TREASURY SOLEMNLY OPENED IN THE PRESENCE OF PATRIARCH - FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

BIJELJINA, JULY 30 /SRNA/ – The Treasury of the Diocese of Zvornik-Tuzla was solemnly opened today in Bijeljina in the presence of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and several bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/.

The Minister of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska Željka Stojičić emphasized the significance of opening the Treasury, as it showcases the enormous heritage of the Serbian people. "In the Treasury, it is clear that this is about a people – about Serbs who lived in the areas encompassed by this diocese, and about nurturing Orthodoxy and literacy through the centuries," Stojičić said at the opening ceremony. According to her, this Treasury will certainly be a foundation for future generations, who will be able to use this historiographic and scientific material for their needs, enrich it, and contribute to its permanent preservation for the benefit of the people to whom it belongs. His Eminence Metropolitan of Zvornik-Tuzla Fotije, addressing those present at the opening of the Treasury, said that today God's grace gathered them in Bijeljina, "the city of whiteness, the city of light," to open the Longin-Zograf Treasury of the Diocese of Zvornik-Tuzla. "The drama of this Treasury is great because it went through everything our Serbian people went through during the war of the 1990s. The Treasury, thanks to God and the care and efforts of responsible people, was preserved, and today it is solemnly opened so that people can see and visit it, cleansed and adorned," said Metropolitan Fotije. The Metropolitan noted that thanks to the Institute in Novi Sad, as well as everyone else who worked on the restoration, icons and objects – some of which were completely black – "now, after the effort and work invested, radiate light". Bishop Fotije said this is a great day for the Diocese and for the Serbian Orthodox Church. "It is above all an inner spiritual treasure that we see in the humble gazes of the icons, in the sanctified liturgical objects and ornaments, in old manuscript books, and in magnificent priestly vestments. All this together forms a whole – this Treasury, which exudes humility rather than pride and radiates inner spiritual dignity and sublimity," Metropolitan Fotije emphasized. The Longin-Zograf Treasury was consecrated by Bishop Heruvim of Osijek-Polje and Baranja, with the blessing of Metropolitan Fotije. Today's ceremony was also attended by Bishops Irinej of Bačka, David of Kruševac, Gerasim of Gornji Karlovac, Isihije of Valjevo, and Jerotej of Šabac.