Page 15 - Western Diocese Annual 2023

2023 DIOCESAN ANNUAL
In Bishop Grigorije’s introduc- tory words to his first talk “Being with the Other” he spoke exten- sively and passionately about the other, our neighbor, and our mis- understanding of him as someone who is not like us, someone who is different. The theology of the other is, in fact, the theology of freedom. In not having a fear of the other we discover that without him we essentially have no exis- tence. There are differences and then there is distance. The fact that we have differences and that we are different from one another should never cause us to distance from one another, should never lead to schism. Inasmuch as we do not desire death, the bishop said very plainly, we must accept our neighbor. Indeed, distancing ourselves from him and creating a chasm becomes for us our own experience of the fall, that is, when we have fear of the other it becomes our reminder of death. Hell, after all, is isolation from the other. There is then a danger in isolating ourselves and wanting to be separate from one another and from this danger our only salva- tion can be found in the other, in our neighbor.
A lively discussion ensued in which a large number of partici- pants took part in as the topic is something close to their hearts since, living in the diaspora, there are many examples and instances of having contact and dealing with others who are different from us in many aspects.
This theme of homeland and diaspora would reappear later in the day during his second talk. In the meantime the clergy and lay participants were directed to a special presentation of the Mu- nich Serbian Psalter. Bishop Grig- orije presented a fascimile of this Psalter which is a 14th-century il- luminated psalter written in the Serbian redaction of Church Sla- vonic, regarded as the most ex- tensively illuminated Serbian manuscript book. It was written after 1370 in Moravian Serbia, ei- ther for its ruler Prince Lazar, or more likely, for his successor Ste- fan Lazarević. The book was re- bound in 1630 by Serbian Patri- arch Pajsije. It was taken to Bavaria in the late 17th century, and has been kept in the Bavarian State Library in Munich (as MS Cod. slav. 4) since the beginning of the 19th century.
The day’s second talk began late in the afternoon following lunch and an afternoon break. The title of the talk, “Epistle to Di- ognetus Today: Any country is their homeland, and any home- land is a foreign country” brought to mind this ancient Christian text in which Christians were de- scribed not as those who protest- ed but obeyed the established laws, while at the same time their true living was in heaven. And while they lived in earthly cities, they were able to demonstrate the remarkable and admittedly un- usual character of their own true citizenship. In a picturesque way the bishop spoke of his life in Ger- many, in a foreign land. There is a lake near the episcopal residence, and he would often go for a walk in the wooded area near the lake. This was a new city for him, a new country and, yet, after a while it occurred to him that this had be- come his lake, his forest. This, he continued, is something which certainly occurs to many of us liv- ing in America who, after years of living far from our homeland re- alize that we are at home. A most lively discussion followed the talk in which the clergy raised ques-
13