News

Hon. Ms Gabrielle Upton On National Day of Serbia in Parliament of NSW

Ms GABRIELLE UPTON (Vaucluse—Parliamentary Secretary) [6.36 p.m.]: I wish to inform the House that yesterday, 15 February 2012, was celebrated as the National Day of Serbia, and I ask the House to join with me to send our best wishes to the Serbian community of New South Wales. There are around 35,000 people in the New South Wales community who lay claim to Serbian ancestry, according to the last census undertaken in 2006, and 7,000 of these people were born in Serbia. Serbian national day gives an opportunity for those in the New South Wales community with Serbian background to celebrate significant milestones in the history of Serbia.

Legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church’s diocese of Vienna officially confirmed in Austria

On March 7, 2012, the Federal Bulletin in Austria published an extract from the official document concerning the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Diocese of Vienna and Austria.

The Diocese of Vienna was established by the Russian Orthodox Church’s Holy Synod decision made in 1945, but it has not been officially recognized by the Republic of Austria until recently.

Celebration of the day of Military Medical Academy in Belgrade

15th-century frescoes identified in Poland

Frescoes discovered on the walls of an Orthodox Church in Poland have been identified as 15th-century art works, and funds are being raised to restore them.
Art historian Jaroslaw Giemza said Tuesday that recent research on the frescoes at the ancient church in the eastern village of Posada Rybotycka have dated them to that late Middle Age period.

White paint had concealed the frescoes for a long time, and they were first partly uncovered in the 1960s.

Triumph of Orthodoxy: Pan-Orthodox Vespers

Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation in Sydney

The famous Serbian basketball player, great humanist and President of the Serbian Olympic Committee Mr. Vlade Divac, has met with Mr. Kevin Rudd, Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was held in friendly atmosphere, without strict protocols. Mr. Divac informed the host on Foundation activities and humanitarian initiatives with special emphasize on housing solution for refugees and IDPs.