christian Education. Orthodox Christian Education is an ongoing activity of our entire parish. I am grateful to our Sunday school teachers and parents for their support and regular participation.

Our Sunday school teachers for this school year are: Ljubica Plavsic, Elizabeth Zdralo, Joanna Aud, and Anastasija Krsic. I thank them for their love and dedication to our parish education program.

Kaija Germain won St. Nikolai of Zicha Oratorical Festival competition held during the canonization of St. Sebastian in Alhambra, CA, on Labor Day weekend.

Her essay was published in the Voice in 2015.

Pilgrimages.The Holy Land pilgrimage, March 2016. Pilgrimage to St. Paisius monastery in Safford, AZ. Orthodox Study Institute. Our parish hosted Sts. Sebastian and Mardarije Orthodox Institute, February 22–25, 2016.

Speaker: Fr. Maximos of Simonopetra; Topic: Virtue and Knowledge in the Theology of St. Maximos the Confessor.

Virtue and knowledge encapsulate the whole of St. Maximos the Confessor’s understanding of the Christian life. They designate the two basic and interdependent dimensions of (1) lived, practical experience, which is the struggle against the passions in the realization of the virtues, and (2) the lived, cognitive and contemplative experience, which is the vision of reality (specifically creation and Scripture) in light of its inner, spiritual principles. The talks presented were designed to introduce these themes and explore their various aspects through close readings and discussions of representative writings by St. Maximos the Confessor. Thanks to everyone who helped make this important event a huge success!

Culture and Heritage Programs (Folkfest; Concerts). Our folklore groups: Morava Sr., Morava Jr., and PeeWees continue to promote a part of our Serbian culture and heritage through folk songs and dance. I am especially grateful to the Morava seniors for having me visit them occasionally for a fifteen-minute spiritual reflection (questions and answers with Fr. Bratso). They have my full support and I am grateful to all directors,

Prota Bratso on Palm Sunday with his family: Protinica Lisa, Nikola, Luka, and Anastasija

choreographers, and parents for their active participation.

their own by setting up an endowment with their family name. The recipient of the Prof. Srbich 2015 scholarship was Sara Milovanovic from Escondido.

Other Projects/Ministries Completed in 2015.

• We had several very successful events, e.g., San Diego Serbian Festival, Orthodox New Year, etc.

• Served regular Liturgical services; home blessings and pastoral visits to the sick and hospitalized.

• Sunday Matins/Jutrenje is now served regularly.

• “Voice” published quarterly (Thank you to Marsha Jovanovic and Srdan Dragic) and weekly bulletins.

• We sent out regular e-newsletters every Monday morning at 5:30am.

• Our new parish website was regularly updated: www.StGeorgeInSD.com. Our parishioners and supporters are now able to make a donation online through a secured account.

• Participated in the Diocesan Summer camp in Jackson, CA, July 20–25, 2015.

• During the Vidovdan celebration on Sunday, June 28, 2015, we were able to award the Professor Srbich Annual Scholarship ($1,000.00), to a graduating high school student of Serbian descent in the San Diego County area. The scholarship is awarded by the Prof. Srbich Endowment, established in his memory by his beloved family. Miro Copic continues to oversee this and other endowments of St. George parish. Endowments are a great way to build a legacy for our parishioners and provide perpetual care for our parish.

It is suggested that families consider their participation in establishing a legacy of

• Served meals to the homeless on the third Wednesday of each month at God’s Extended Hand in downtown San Diego.

• We now have a Book Review Group that meets on Tuesday of each week. Everyone is welcome to join us for an evening of fellowship and informal conversation about one chapter per week from a book chosen for that particular month.

• Fr. Bratso frequently hosted regular San Diego Orthodox clergy meetings.

• Participation in the diocesan and the Central Church level: Fr. Bratso is Director of the Education Department of our diocese, member of Liturgics, Sacred Music and Translation committee, PanOrthodox and Interfaith Liaison of our diocese; National committees: Editor of the Path of Orthodoxy, Communication Committee and Education Committee.

Thank you. I would like to thank my predecessors, Fr. Velimir and Fr. Bozidar, deacon Paul, Kate and the entire Church Board/Parish Council, the Choir, Tutori, the Kolo members and their leaders, the Morava Group and parents, Sunday School teachers, volunteers, Office staff and volunteers, Marsha Jovanovic, the Voice editor, and to all stewards and supporters of our St. George parish. You are all in my prayers and I extend my gratitude to all of you!

In Christ, Fr. Bratso Krsic

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 7

St George Church Slava Sunday, May 8th 9:00am Matins 10:00am Hierarchical Divine Liturgy Banquet Program Music & Honoring of Mothers

Vidovdan Celebration Sunday, June 26 9:30am Matins 10:30am Divine Liturgy Banquet and Program Honoring St George Graduates

Attention College-bound High School Graduates!

Dr. Alexander L. Srbich Scholarship The Annual Dr. Alexander L. Srbich Scholarship is available to college-bound high school seniors of Serbian descent (heritage) who reside in San Diego County. The application is available on the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church website (www.StGeorgeInSD.com).

Applications are due Wednesday, May 11, 2016 and the winner will be notified no later than Monday, May 30th. The scholarship provides a $1,000 award to the winning college-bound senior.

The scholarship was set up through an endowment of the Srbich family in memoriam of Dr. Alexander L. Srbich who was a Distinguished Professor of Management at San Diego State University. Dr. Srbich was committed to mentoring students who wanted to attend college, particularly those of Serbian descent. This scholarship carries on that legacy.

For additional questions, please contact Fr. Bratso Krsich (frbratso@sbcglobal.net) or the administrator of the Dr. Srbich Scholarship, Miro Copic (mirocopic@aol.com).

St. George 2016 Scholarship We are also delighted to announce the St. George 2016 Scholarship of $1,000 for graduating high school students whose families are stewards of St. George Parish. This is an annual scholarship. The scholarship recognizes academic performance and a student’s active participation in church life at St. George.

Interested students are encouraged to review the online application and follow the guidelines in submitting for consideration. Please, follow this link for application www.StGeorgeInSD.com Fr. Bratso Krsic, Parish Priest St. George Parish Council/Church Board

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 8

SAINT GEORGE, THE HOLY AND GREAT MARTYR, May 6

This glorious and victorious saint was born in Cappadocia, the son of wealthy and virtuous parents. His father suffered for Christ and his mother then moved to Palestine. When George grew up, he entered the military, where in his 20th year, he attained the rank of a Tribune, and, as such, was in the service of the Emperor Diocletian. When Diocletian began the terrible persecution against Christians, George came before him and courageously confessed that he is a Christian. The emperor had him thrown into prison and ordered that his feet be placed in a stockade of wooden hobbles and that a heavy stone be placed on his chest.

After that, the emperor commanded that George be tied to a wheel under which was a board with large nails and he was to be rotated until his entire body became as one bloody wound.

After that, they buried him in a pit with only his head showing above the ground and there they left him for three days and three nights. Then George was given a deadly poison to drink by some magician. But, through all of these sufferings, George continuously prayed to God and God healed him instantly and saved him from death to the great astonishment of the people.

saintly George to leave all for the sake of this love: rank, wealth, imperial honor, his friends, and the entire world. For this love, the Lord rewarded him with the wealth of unfading glory in heaven and on earth and eternal life in His kingdom. In addition, the Lord bestowed upon him the power and authority to assist all those in miseries and difficulties who honor him and call upon his name. Свети ВеликомученикЂорђе, 6. мај Овај славни и победоносни светитељ беше рођен у Кападокији као син богатих и благочестивих родитеља. Отац му пострада за Христа, и мајка му се пресели у Палестину. Када порасте Ђорђе оде у војску, где доспе у двадесетој својој години до чина трибуна, и као такав беше на служби при цару Диоклецијану. Када овај цар отпоче страшно гоњење на хришћане, ступи Ђорђе пред њега и одважно исповеди, да је и он хришћанин. Цар га баци у тамницу, а нареди да му се ноге ставе у кладе а на прси тежак камен.

When he resurrected a dead man through his prayer, many then accepted the Faith of Christ. Among these also was Alexandra, the wife of the Emperor Athanasius, the chief pagan priest, and the farmers: Glycerius, Valerius, Donatus and Therinus.

Finally the emperor ordered George and his wife Alexandra beheaded.

Blessed Alexandra died on the scaffold before being beheaded. St. George was beheaded in the year 303 A.D. The miracles which have occurred over the grave of St. George are without number. Numerous are his appearances, either in dreams or openly, to those who have invoked him and implored his help from that time until today.

По том нареди, те га везаше на точак, под којим беху даске са великим ексерима, и да га тако окрећу, док му цело тело не поста као једна крвава рана. По том га закопа у ров, тако да му само глава беше ван земље, и остави га у рову три дана и три ноћи. По том преко некога мађионичара даде му смртоносни отров. Но при свим овим мукама Ђорђе се непрестано мољаше Богу, и Бог га исцељиваше тренутно, и спасаваше од смрти на велико удивљење народа. Када и мртваца једног молитвом васкрсе, тада многи примише веру Христову.

