NUMEROUS BELIEVERS ATTEND CHURCH PATRON SAINT’S DAY CELEBRATION

MAGLAJ, OCTOBER 27 /SRNA/ - The patron saint day of the Church of the Venerable Mother Paraskeva in Donja Bočinja near Maglaj, St. Petka, was celebrated today in the presence of numerous believers.

This year's patron saint's day sponsors were Slađan Jović, acting director of the Republika Srpska Secretariat for Displaced Persons and Migration, and Slobodan Radinković, head of the Doboj Police Administration.

Jović said this once purely Serb area suffered greatly after the expulsion of 1995, when it was settled by newcomers from Asian countries, and stressed that it is very important for the local Serbs to have institutional support.

"We also witnessed a recent unfortunate incident when unknown persons damaged the church's facade, the metal sheeting on the bell tower and the copper gutter, which does no one any credit," Jović said.

Archpriest-Stavrophor Duško Nedić reminded of St. Petka's importance among the people as a protector, and called for prayer and support for the people of this returnee area, which has suffered so much and which managed to rebuild the church in very difficult circumstances.

Maglaj parish priest Bojan Malinović announced further work on the church, including frescoes, icons, a canopy and other auxiliary structures.

The church procession was also attended by Sanja Vulić, head of the SNSD club in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, who said it was important that the Serb people stand united around the church and that Serb returnees in the FBiH receive support.

Vulić, who was last year's patron saint's day sponsor at this church, recalled the continuous humiliation, insults and desecration of cemeteries that Serb returnees face, which send the message that they are not welcome in the FBiH.

"That is why we are all here together, to encourage them and send a message to the whole world, not just the Federation, that we will not give up our hearths, we will not give up our ancestral land," Vulić said.

She said Serbs do not touch what belongs to others, but will not give up what is theirs and respect it, and expressed satisfaction at the large turnout of young people.

Mladen Simić took over as patron saint's day sponsor for next year.

The celebration was preceded by a memorial service at the monument in the churchyard for 128 Serb soldiers and 23 civilian victims of the Defensive-Patriotic War from the villages of Ulišnjak, Krsno Polje, Bakotić, Gornja and Donja Bočinja and Dolac.

The Church of the Venerable Mother Paraskeva in Bočinja was originally built from a converted military barrack brought from Usora near Doboj, and was consecrated on October 27, 1919.

Construction of the church began in 1935, and its foundations were consecrated in 1936 by Maglaj archpriest Jovan Jeftić. After its completion, the church was consecrated on September 25, 1938, by the diocesan bishop, Nektarije Krulj.

In 1995, the church was set on fire and completely devastated by members of the so-called Army of BiH.

The church was rebuilt in 2001/2002 and consecrated on October 27, 2002, by Bishop Vasilije of Zvornik and Tuzla.

The church was desecrated again on October 1, when its facade, the metal sheeting on the bell tower and the copper gutter were damaged. The damage was reported to the police station in Maglaj.