Page 17 - Western Diocese Annual 2023

ple and the clergy. It allows the priest to fall in the trap of seeing himself in a way removed from the community.
The main theme of this talk, to put it succinctly, was that we are invited to create the community. This is the role of the clergy but, in reality, the role of every Christian, and every member of the com- munity.
While the talks were in the Serbian language, a simultaneous English translation was offered to non-Serbian speaking partici- pants by Bishop Irinej. Following a short break after the morning’s talk Bishop Irinej was asked to of- fer a summation of the talks. He
stated that during these talks we were essentially able to refocus our attention on the core teach- ings of our church. Namely, the greatest accomplishment of this Institute was in the fact that we were given the opportunity to re- think that which we already know. During these two days Bishop Grigorije presented to us an Or- thodox understanding of image and likeness. It’s a view of the hu- man person from an ontological and existential perspective. The ontology of the human person is our creation as unique persons, in the image of God. However, the likeness can be akin to existential- ity, that is, something which needs
to be achieved. Moreover, it is the becoming, as Bishop Grigorije pointed out numerous times dur- ing the talks, the “we” does not exist without the “I” and vice ver- sa. It is the becoming of a com- munity and in that community, in the other, our personhood is re- vealed. This, from an Orthodox understanding, is the very bastion of our salvation.
The sixth annual Saints Sebas- tian and Mardarije Orthodox In- stitute concluded with the dis- semination of certificates, lunch, and fellowship.
2023 DIOCESAN ANNUAL
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