Enflamed with love for Christ the Lord, it was not difficult for this

Међу овима беше и жена царева

Александра, и главни жрец Атанасије, и земљоделац Гликерије, и Валерије, Донат и Терина. Најзад осуди цар Ђорђа и своју жену Александру на посечење мачем. Блажена Александра издахну на губилишту пре посечења, а св. Ђорђе би посечен 303 год. Чудесима, која се десише на гробу св. Ђорђа нема броја. Нема броја ни његовим јављањима у сну и на јави многима, који га споменуше и његову помоћ поискаше од онда до дана данашњега. Разгоревши се љубављу према Христу Господу светом Ђорђу не беше тешко све оставити ради те љубави: и чин, и богатство, и царску почаст, и пријатеље, и сав свет. За ту љубав Господ га награди венцем неувеле славе на небу и на земљи и животом вечним у царству Свом. Још му дарова Господ силу и власт да помаже у бедама и невољама свима онима који га славе и његово име призивају.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 9

Some words about Stewardship from Father Draskovic Once again heed this powerful message our former parish priest gave us a few years back...

Dear Brothers and Sisters, By the grace of God and the efforts of Fr. Velimir Petakovic, in 1992, I joined a group of three bishops, fifteen priests and five popadijas on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

While pondering on how I would contribute to the renovation of our social hall, two memories from this trip crossed my mind – the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is a rather small lake, about 7 miles wide and 13-14 miles long. It is embraced with lush banks and contains more than 25 varieties of fish. Many animals and birds make their nests around its banks.

While some of our fellow pilgrims took cameras to memorize the picturesque lake, I closed my eyes and peeked from a distance at the surface of the lake, where I imagined the boat with our Savior, accompanied by His disciples.

The lake is fed by several streams, but primarily by the Jordan River, in which Jesus was baptized. While the gentle breeze blew, I remembered chapter 6 of St. Mark (when Jesus walked on the water) and the shortest prayer invoked

by St. Peter, “Lord, save me!” The Sea of Galilee is beautiful, full of life, teaming with varieties and scores of living things. Reality brought me back, and I joined the pilgrims heading south on the way to another sea, the Dead Sea. This body of water is more than 1400 feet below sea level. The water is about ten times saltier than the water in Mission Bay. Depending on the season, the water is more than 35% salt. The story is true that you can lay down on the water and not sink. To us people born in Montenegro, this idea is very appealing.

Due to the saltiness, no bacteria nor plants, fish or animals live in the water or around the water. Thus, it is called the Dead Sea, and it is rightfully so. I would

like to bring something to your attention. Both lakes receive water from Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee receives from Jordan River, and the river flows through and down south to the Dead Sea. It is same water supply, yet one lake is full of life, while the other one is dead.

The Dead Sea is far below sea level and has no outlets. One lake receives and gives; the other receives, but does not give. In this example, I see a prodigious stewardship lesson. Those two lakes bear witness to the fact of human life. It is in receiving and the giving back in order that life and hope is sustained.

Remember, while I served God and you for 21 years, I delivered annually several sermons on Stewardship, but never did I ask for money. Furthermore, I never asked nor expected any money for my family or myself. God knows, I found that word difficult to pronounce, even as I find it difficult now to use it. However, I am reassured by St. James 4:2: “You do not have, because you do not ask.”

So now I am asking for money and when I ask, I really mean it. Naturally, when I make this plea, I do it with love and respect for you, also with integrity and with deep conviction that what we do at St. George matters. The long overdue restoration of our social hall is worthy of our care, devotion, and financial support (money!).

The lesson of the Sea of Galilee is true.

In receiving and giving back, life and hope are sustained. I believe that Our Lord got two fish from the Sea of Galilee, and together with five loaves of bread, He fed a multitude. In 1992, my family and I came to the Church that was built on the site of this miracle. Fr. Petakovic was like a boy scout; he came prepared. We had everything we needed for kolach blessing on the very spot.

This is what the stewards of St. George and the followers of Jesus Christ are called to be givers of meaning, life, and hope. We, too, must be prepared.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 10

Now allow me please to refresh your memory and write briefly about Stewardship.

“Follow Me,” Jesus simply but powerfully commanded the Apostles, and they did. That call is made to us as well on this day and in this time at St George. How do we follow Jesus?

We try to live our lives as he did – the example of the perfect steward.

Stewardship is discipleship. It is the care and use of all that we have been given

by God and is often explained in terms of talent, treasure and time. Why? Because communication requires that a message is sent and received, thus explaining stewardship in simple terms is more effective. Here is a way to look at these aspects of stewardship.

Talent. We are all blessed with so many talents, and yet we may not know they exist. Talents are found in our personalities, our interests, and in our skills. Those who love interacting with people, love to talk and love to be with groups have incredible talents to assist with outreach, evangelism, and missionary work. Your use of talent for the work of God is one of the most personally fulfilling opportunities of your lifetime. Payment in a smile, in relief of suffering or in lending a hand to someone in desperate need is greater than any material payment you will ever receive.

Treasure. Our use of treasure to support the charitable works of the church helps to bring justice and equity to the world.

Charity is not a tax. It should be given freely because we understand and believe in the end result of our giving of financial support to any ministry.

What should you give? There is no one answer, but we should all give according

to what we have been given. Rather than gifts of equal size, gifts should be based on equal sacrifice. For example, those who earn minimum wage will find it difficult to provide even basic living needs for themselves and for their family. This financial responsibility is a priority, but it may still be possible to be a good steward in terms of time and talent. For many others, it is very possible to make a financial gift. A gift that is truly a sacrifice is a gift out of our need, not just our excess. Only you and God know what is fair, but one way to know when you are making the right gift is when you stop making excuses for its size and stop trying to rationalize why it is enough.

Time. The gift of time is just that – a gift.

None of us know exactly how much time we have been granted on this earth. Before I rest for the night, I said the prayer, and then I “negotiate” with the Lord by saying, “please don’t take me this night.” In the morning, I say, “thank you, Lord, you are a most generous and gracious God.” In the time that we have, we are asked to use that time effectively by continuing the mission of Jesus Christ throughout our days. Both at church and at home, we are responsible for handing on the faith to future generations. How we interact with people in front of children teaches valuable lessons on how to live. Our participation at Liturgy and in ministries prepares a road map for ourselves and those with whom we have influence on how to lead a Christ-centered life Time is fleeting.

Make the most of yours by using all of your gifts to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” I Thessalonians 1:3.

Very Reverend Father Bozidar Draskovic

Coming full circle...

When something “comes full circle,” it completes a cycle, it returns to its beginnings. Remembering Father Petakovich’s remarkable role in building our church...

St. George parish has watched with pleasure as the young Oksana Germain, daughter of Deacon Paul and Natalija Germain, developed into a concert pianist before our eyes, performing December (2010) with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra for its 100th Year Celebration. However, it wasn’t until Father Velimir Petakovich, one of our esteemed emeritus priests, approached me after a service at the Sretenje Monastery in February 2011 that I learned how Oksana completed a circle in the history of St. George Church.

Now almost 50 years ago, Father Velimir spearheaded the St. George Church building project, including the design and installation of its magnificent mosaics. It was a huge undertaking for such a small parish with no where near enough money to accomplish the task. But thanks to his enduring vision and faith, his own hard work—both inside the church and in an outside job, the hard work of parish members, and some unique contributions from the San Diego community, by God’s Grace, it came to pass.

In 2003, when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the church, we were reminded of when the State of California decided to run I-805 right through the property of the original church property in North Park. Father Velimir seized that moment and persuaded the parish to begin a new rather than move and retool the existing building. After personally looking at more than 60 potential sites, he recommended the undeveloped hilltop overlooking Mission Bay, where the church now stands.

Built in Byzantine style, St. George stands as a landmark and beacon, calling people to the faith. But the message of its interior is what typically overwhelms parishioner and visitor alike. The Gospel in tiny bits of glass tiles shouts of the rich culture and strength of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which upheld Christianity in the old country through centuries of oppression. This extraordinary mosaic interior, melded together an expression of art, culture, tradition, and faith, also was the vision of Father Velimir—something precious, unusual, and costly.

Added to Father Velimir and his family’s personal contributions, parish members held countless dinners and bazaars to raise money for the project. Artists and artisans worked for free or at a discount. Serbs in Mexico helped by paying some of the tile factory bills. And other donors appeared from unexpected places. Of course, we all remember the extraordinary monetary gifts from businessman Tom Dyke in memory of his wife, Donna Rose.There were other surprising benefactors, too, one relating directly to Oksana’s circle—the late Leslie Hodge, renown pianist and the first conductor of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.

Father Velimir remembers the day he was working outside the church when he was unexpectedly met by Mr. Hodge. Mr. Hodge had noticed the church from the freeway and drove up to investigate. After Father Velimir told him the church’s story and showed him the mosaic project, Mr. Hodge was enchanted and volunteered to do what he could to help by giving benefit piano recitals. And so it is that Oksana completes the circle he began so many years ago— playing with the symphony and giving benefit recitals for St. George Church.

How thankful we are for Father Velimir’s faithfulness and for his contributions to the building and maintenance of St. George Church. We are also thankful for young people like Oksana, who are doing their part to maintain our church, too. And we are thankful to people like Leslie Hodge, who were lead to help build and support this special place of worship when it was first beginning.

We hope you are inspired by the story of this circle and the reminder of the hard work and sacrifice that went into building this church. But the job is not finished. The St. George Church still needs your help—time, talents, and treasures. Now is the time. Maybe you will begin another circle that will be completed in the future by another young person.

