Timișoara: Serbian culture days

On 19 November 2020, an open panel discussion "230 Years since the Congress of Timișoara" and presentation of the book "Hierarchs of the Timișoara Diocese", held in the hall of the Association of Serbs in Romania, inaugurated for the fifteenth time round the event Serbian Culture Days in Timișoara, open through 30 November.

The event was opened by Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Romania, Stefan Tomasevic, who in his address conveyed greetings from Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic to the Serbian community in Romania and emphasized the high level of interest he shows for Serbs in the region and the mother country helping preserve their national and cultural identity.

He recalled the importance of holding the Serbian Culture Days, the largest and most important cultural event of Serbs in Romania, which promotes Serbian culture and language, and commended the efforts and persistence of the Association of Serbs to organize the event amid the pandemic, primarily by commemorating events which took place in these territories that are important for the Serbian history, such as 230th anniversary since the Congress of Timișoara. The audience, as well as the participants and viewers via electronic media, were addressed by: Archpriest-Staurophore Dr. Marinko Markov - Bishop's Deputy at the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Timisoara, President of the Association of Serbs in Romania (ASR) Ognjan Krstic and Consul General of the Republic of Serbia in Timișoara Vladan Tadic.

At the open panel discussion "230 years since the Congress of Timișoara", the following participants presented their works: honorary president of the ASR Slavomir Gvozdenovic, Bozidar Panic from Arad, Curator of the Banat Museum in Timișoara Zoran Markov, Archpriest Staurophore Adrian Boba from the Dacia Felix Romanian Orthodox Diocese in Vrsac and ASR vice-president Dejan Popov.

The book "Hierarchs of the Timișoara Diocese", written by Deputy Archpriest Dr. Sasa Jasin and published by ASR, was presented by its reviewer Prof. Dr. Miljana Radan as well as Radovan Kalabic who wrote the foreword.

The entire event streamed live on the Facebook page of the Association of Serbs in Romania and was followed by some 800 users of this social network. The event is available for viewing HERE.

This year's Serbian Culture Days will be held at a much smaller scale than earlier, in line with the current epidemiological measures and bans on gathering. The following events are planned by the end of November: Serbian Language Days in Romania (20 November), Serbian Book Fest (23 November), exhibition "Serbs in Romania on Postcards" (24 November) and the 30th anniversary of "Our Word" (Nasa Rec) Serb weekly (26 November).