Voice editor

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 11

From the Church President Dear Fellow Parishioners, What a wonderful celebration of Pascha! The services of Great and Holy Week, capped off by Sunday’s beautiful Divine Liturgy and sumptuous banquet, were a wonderful culmination of Great Lent. We had over-flow crowds in the church, choir loft (Thank you, St. George Choir!), and in the hall.

As always, thank you to Simona Trifunović, Tina Živković, our Kolo Sestara and the kitchen crew for preparing the delicious meal; to our servers from Morava; to Vojkan Popović and his bar crew; and to everyone who helped clean and set up the hall and patio for the event, and clean up after!

(This list is not meant to be exhaustive.

I’m sure I left out many deserving people!)

I hope to see you all at the celebration of our Church Slava, Sunday, May 8.

Other upcoming events (volunteer opportunities!) include Morava’s Folkfest, Saturday, June 11, and Father’s Day, Sunday, June 19, with a perfor-

mance by the St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble at 1pm. Planning has already begun for our Serbian Festival, Saturday, October 1. It is our largest event of the year and all of San Diego is invited! We need your help! There is a job for everyone.

Please contact Fr. Bratso to volunteer.

Remodeling is coming along on the Gregovich property, which consists of a small cottage and a duplex in Ocean Beach. There was considerable deferred maintenance to catch up on: termite damage, necessary electrical and plumbing upgrades, etc. We plan to have them ready to rent within a few months. The Dopudja properties need similar work which we hope to start soon.

For both, we are using the small amounts of cash we received from the estates to pay for the needed work. We are not using our church operating funds.

When we were preparing Ljubica “Ruby” Gregovich’s property for the estate sale, I found a polaroid snapshot of Ruby and her good friend, Lillian Freeman (see photo). Sadly, Lillian Freeman has since passed away, too. In life, both great ladies were stewards of St. George and continued their legacy of stewardship by remembering our church

God’s Extended Hands Mission. Fr. Bratso Krsic, Deacon Paul Germain, Mira and Veljo Jovanovic, Dragan Kukulj and Kaija Germain. Mirko and Sylvia Ivanovic are not in a picture, but they served meals every Wednesday. We also have some other participants on a more regular basis: Cristina Dukovich, Dragan Vasic, and others. Don’t miss out on the blessing you will receive by serving the Lord in this important way. The Lord said: Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.(Matthew 25:40)

in their estate plans. What a wonderful example for all of us.

The strength of our church community is in its members. We need you all – your energy, your help, your participation.

Bless you all!

Kate Thickstun, Parish Council President

Carpool Needed for Elderly Parishioners!

In our parish we have a few elderly people who cannot drive to Divine Liturgies on Sundays. We are in need of volunteers to take turns and bring our senior citizens to the church. If you know any other elderly or disabled person who is in such need or any other kind of need, please contact Fr. Bratso immediately at (office) 619-276-5827 or (cell) 619-316-2362.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 12

St George Choir

During the past two quarters, in addition to its regular duties of singing during the liturgies every Sunday and on the major feast days, our Choir sang during the wedding of Milena Draskovich, and also sang at the memorial services for Lillian Freeman, Branko Kukic, and Dr. Roza Hajdukovic. Choir members also sang special songs and Serbian Christmas carols for Badnje Vece and Bozic.

Our Choir belongs to the Serbian Singing Federation (SSF).

This wonderful organization, dedicated to the preservation of the Serbian sacred and secular music, was formed by the late Vlajko Lugonja at the suggestion of Professor Michael Pupin who was asked how to preserve the Serbian culture in the United States and Canada. His answer was to form church choirs and folk dance groups. Professor Pupin was a famous Serbian physicist who made long-distance telephony possible by the invention of the Pupin coil. The Pupin Physics Laboratories, also known as Pupin Hall, at Columbia University bears his name, and they are home to the physics and astronomy departments of Columbia University in New York City and a National Historic Landmark.

The SSF honors singers who have sung in church choirs for more than fifty years, and this year choir member Millie Mrja was so honored, receiving a well-deserved SSF fifty-year pin.

She sang with the St George Choir for more than 40 years and for some 15 years in Serbian churches in Minnesota. Mnogoja Ljeta!

Velimir Jovanovic, President of the St. George Serbian Choir, San Diego

FOCUS needs you!

Please join us as we prepare and serve FOCUS (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve) dinner for our brothers and sisters in need at God's Extended Hand (1625 Island Ave. SD 92101) every third Wednesday of each month.

Help is needed as follows:

Another Serbian Star—Opera singer Željko Lučić Velimir brings this to our attention: Mira and I have seen the Serbian baritone Željko Lučić three times at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the title roles in Rigoletto, Macbeth, and Otello. He was fantastic and received bigger applause than anyone else. This is his ninth season at the Met. Below is an article about him: All Operas Should Star Željko Lučić Today was the opening day of the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD series. They led off with a good production of Verdi's Macbeth. The performances were good, the staging was interesting and mostly successful, and the two leads were excellent: Željko Lučić, a terrific baritone, was wonderful as Macbeth, and ordinarily would have been the unquestioned star of the show, had he not been paired with Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth. He's great; she's a force of nature.

In any event, as mentioned, I'm petitioning Lučić to be featured in every production from here on out. It's not because he's a fantastic singer (although he is), but rather to have him in the background of every mid-intermission interview. At the beginning of intermission, as the host interviewed some of the performers, in the background Lučić, the guy playing Macduff, and someone from the directorial staff went over the moves of their climactic fight at the end of the play. They move back and forth for a minute or so, then stop, and Lučić does some...gentleman's adjusting that wouldn't be out of place at a baseball game. He then looks up, sees the camera, and clearly has an "Oh, crap" moment. They then go back to rehearsing the fight, finish, he adjusts again, sees the camera again, and clearly thinks, "Oh, right...camera. Still there."

At the end of intermission, they're interviewing someone else from the production, and he's in the green room in the background, doing something-or-other. I have no idea who he was talking to or what point he was trying to make, but it involved running back and forth, shouting, and waving his fists at the heavens. This man needs to be on the screen as often as possible.

from CLASHTALK

• Food Prep (we need 4 people): 3-6 pm • Doormen (we need 2 people): 5:20-7:20 pm • Serving/cleanup (we need 10 people): 6-7:30 pm • Sermon will be given around 5:40 pm

***Please share this information with friends or family in our parish, and encourage them to join you in serving. *** We absolutely need more people participating regularly to keep this important ministry functioning successfully!

Please let me know the approximate time you can be there, and if you have any questions or need more information.

Thank you SO MUCH! God bless you ALL! You are in my daily prayers.

Fr. Bratso Krsic

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 13

Slava of the Western American Diocese Kolo On Sunday December 13, 2015, the kolo of the Western American Diocese celebrated its Slava, The Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos (Vavedenje Presvete Bogorodice) at St. Steven's Cathedral in Alhambra, California. As usual the St George Kolo was invited to attend as were all the other kolos in the Diocese.

Protinica Lisa and Mira Jovanovic were asked to represent the Kolo at this significant feast day celebration. The two of us left early enough, we thought, in the day to reach Alhambra before the beginning of the Holy Liturgy. Given the horrendous traffic, we did well to arrive there about 15 minutes into the liturgy. It was served by His Grace Bishop Maxim, Fr. Nick Ceko, and two deacons. His Grace delivered the sermon.

Afterward, we participated in the cutting of the slavski kolac.

Each member put her right hand on the member in front of her until the ones closest to the kolac got to help turning it. It was a beautiful feeling to be together as sisters with God's blessing upon us. Protinica Sandra Ceko was the kuma of the slava. She made a beautiful kolac.

Later at lunch, we had a chance to socialize with old friends and meet new ones. We sat with Protinica Tatiana Katanic from Sv. Petka and two women from her parish, Maja Banovic and Nancy Nikodijevic. Protinica's son Vaso who is in school at USC came to church and stayed for lunch as well.

His Grace spoke at the luncheon briefly and presented each of us with a very brilliantly printed and significant booklet on the role of the Kolo and women in general in the life the church.

Included in the booklet were a couple of touching articles by the Metropolitan of Pergamon, John and the Bishop of Hercegovina, Atanasije. At the end of the booklet is the prayer of the KSS and a schedule of our regularly scheduled annual events A most meaningful part of the booklet was the section dedicated to the KSS called The Myrrhbearing Women of the Gospel. There was Red Eggs at Pascha During Easter Day the egg stands as symbol of the resurrection of Christ, and is universally used as means of Christian greeting and present. The symbolical and church significance of the egg has its roots in the greatest antiquity. Long before Christianity, all the cultured nations of antiquity held the egg to be the symbol of life in all their beliefs and customs.

According to heathen cosmogonies, the original world’s chaos was contained in an egg, which broke into two halves, the one forming the sky and the other the earth.

a very wise and knowledgeable priest who once pointed out that the Resurrection of Our Lord was first made known to women rather than, for example, the apostles. It is indeed something to ponder.

Before we left we were presented by Laura Burge Diocesan Kolo President with an icon each of our newly canonized saint, St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson. It is a small icon very prettily framed in a frame wrought in goldish metal. We have hung it in the kitchen for all to enjoy.

Mira Jovanovic “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Ephesians 2:9)

constituted the religion of mankind in the remotest antiquity and then universally spread at the time of the dispersion of nations. With Christianity, the old belief receives new contents, and the egg receives a religious significance amongst the Christians. There exists a tradition which makes Mary Magdalene to be the originator of the custom of using red eggs on Easter day. After the Ascension of our Saviour, Mary Magdalene went to Rome to preach the Gospel and, appearing before the Emperor Tiberius, she offered him a red egg, saying: CHRIST IS RISEN.

From the fact that this idea is to be found

Thus was begun her preaching. Learning about this offering of Mary Magdalene, the early Christians imitated her, presenting each other with eggs. Hence, eggs began to be used

by Christians in the earliest centuries as a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ and of the regeneration

amongst all nations, one has to conclude that it is a reflection of the primitive belief which

of Christians for a new and a better life along [with] it. The custom of presenting each other

Out of the lower part of the egg Came mother earth.

Out of the upper part of the egg Arose the high vault of the sky.

with red eggs was familiar to the Christians of the earliest Universal Church.

The red color, which generally is used for Easter eggs, serves to remind us of the precious blood of God the Redeemer, which was shed on the cross for the salvation of all men. The blessing of the eggs takes place after the morning Easter service. The breaking of the lenten fasting on Easter Sunday begins with eating the blessed eggs.

Christ is Risen!

Taken from“The Most Useful KNOWLEDGE for the Orthodox Russian-American Young People,” compiled by the Very Rev Peter G. Kohanik, 1932-1934

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 14

Kolo Sisters Kolo held its annual meeting in February with 17 members attending. Along with discussing several issues regarding distribution and designation of funds, the group elected the following officers for 2016.

• Co-presidents: Marija Milasinovic & Vera Rakic • Vice-presidents: Snezana Pantovic, Tina Zivkovic, Simona Trifunovic • Secretary: Ana Sedy-Miletic • Treasurer: Vesna Jovanovic • Sunshine committee: Tina Marin • Historian: Protinica Bozana Draskovic

The group earmarked $2,500 of its funds toward improving the fellowship hall’s air-conditioning. A number of fund raising possibilities were discussed to add to this expensive project, all of which could be possible as well as simply asking friends and parishioners for money for the new system.

A meeting in April addressed the very labor-intensive Easter banquet and celebration, which takes 100s of hours of work.

The church is so grateful for everything these women put into almost every aspect of parish life.

God bless you all!

Voice editor

Mary Naughton spends a semester in Washington, DC, as a member of a Colgate University Study Group Mary Naughton, daughter of Pam graduation to build successful careers in Naughton and granddaughter of Millie national government and politics.

Mrja, has just completed a semester in Mom Pam was able to visit Mary on sevWashington where she worked as a stueral occasions, which no doubt brought dent intern to members of the US back memories of when she was a part of Supreme Court. the Washington scene as a federal proseThis Study Group is described as combcutor, and serving as a counsel to the US ing rigorous academic analysis with a House Iran/Contra Committee and Juditotal immersion in Washington political ciary Committee. life. During the semester, students take Next year Mary will spend a semester in senior seminars on the American political Geneva, Switzerland; while twin sister system and choose an internship in conAvery, a senior at Carlton College in gressional offices, agencies, think-tanks, Northfield, MN, will be studying for a or the like. They also meet national leadsemester in Kyoto, Japan. ers in politics, journalism, business, the military, and the arts and visit the great Voice Editor historical and cultural sites of the city.

Many of the graduates of this program establish life-long connections in Washington and return to Washington after

Avery and Mary Naughton

Христос васкрсе! Ваистину васкрсе!

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 15

“Continuing Our Legacy” Nearly 10 years ago, St George Church began its renewal program called Continuing Our Legacy. This article will remind you of the magnitude of this project. While much of it has been completed, Praise God, much of it is still before us. Take pause and be challenged to complete this project.

In 1969, the founding fathers and families of St. George built a beautiful, venerable, and historical expression of their Orthodox Faith and Serbian culture.

Inside, magnificent mosaic walls and icons tell the story of our Orthodox faith in a rich and meaningful way. Visitors feel the presence of God when they enter our church. St. George is a tribute to the founding parishioners’ courage and sacrifice in a new land, and a testament of their spirituality. Like the tiny glass fragments that create our wondrous mosaics, the founding parishioners came together to build a home and cultural roots for their faith—atop a hillside above Mission Bay. With that in mind, St. George Church hopes to build upon the shoulders of the faithful who came before, continuing the legacy the founding families have generously entrusted us with. The time has now come to renovate the Church Hall and surrounding property as well as our spirit. The Renewal Project will help us meet the needs of our growing parish.

During the past 40 years, we tried to maintain the church and make small upgrades, but time and daily use has finally worn down the original structures. Though our social hall has served us faithfully, it is time for more extensive renovations.

Our goal is to update the social hall to make it more practical and functional for our present and anticipated needs.

One of the most critical aspects of the project includes the remodeling of the bathrooms and kitchen, to comply not only with health department requirements but also to allow easier access for the very young, elderly, and parishioners with special needs. The newly restored Church Hall will ensure the continued enjoyment of our special gathering place for Orthodox fellowship, celebration, and spiritual growth, benefiting the entire parish. These renovations will preserve and revitalize our

legacy and carry us to a bright future, inspiring parishioners, families, friends and supporters to become more involved in all aspects of our growing church community. This effort will only be possible if we unite together in spirit and action. Let us ask ourselves, “Are we not as capable today as previous generations to make sacrifices, to trust God and His guidance, to take pride in our heritage, and to care for our future generations?” Imagine what would your parents or grandparents have done if given the opportunity to grow as an Orthodox Christian Family/Community? How would they have answered God’s call? Spiritual deafness does not befall the old or weak, only the weak call in any way you can, so that we may grow together, and build upon our Christian Orthodox legacy. It is our turn to think about what we can do for future generations.

The St. George Renewal Project was initiated several years ago, with the intent to renovate what had through natural wear and tear, fallen into disrepair. Initially, the project started as an effort to update the kitchen and bathrooms and it evolved into a broad vision to expand and evolve our church buildings into a place that will be a beacon for our church community, our Orthodox Christian faith, and our Serbian culture. In order to sustain St. George’s legacy, it is vitally important that we embrace this vision and work as a community to make this vision a reality. The renovation plans outlined below will better enable us to advance our growing ministries and provide a new inspiring space for worship, fellowship, and celebration! We are focusing on three areas for renovation—the Church, Social Hall and Church Grounds.

Social Hall Renovations: • Renovate existing kitchen, restrooms, sliding doors, and patio area. Completed!

• Expand the restroom facilities and bar area at back of hall. Completed!

• Renovate the main hall with new classrooms, a multi-purpose room, and two offices/meeting rooms Completed!

Church Restorations: • Repair the Church structure and heating • Fix the rooftop (water leaks are damaging our precious mosaics), Terrazzo floor as well as the steps in front and side of the church Partially Completed

Property Renovations: • Reconfigure the parking lot to add more parking • Improve the landscape and hardscape (sidewalks) to allow better movement throughout the grounds • Replace and expand retaining walls around the property Our renewal project benefits all St. George parishioners and our future generations. please join us in continuing our legacy!

St. George Serbian Orthodox Church began a capital fund raising campaign: Continuing Our Legacy to raise $1.5 million to complete all phases of the restoration. The project is being completed in phases over a few years.

In order to honor the church’s founders, donations are kindly requested from our faithful stewards and St. George parishioners as well as friends of the American-Serbian community nationwide.

This endeavor will require the committed hearts and minds of each and every one of us who loves St. George and is willing to sacrifice to see it thrive. It is our hope that all St. George Church members, stewards, and guests are inspired to participate in the campaign.

Today’s generation is now called upon to contribute, to preserve, and grow our spiritual legacy. Not everyone has the same monetary resources; however, we all have the ability to contribute what we can, be it your time, or raising donation funds by getting the word out about our much needed renovations. This group effort is a meaningful investment in the spiritual growth of our Parish, and we pray for God’s blessing in our endeavors. Besides monetary contributions today, also consider what assets (such as stock, real estate, trusts, savings) and resources (talents, donation of services/ materials – business or personal) you or others can gift to our cause. In a personal way, think about how this commitment will help bring you closer to God. If our parish unites in this common cause and goal, collectively we can bring this dream to reality. By making a donation to the CONTINUING OUR LEGACY campaign, you are investing in the mission and ministry of our church today and for future generations to come. This type of deep and mean-

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 16

ingful contribution to God’s spiritual kingdom here on earth doesn’t occur often: leaving a legacy is no small matter.

Take time to reflect on all the gifts and blessings God has bestowed on you and your family before making your final decision. Read Scriptures, pray with your family at home and in church on Sundays, and talk with your fellow parishioners. Remember the Widow’s Mite (St. Mark 12:41- 44 & St. Luke 21:1-4) as a guiding example to spiritual giving. It is not the gift amount given, but the size of her proportional spiritual contribution that was so significant to the Lord. Today, Jesus recognizes the portion of any spiritual gift just as He did during His time in Jerusalem.

Thank you and God Bless everyone who has already take up the challenge of giving your time, energy, and devotion to preserving and restoring our precious church and its ministries.

“Continuing Our Legacy” Committee

Farewell to a Friend of St George Church: Francisco Jabier Vargas Francisco Jabier Vargas, or as most of us knew him, Frank, Sylvia Ivanovic’s father, was a youthful age 98 when the Lord called him home December 13, 2015.

Born in Guaymas Sonora, Mexico, Frank was a true norteamericano, who loved both USA and Mexico. He served in the US military during World War II. But before going off to war, he married the love of his life, Juanita “Jenny” Perez Vargas. The couple were happily married more than 70 years and made their home in San Diego the entire time. They adopted daughter, Cecilia Jones (Clifton Jr.), and rejoiced at the birth of their only biological child: Sylvia, who became the wife of Mirko Ivanovic. And Mirko brought both his wife and his in laws to St George parish, as well as to his home country of Montenegro in the former Yugoslavia. And just as Frank learned the specifics of Serbian culture, Mirko learned the specifics of Mexican American culture, making their family truly culturally blended.

Sylvia and Mirko’s children (Maria, Gina, and Marko) were “home” to say a last good bye to their beloved grandfather. As well, many friends from St George Church also paid their respects to “Frank”—a kind, humble gentleman, whom we will all miss. Memory Eternal, “Don Francisco.”—Voice Editor

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 17

along.And from a writer’s outsider point of view, it also takes a special inspiration to jump-start the story. So when “Mama’s Story” is finished, Dobrila and I expect it to be a special exegesis that will not only be Milanka’s story but will also mirror the stories of our country’s many post-World II Serbian immigrants— a story of betrayal and suffering, death and destruction, rescue, perseverance, hard work, and, in the end, triumph, thank God! What I am going to share with the Voice readers, in this Spring 2009 issue, is just the beginning of Milanka’s story, and I offer it in memory of what happened to the Serbian people of Lika during the spring of 1941 and the months following. May we receive God’s grace to forgive those responsible and pray such things will never happen again.2

Telling Milanka’s story so no one forgets Lika 1941 I visited Plitvice Lakes in the Lika region of Croatia several times in 1979 when I was living in Dubrovnik.

But it wasn’t until 1986 that I first heard about the area’s dark secrets.

While driving to the lakes with my elderly parents, my “Yugoslav” husband, Misha, explained to us the meaning of the ruins of burned churches we noticed along the way.1The horror of it was numbing.

Here we were, my parents and I, a family who spent the days of World War II safely in America, hearing for the first time about wartime atrocities that even occupation enemies could not fathom. But soon we were overcome with the peculiar beauty of the 16 cascading Plitvice Lakes, followed by the cheerful ambience of an ethnic restaurant, and the enjoyment of being on vacation together in my husband’s home country. And we didn’t talk about the war anymore.

Milanka remembers... “Many times I thought about it, in fact, I even started to write out my story a couple of times.

But I never liked how it sounded. So I quit, thinking it was not good. But now I am going to tell it to you, good or not. I am 82 years old, and I need to have the events of my life recorded. So it will not be forgotten—the life we had, our beautiful home, our loving family, our many friends, the joy of living we had, and then how everything changed and was gone almost before we knew what had happened.” Milanka’s eyes filled with tears, as she began recalling events from her earliest memories. Born March 15, 1927, to Siba (Kusulja) and Petar Prica, she was the fourth of five children and the second daughter. There were 10 births in all, but only five survived early childhood as was common in those days. So when the Croatian midwife who delivered Milanka announced that the baby was a girl, Siba told her to throw her in the garbage.

Now more than 20 years have gone since driving past those burned out churches, and the horrors of Lika have visited me again. But this time, I am not going to be lulled into quiet. I am going to share the story and its cruel truth. I am going to tell the world about what happened there through the words of a witness to that horror, a woman who lives among us at St George—Milanka Vlasovich.

Milanka’s only child, Dobrila Undheim, contacted me about helping her put together what she calls “Mama’s Story.” On March 6, 2009, we finally connected, and the three of us met at Milanka’s home in Vista. Dobrila has been recording interviews of her mother’s story for many years for the purpose of sharing her remarkable life with family and friends. But putting together a written version of a complicated story like Milanka’s is daunting, and sometimes it takes a third party to move the project

Not knowing if she was joking or not, the midwife refused, saying “God help you, madam lugarica3! Do not throw

1.Some 450 Orthodox churches were set on fire in Croatia during World War II, many of them packed with men, women, and children. Three Orthodox bishops and most of the Orthodox priests were murdered by the end of 1941.

2.Unfortunately, war was to return to this area in 1991 and 2001 in a series of violent conflicts as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) disintegrated. These civil wars ended with much of the former Yugoslavia reduced to poverty and massive economic disruption.

3.Lugarica is an honorific title derived from the husband’s profession, lugar.

her in the garbage! Look at how pretty

she is, just look.” And so Milanka was saved by the midwife, or so it was told.

Petar Prica was well-known in Lika because he was a lugar, which is like a forest ranger. He later would be promoted to a county recorder. He was well educated, he was a property owner, he supported his family well, and because of his job, he and his family lived in several different towns and villages throughout the area over the years. Milanka remembers when the family lived in Preboj, Ličko Petrovo Selo, and Korenica. Then in 1939, her father was posted to Zavalje, which was only a few kilometers down the road from her father’s old house in Baljevac.

The other children of Siba and Petar Prica were as handsome and intelligent as their sister. Bogdanka4 was seven years older than Milanka, Milan was two years older, Bogdan was one year older, and Savo was one year younger.

Like stair steps, each separated by a grade level, the four younger Prica children happily marched off to school together in those idyllic days before the war. While their oldest sister attended high school (gimnazija) away from home. Petar had wanted the talented Bogdanka to study medicine after she finished gimnazija, but she wanted to become a teacher. Nevertheless, a 4.Bogdanka Prica Lukich was a well-known member of St. George parish some years ago. She passed away in 1980.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 18

father’s will would prevail, and Bogdanka was sent to Bihać to begin premedicine study. But she was not so easily pushed into what she did not want to do.

So she deliberately did not apply herself to her studies and had to leave the school in Bihać. She returned home, and an alternative plan was made.

Bogdanka was sent to live with Siba’s wealthy brother in Zagreb. Milan Kusulja was a successful attorney who had married an Austrian countess. The countess died a few years before, leaving him with two opulent houses to manage. They had had no children of their own. So he adopted Bogdanka, and she became his assistant, paralegal, and hostess. This gave Bogdanka a grand lifestyle with servants, parties, and endless cultural activities in one of the country’s most important cities, that is, until 1941.

The Prica family was Serbian. But in those prewar days, ethnicity didn’t matter much, or so it seemed. Petar and Siba had friends and even relatives who were Croats. Serbian and Croatian families worked together, ate together, shared with each other, and their children courted and even married each other. On the surface, they were the same; only religion seemed to differentiate the people living in the Lika region. Orthodox, Catholic, and Moslem—it wasn’t that important. At least, it wasn’t important until the war.

The war that was lost in a week On Palm Sunday, April 6, 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, of which Lika was a region, was invaded by the Axis powers—primarily German forces, but also Italian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces. The same day the German Airforce bombed Belgrade. And within only a week, the war was lost. Four days after Easter Sunday, the Royal Yugoslav Army surrendered. Besides being hopelessly ill-equipped, the Yugoslav Army attempted to defend all borders but was only able to thinly spread its limited forces. And, sadly, some of the Royal

Yugoslav Army’s divisions welcomed the Germans as liberators from what they considered Serbian oppression.

Resistance to the invasion collapsed overnight. None of the national groups, Slovenes, Croats, or Macedonians, wanted to fight in defense of what they considered a Serbian Yugoslavia. In fact, the only effective opposition to the invasion was from wholly Serbian units within the borders of Serbia itself. The terms of the capitulation were severe, and the Axis proceeded to dismember the country. Germany occupied northern Slovenia, and it maintained direct occupation over a rump Serbian state. But in Croatia, Germany supported a Croatian nationalist movement called Ustaše and allowed it to create the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska or NDH) that extended over much of today’s Croatia and contained all of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mussolini’s Italy gained the remainder of Slovenia, Kosovo, and large chunks of the coastal Dalmatia region, along with nearly all its Adriatic islands. It also gained control over the newly created Montenegrin puppet state, and it was granted the kingship in the Independent State of Croatia, though it wielded

established, to become its absolute leader.6 The Ustaše agenda was to create a pure Croatian nation, free of Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies (cigani). There were more than two million Serbs living in the newly created puppet state, one third of the total population, in fact. There were also significant numbers of Jews, Gypsies, and members of other national groups.

Claiming Serbs were both racially and religiously different from Croats, the Ustaše planned to kill one third, convert one third to Roman Catholicism, and expel one third. The Jews and Gypsies were to be completely annihilated. The Ustaše government and its jurisdiction passed a series of laws, orders, and regulations by which Nazi-fascist methods of terror and ethnic genocide were made legal. However, in the end, they acted on their racial, religious, and national intolerance without regard for any kind of laws or norms. Sadly, the Croatian Peasant Party (Hrvatska Seljacka Stranka or HSS) and the greater part of the Catholic clergy and the Muslim religious community had pledged its allegiance to the NDH.

Ustaše and the new Croatian state Ante Pavelić, known by his Ustaše title, Poglavnik (headman) returned to Zagreb from exile in Italy on April 17, only a week after the puppet state had been

Trouble for non-Croats in the new state began almost immediately. On 27 April 1941, a newly formed unit of the Ustaše army began its reign of terror by killing the Serbian community of Gudovac, near Bjelovar. Eventually all who opposed or threatened the Ustaše were outlawed. The HSS was banned in June in an attempt by the Ustaše to take its place as the primary representative of the Croatian peasantry, and its leader put under house arrest. Jews and Serbs were ordered to leave certain areas of Zagreb.

Mile Budak, then a minister in the Pavelić government, publicly proclaimed the violent racial policy of the state on 22 July 1941. Vjekoslav “Maks” Luburić, a secret police chief,

5.After the capitulation of Italy in 1943, all territories under Italian administration were placed under German or Ustaše control. This included Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, and much of Dalmatia.

6.Dissatisfied with the Pavelić regime in its early months, the Axis Powers in September 1941 asked Vladko Maček, the leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), to take over, but Maček refused.

little real power within it.5 Hungary dispatched the Hungarian Third Army to occupy Vojvodina in northern Serbia and later forcibly annexed sections of Baranja, Bačka, Međimurje, and Prekmurje. Bulgaria, meanwhile, annexed nearly all of the modern-day Republic of Macedonia.

And so ended the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and unhappily began a brutal occupation and bloody civil war that would not end until 1945.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 19

door of the church and look inside. But the church was empty except for us and the priest—fear had already spread among the Serbs,” Milanka recalls.

“After the services, we walked back home for Easter dinner. And that was the last celebration of Christ’s resurrection we would ever have together.”

started building concentration camps that summer.

The violent Ustaše activities in villages across the Dinaric Alps led even the occupying Italians and the Germans to express concern. A Gestapo report to Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, dated February 17, 1942, stated: Increased activity of the bands [of rebels] is chiefly due to atrocities carried out by Ustaše units in Croatia against the Orthodox population. The Ustaše committed their deeds in a bestial manner not only against males of conscript age, but especially against helpless old people, women, and children. The number of the Orthodox that the Croats have massacred and sadistically tortured to death is about 300,000.

In the beginning, the Germans and the Italians forces split the NDH into two zones of influence: the southwest was controlled by the Italians and the northeast controlled by the Germans.7 Later control over the NDH territory varied as the Partisans grew more successful in fighting the Axis forces.

Friends and neighbors no more In tranquil Lika, the change brought by the Axis invasion and installation of the Ustaše state came quickly. German troops and tanks rolled past Baljevac for days on their way to Serbia; and the Italian troops came and stayed in the area.

And the long-time harmony among Serbs and Croats was transformed overnight into shocking distrust and hatred.

“On Easter, April 13, 1941, I, with my brothers and father, walked to Ličko Petrovo Selo for Matins. Already Italian soldiers were roaming the streets. They were curious, so they would open a little 7.In 1943, the Germans suffered major losses on the Eastern Front and the Italians signed an armistice with the Allies, leaving behind significant armaments that the Partisans used against the occupiers and the Ustaše. Fighting continued for a short while after the formal surrender of German Army on 9 May 1945, as Axis forces and many refugees attempted to escape to Austria. The Battle of Poljana, between a mixed German and Ustaše column and a Partisan force, was the last battle of World War II on European soil. Pavelić, however, with the help of associates among the Franciscans, managed to escape and hide in Austria and Rome, later fleeing to Argentina.

Former neighbors were now openly Ustaše. “People who had been our friends, close friends, now told us kids to get off their property and never come back or they would shoot to kill us,” she painfully remembered. Warm hospitality turned to cold hostility. At the age of 14, Milanka could hardly comprehend this turn of events, this indescribable hatred. The importance and prosperity of her well-known family now amounted to nothing. “One could not even receive a small favor by offering valuables, such as pieces of our land; they knew they would eventually have all of our land without giving anything for it,” Milanka related when recalling her own mother’s desperate attempt to get help from a former friend.

People were hiding in the forests at night for fear Ustaše soldiers would come in the night and take them away or kill them on the spot. Huddled together in the woods, the family shivered as they heard gun shots and screams from Serbian houses up the road from them.

What was happening? Why was this happening? The mind of the confident teenager was filling with disappointment, rejection, and fear. Their world was turning upside down.

No Serb is safe With all of his wealth and prestige, even Uncle Milan and the adopted Bogdanka were not spared the humiliation of being Serbs in the Croatian puppet state. They were forced to leave their fine homes in Zagreb, the capital city of the new state, never to return. “Uncle Milan hired several trucks to take what he could from his properties in Zagreb, and he and Bogdanka made their way to Korenica in Lika,” Milanka remembers. In Korenica, Milan Kusulja rented the largest house

he could find and filled it with the beautiful furnishings he had brought from Zagreb. The house was built of stone, with huge, thick walls, and after it was furnished, it became the finest house in the town. And when it was noticed by the Italian Command, they took over the entire first floor to house their senior officer.

Milan’s knowledge of legal Latin facilitated communication with the Italian officer now living in his home, and they developed a friendly relationship, in spite of the awkwardness of the situation— Italy having invaded and occupied the country! This friendship was later to be an important association for Milanka and the last Serbian families in Korenica.

Some geography All of the villages and little towns in Lika where Milanka and her family had lived over the years or where relatives lived were not far from each other—usually only a few kilometers (see the map). People walked between them, or rode bicycles, if they were lucky to have one. Bihać, one of the largest towns, is the farthest east. Its population was (and still is today) predominately Moslem. The Prica family routinely walked to Bihać to go to the market.

Southwest about 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) from Bihać is Zavalje, where Petar was county recorder in 1941. Most of the population living in Zavalje were Croatian. Northwest of Zavalje about 4 kilometers is Baljevac. The Prica family house was on a large piece of land on the northern edge of Baljevac and was one of the only Serb households in the village. Petar Prica was in the process of renovating the house. Its side yard was full of construction materials for his plans to modernize the house.

Another 4 kilometers northwest from Baljevac is Željava, then Novo Selo, and, finally, Ličko Petrovo Selo, all of which were populated primarily by Serbian households. Novo Selo was the

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 20

birthplace of Petar Prica. Many of his relatives still lived in these villages.

Running parallel to the west of these villages was a huge mountain—Plješevica, which separated the settlements from the cities in the Korana River plain, including Vrelo and Korenica. Vrelo was the birthplace of Siba Prica, and where many of her relatives still lived.

Korenica was south of Vrelo, and was where Milan Kusulja and Bogdanka now lived. Plješevica mountain is a great natural barrier.8 At nearly 5,400 feet (1660 meters), it was covered with dense forests full of wild animals, including bears. As the crow flies, Vrelo and Korenica were only a few kilometers away from Baljevac. But the mountain’s height and ruggedness made crossing it a feat suited to trained mountain climbers. The most reasonable way to reach the towns and villages of the Korana River plain from Baljevac was by going around Plješevica through the village of Preboj (now called Prijeboj).

Preboj was just west of Ličko Petrovo Selo. The Prica family had lived in Preboj on one of Petar’s assignments. They

8.During Marshal Tito’s times, it would become the site of a huge military installation. Construction of “Objekat 505,” also known as Željava or Bihać Air Base, began in 1957. The base was completed in 1965.Costing $6 billion dollars, it was one of the biggest and most expensive military installations in Europe. The air base was used intensively during the war of Yugoslav partition in 1990-1991. In the course of its withdrawal, the Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA) destroyed the base by filling and igniting the explosive positions that were in-built during the construction phase of the base and as part of base design. To prevent any possible future use of the complex and preclude any advantage to an opposing party, the Military of Serbian Krajina finalized its demolition in 1992 by setting off an additional 56 tons of explosives. The ensuing explosion was so powerful that the nearby city of Bihać shook violently. Villagers say that there was smoke coming from inside of the tunnels even six months after the destruction.

had many friends there; that is, they had many friends there before the invasion.

Now its predominately Croatian population either joined or aligned themselves with the Ustaše, and passage through to the other side of the mountain was strictly controlled.

Arrested! “They took many men away right after the occupation. They put my father in jail in Korenica,” Milanka continues. “Through Uncle Milan’s connection with the Italian commander, my father was released.” After he came home, Siba Prica pleaded with her husband to take their sons and escape to the forest, which he knew well because of his work. But Petar just could not believe things would continue to deteriorate. He thought the whole thing would just blow over. Then they came for him the second time, and once again he was released through Milan’s connections.

This time he was put under house arrest in Korenica because the authorities had been told he was too ill to be on a work detail. They concocted a drink mixed with tobacco to help him appear jaundiced and convincingly unwell. In May,

Petar Prica returned again to Baljevac and his family. “Then Ustaše soldiers, who were really our neighbors, came for father the third time. It was still May and in the morning. My mother heard pounding on the door, and it was them.

Now they demanded my brother Milan, who was only 16 years old, as well as my father. They had already rounded up all of the Serbian men and boys from Željava and Baljevac. Ours was the last Serbian house.” Milanka’s mother asked the soldiers where they would be sent.

One of them replied derisively, “To finish the roads your king started.” She then asked why her son needed to go because he was just a child.

Hearing his mother trying to save him, Milan came downstairs and told her, “Mama, I am stronger than father. I can go.” Milan, bless his heart, was actually trying to save his own father by trying to convince the soldiers that his dad was still sick. But it was no use. The Ustaše, former neighbors, added Milanka’s father and brother to the rest of the poor Serbs they had collected and took them to a barracks in Zavalje.

Beginning of the end “So now we were alone. But mama does not give up yet.

She immediately prepared some food— chicken, bread, cheese, and so on—and tells me to take it to father and Milan in Zavalje, food for the trip to wherever they are going.” Milanka gathered the lunch and started walking down the road. It was about six or seven kilometers to Zavalje. Along the way, she met a kuma of the family, Mika Vlaisavljevic, who asks her where she is going.

After Milanka tells her, Kuma Mika says: “Don’t go there, child. They will not let you in. They will not give your father and brother the food. They just chased me away. They would not let me in to see my husband and son. They would not let me see any of our friends and relatives. It is better to go home.”

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 21

Milanka answered that she was going to try anyway. “Good luck, then,” Kuma Mika replied.

“I knew where the barracks were—not far from father’s office,” Milanka adds.

“The building had a huge wooden gate, which now had two Ustaše guards with shotguns on their shoulders standing one on each side. I tried to approach the gate, but they stopped me, asking me what I wanted. I told them that I wanted to bring food to my father and brother.

They, of course, refused to let me in and chased me away.”

There was a big truck outside, and Milanka thought the Ustaše would take the men and boys away in the truck. So she decided to wait, out of sight of the guards, to see if she could catch one last look of them as they left. She found a place to sit on a wall, and, while sitting there, she began to cry. When some of the town’s women saw her crying, they laughed. Then after a time, a group of men, chained together with armed Ustaše guards by their sides, came down the road, apparently being taken to Bihać. When the guards saw Milanka sitting on the wall, they pointed their rifles at her. She quickly jumped down and ran for home.

By this time, Ustaše soldiers were situated in intervals along the road. When Milanka came to the first group, she tried to compose herself, wiping away her tears. The men asked her where she had been. And as she was telling them, there was the sound of gun fire in the distance. The soldiers then sarcastically asked her if she knew what that sound was. She answered she did not know.

But in her heart, she knew. She knew it was the end of her father, her brother Milan, her kumovi, her neighbors, her relatives, and everyone who had been arrested that morning.

Before she continued her sad trek home, the soldiers cruelly added, “Tell your brother Bogdan not to go anywhere, to stay at home.” Everyone knew the Prica

family because of her father’s position as a lugar. Was there no escape? Now they would come for 15-year-old Bogdan, too.

Milan’s coat Milanka, filled with sorrow and fear, continued walking home.

There she found everyone crying, crying, crying. Kuma Mika had already told them how they had refused to allow her to see anyone, and that she had met Milanka on her way back. Now things appeared to be getting worse quickly.

Bogdan and even the 13-year-old Savo were at risk. “We were scared. No one knew what was later going to become of any of us.” Within a few hours their worst suspicions were confirmed when Bogdan came screaming into the house.

He had seen the neighbor Toni Jurković walk by carrying a load of coats, and on the very top was Milan’s distinctive school coat. It was undeniably his.

“Now we knew for certain what was intended for all of us,” Milanka says, “and we had to make some decisions quickly.”

Kids on the run Siba Prica knew she had to get what remained of her family away from Baljevac. All of the Serbian men and most of the older boys from the Serbian homes in the nearby villages were gone already. She had two boys left, and she already knew they planned to come for Bogdan soon. So she told Milanka to take Savo and walk to Vrelo to join her relatives, and it wouldn’t be far from Korenica where Bogdanka was.

She and Bogdan would stay to figure out what to do with the farm animals and the house, then they would follow immediately. So the two young teenagers, Milanka and Savo, set out alone for Vrelo.

To control movement of the Serbs, Ustaše guards were posted all along the main road. So getting by them posed a big obstacle. After encountering a couple groups, they decided to get off the main road and travel on the mountain to avoid more patrols.

Željava, Ličko Petrovo Selo, all along the way, it was the same story in every Serbian village: Ustaše came and took away the men and boys, and they never returned.

When they had reached the plateau of Preboj, they decided reluctantly to go through Preboj, the small Croatian village on the plateau. The Prica family had lived there before and was well known by inhabitants of the village. In fact, several families they had considered very good friends. Perhaps they would help them. However, here it was the same story. Now friendship with a Croat meant nothing if you were a Serb in the new Croatia. The two kids weren’t offered even a cup of water by their former friends they had known since they were little children. Now the people of Preboj were rejoicing about the killing of the Serbs and their new independent state. To Milanka, these people were more fearsome than the wild animals in the forests on the great mountain. They had to get out of Preboj.

The Preboj Ustaše leader, Milobara, owned the village store. He, too, had been a good friend of the family. Now he harassed the two kids, but eventually allowed them to continue on to Vrelo.

By the time Milanka and Savo arrived at the house of their Aunt Mara and Uncle Vujo, they learned that like everywhere else, the men and boys, including their uncle, had already been arrested and killed.

Within hours of their arrival, Bogdanka heard that her youngest brother and sister had come to Vrelo. so she came from Korenica to see them as quickly as she could. They caught her up on the sad news from home. Now if only Siba and Bogdan would get to Vrelo soon. They waited for them to come for two weeks.

Growing impatient, Bogdanka ordered the two to return to Baljevac to see what had happened.

So it was across the mountain again and through the Preboj checkpoint again.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 22

Climbing the mountain was the only way they could go to avoid the main roads. Torturous and dangerous as it was, they trudged on back to Baljevac.

Travail of the mother After Milanka and Savo had left for Vrelo, a horsedrawn cart full of Bosnian Moslem soldiers from Bihać came looking for Bogdan. Siba Prica tried to protect her second son by having him hide in the woody area across from the house. The soldiers demanded to know where Bogdan was, and when she said she did not know, they began beating her. Their assault on Siba continued so long that her screams finally brought Bogdan out of the woods to save her. He gave himself up to the soldiers to stop his mother’s beating. He was immediately arrested and taken to Bihać. As they took him away, he cried, “You are alone now, Mama, you’re all alone!” Bogdan did not return.

Crossing paths As Milanka and Savo were nearing their home after being ordered to return by Bogdanka, a friend told them that their mother had left alone for Vrelo, and that they had missed her along the way. So they decided to split up, with Milanka going on to Ličko Petrovo Selo and Savo back to Preboj. Eventually, Milanka found her mother; but when Siba saw Milanka alone, without Savo, she became hysterical, believing she had lost her third son also.

Milanka explained that Savo had gone back and would wait for them in Preboj.

So together mother and daughter went through the dark woods and over the mountain, and Siba explained what had happened to Bogdan. The sorrow of losing two sons and her husband weighed heavily on Siba, and she feared for the third boy. But when they got to Preboj, they saw Savo sitting outside the cafe waiting for them.

Milobara was more difficult to get by this time. He was annoyed to see the kids again. Siba tried to reason with him, reminding him of their long friend-

ship and even offered him a bribe.

Finally, he allowed them to proceed to Vrelo.

Even after Siba was united with her children and family in Korenica, she could not bear not being in Baljevac. The sorrow was too great. Maybe they would come back, and she wouldn’t be there for them. So she left her two daughters and youngest son and returned to Baljevac across the mountain alone. They never heard from her again.

Saved by the enemy There is, of course, much more to Milanka Vlasovich’s story. Milanka and Savo joined Bogdanka and their Uncle Milan in Korenica.

There they were protected by the Italian Colonel for the duration of the war. And even as the Partisans9surrounded Korenica, they and 120 Serbian families were protected by the Italian Command. As the Italian army retreated to Italy, the Colonel refused to give any Serbs to the Ustaše, and, in so doing, he saved many lives, including what remained of the Petar Prica family: Milanka, her sister Bogdanka, and her brother Savo. All three eventually immigrated to the United States.

Vecnaja Pamjat Milanka and her daughter Dobrila learned in 1982 from an eye witness that Siba Prica had been beaten by Ustaše soldiers in a field as she and a neighbor woman were running away toward the woods. The soldiers then buried her alive. The witness, at the time ten years old, was the son of the neighbor. He had hidden himself in a tree and had seen the atrocity from there. Milanka and Dobrila were not able to visit the site where Siba Prica was buried in 1982 because its location was on land that was part of the huge Željava Air Base. Ten years after their trip to Lika, the base was destroyed by the Yugoslav Army during another war 9.The Partisans were a communist-led resistance movement that fought against Axis forces and their collaborators from 1941 to 1945. During this period they attacked Draza Mihailovic’s forces many times and undermined Mihailovic’s military operations in freeing Serbia from the Nazi occupiers. In 1945, the Germans lost the war on all European, African, and Russian fronts. Ultimately, the communist party took power in Yugoslavia and unjustly arrested and executed Draza Mihailovic.

in Croatia. Today the grave site is still inaccessible because it is located in the midst of an abandoned mine field.10 Marsha Jovanovic, Voice Editor, background and historical information from Wikipedia; map derived from a satellite image from Google Earth; and events in Lika during 1941 from the words of Milanka Prica Vlasovich.

Petar Prica was executed by the Ustaše in Zavalje in May 1941.

Milan Prica, age 16, was executed with his father by the Ustaše in Zavalje in May 1941.

Bogdan Prica, age 15, was executed by Moslems in Bihać sometime in 1941.

Siba Prica disappeared in the fall of 1941.

10.Even after its destruction in 1992, extreme caution must be used if visiting the Željava Airfield complex because of the vast number of land mines remaining on and around the former base. The local police use the area to train canines in land mine discovery. In November 2000, a Federation Airforce Major walked on a land mine when searching for mushrooms on base land. He died of injuries sustained by the explosion.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 23

WE NEED YOUR OLD SHOES!!!

Attention St. George Families! The Pee Wee and Junior Kolo groups are conducting a fundraiser and we need your old shoes! The next time you clean out your closets, please do not throw away or donate your old shoes to Goodwill.

Instead, bring that old footwear to St. George and help fund our smallest dancers.

We need pairs of shoes in any condition.

All types of shoes will be accepted: men’s, women’s, children’s, running shoes, boots, heels, cleats, etc. The more shoes we collect, the more money Pee Wee and Junior Kolo will have for costumes and for travel.

Please bring your shoes to St. George and help support the next generation of St. George ambassadors! Please spread the word and let your coworkers and neighbors know! Even one pair of shoes is a big help! If you have any questions, please contact Jovana Tvrdisic or Ana Miletic. THANK YOU! Dear Parishioners and Friends, Someone once said, “He who has done his best for his own time has lived for all times.” This most certainly can be applied to St. George’s thirty founding families and their spiritual leaders.

Indeed, because of their unshakable faith in God’s providence, their names are written in Heaven. This belief that God was at work through the founding families is their legacy left for us to follow.

Congratulations!

Krstana Jojic is graduating from Westview High School and will be studying Nursing at Arizona State University with career ambitions of becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Proud parents are Vesko and Julijana Jojic, sister Nikolija, and her grandparents are Dobrinka Jojic and the late Bogdan Jojic.

Participate in the Guided Weekly Home Bible Study for Families delivered online! Contact frbratso@sbcglobal.net for info.

We can continue this legacy today. In many ways, our generation has already made this legacy their own. But we have to make one more “leap of faith”. We must trust that God wants to use us today to continue our founding families’ legacy.

Our call is great, but our opportunity to demonstrate our faith and love for St. George parish is even greater.

This opportunity of placing your names next to the founders’ names can be yours.

I offer my daily prayers to God for you and our St. George parish as we collectively build ourselves on the firm foundation, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Him we can accomplish everything! Let us together embark on this faithful journey of building something more glorious than ourselves. Let us finish something that will outlast our lifetimes, as the founding families did for us all.

Father Bratso

We are grateful to our Sunday school teachers and parents for their support and regular participation. Our Sunday school teachers for this school year are: Ljubica Plavsic, Kaija Germain, Anastasija Krsic, and Elizabeth Zdralo. We thank them for their love and dedication to our parish education program.

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 24

Remembering Pascha Season 2016!

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 25

MORAVA! Dear Friends and Supporters: Morava Folklore Ensemble hopes the the first quarter of 2016 has been happy and peaceful for all of you.

Morava had a nice break from practices but resumed practices on January 14, 2016, and I am happy to announce Morava is thriving. We have had several new dancers come aboard and we have formed a second ensemble in order to be able to accommodate all who wish to join the Morava family. The second ensemble uses the Sunday School room as a practice room.

What this means is that there are two practices running at the same time: one on stage and one in the Sunday school room. This makes for a very busy and active practice—organized chaos! The new dancers are being taught Bosna and Leskovac. Later they will be learning Male Vlaske.

The first ensemble will continue polishing their latest dance, Vojvodina, and will be learning a new Macedonian dance. Kudos to Sava Ninkovic as instructor and to Cristina Dukovich as the Assistant Director and Wardrobe Manager for always being available to work and support the team.

Due to your generous donations, I am excited to inform you that new Vojvodian costumes and boots have been ordered from Serbia. We are looking forward to performing for you in our new nošnje.

As ambassadors of goodwill throughout the United States and Europe, Morava’s mission is to perpetuate Serbian culture through song and dance. 2015 was a busy year, continuing our efforts to share the beautiful tapestry of Serbian Folklore. For those of you who have seen Morava grow into a performance ensemble throughout the years, we hope it has brought you joy and happiness and the confidence to know that the next generation will continue with Serbian folklore traditions.

Funding is always uppermost in our minds as we are a self-funded auxiliary organization of St. George Serbian Orthodox Church. In order to continue to represent our beautiful artistic culture at this level, new songs and dances are added to our repertoire, which requires acquisition costs for choreography, music, and costumes. Our current new dance, Vojvodina, cost approximately $5,000. Through your donations, we were able to make this new dance a reality.

Here is a summary of our activities so far this year: • We successfully executed (pardon the pun) another Pig Gig – February 6, 2016, with music by Boban Marjanovic and a lucky 50/50 Opportunity Drawing. We sold all 200 tickets Opportunity Drawing tickets. Due to popular demand, we printed another set of tickets and held a second drawing! This is in no small part due to our main sponsor, Rick Quinn of Opolo Vineyards. Thanks Rick for your continued generosity and for making such great wine!

• February 24 Morava’s Vocal Ensemble was honored to be asked to sing for the Institute for Sts. Sebastian and Mardarije being held at St. George. Three songs were sung with about 80 priests and guests giving their full and undivided attention.

Morava was very happy to have been able to represent St. George at this high level symposium of priests from throughout the United States.

• On March 12, about a dozen Morava members volunteered to help clean up the church’s Ocean Beach rental properties.

At the helm of this project, Dusan Selezan along with Simona Trifunovic, reached out to Morava to get the gang out there to dig up some planters, empty out the properties and pull weeds. With a lot of hard work, laughter, and music, Morava was able to get a lot done. While it was truly a hard day of work, the camaraderie and satisfaction of a job well done was evident. To the volunteers, many thanks for stepping up.

• March 18 – 20, 30 Morava members and families headed up to Big Bear for a weekend retreat. A great time was had by all with special emphasis on the crazy team building game of Heads Up! Beautiful weather and spring skiing was enjoyed by all.

Promoting Serbian Culture in the USA & Around the World • Morava is gearing up to be in full swing once April 30 rolls around with its annual performance at Dance On The Edge at Artwalk in Little Italy.

• Then, of course, the next day is Easter where Morava will do its usual serving the Easter meal to 400 people!

• May 14 Morava goes up to Alhambra for Kolobration with Sokoli at St. Stevens.

• May 28 we support our sister church, St. Petka, by participating in Avala's kolo fest.

• Then on June 4 and 5, we are off for a weekend in Fresno at St. Peter the Apostle Church to dance for their church festival.

They do not have a folklore group, and a Serbian festival is just not a festival without some kolo stomping!

MORAVA Folkfest June 11, 2016 6pm at St. George • June 11, 2106 is Morava’s 29th Annual Folkfest being held at St. George Church.

The concert is at 6pm with dinner being served from 4pm to 6pm and from 8pm to 10pm. Aki and Orchestra Sloboda will play kolos at the after-party. Please come and support Morava Folklore Ensemble at this annual event where the perpetuation of the Serbian culture through song and dance is evident through your children and the youth and young adults of the parishes.

• On June 25, Morava Vocal Ensemble will sing at the Jonsok celebration (midsummer night) being held at Norway Hall in Vista.

• Our season is a little bit extended this year as Morava will be participating in the 100th Anniversary of Serb Days in Pittsburgh July 14 – 17, 2016. About 50

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 26

dancers and families will be going for this grand event with most staying on for vacation or visiting families either in the surround areas or traveling to Europe from there.

Some of you may remember that Morava was to have been in Spain and France this summer.

With the unrest in Paris, it was decided that the prudent thing to do was to cancel the trip. Hence, Pittsburgh was next on the list! I am excited to announce that Morava is in the planning stages of going to Australia (Bonnyrigg) in August 2017.

As you can see, Morava is a busy and dynamic organization. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Please make every effort to attend Morava events and fundraisers and enroll your children in Morava. What one gets back is everlasting memories and friendships along with keeping the Serbian culture alive and well.

Morava’s first and second Ensembles continue to gain new dancers with an interest in folk dancing and fellowship. If you or anyone you know, high school age and up, is interested, please send them my way for a member application. Morava practices on Thursday nights from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

Will you please consider becoming a sponsor of Morava Folklore Ensemble? Inquire about sponsorship opportunities. All donations are tax deductible. Please make checks payable to St. George Morava. Thank you for your consideration.

And once again: Mark Your Calendars! for the annual summer Folkfest, June 11, 2016. We are expecting another excellent event, and we hope you will honor us with your presence.

If you or anyone you know may be interested in joining Morava, please contact me for a member application.

Tople pozdrave, Dobrila Undheim Director, 760-2125891, Dobrila@cox.net

More pictures on the next pages VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 27

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 28

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE • WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 29

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Visit the Medieval Serbian Monasteries to renew your soul Ravanica (near Cuprija), built between 1370 and 1380, is Prince Lazar's foundation, where he was buried after his death in the Kosovo battle. Since then, Ravanica has been a pilgrim's destination and an important center of cultural activities and the Serbian people's assemblies. The monastery was assaulted and injured by the Turks several times, in 1386, 1398, and 1436.

During the World War II Germans violated and damaged the monastery once more time, and detained, tortured and killed its archimandrite Makarije on February 24. 1943.

Firstworld Travel/Misha Tours 619-588-5811

VOICE OF ST. GEORGE â&#x20AC;˘ WINTER 2015 & SPRING 2016 31