Dear friends,
Here is an article from the American
Srbobran about the Serbian victims from the September 11 tragedies. Right
now the American Srbobran is collecting more info on any more Serbian victims
from the local New York area Serbian priests. When they get more new
info they will publish it in one of the upcoming editions of the American
Srbobran.
Rade
Attack on
America
AMERICAN SERBS PERISH,
EMERGE AS HEROES
Saint Sava's Relics Buried
in Manhattan
Rubble
NEW YORK, NY [A Srbobran Exclusive] -- "I was in my apartment next to the Church
at about a quarter to 9 AM when I heard a very loud, low flying airplane,"
reports Fr. Djokan Majstorovic of the St. Sava Serbian Cathedral in New York
City, "I thought: this guy's lost, but I didn't think much more about
it. Soon after, the messages about what was going on starting arriving by
email, and I saw the world trade center go down on television. It was
awful."
Our Serbian Cathedral in Manhattan is about 100 yards from Broadway (between
Broadway and 6th Street) and at least a couple of miles away from what was the
world trade center. September 11, 2001, was the holy day of the Beheading
of Saint John the Baptist on the Orthodox Christian calendar. A holy day
liturgy was served in the Cathedral. Special prayers were added for the
departed and the
living.
"I know of a few of our Serbs who work in the WTC who survived," says Fr.
Djokan, "Milenko Djurasovic of the Holy Ascension Parish (New
Gracanica) in
Paterson, New Jersey, was on the 91st floor, and he got out. Many Serbs work in
the buildings around the center, people like Milan Prastalo and Vera Bujovic,
both of whom got
out."
"At this point, I have no information about missing or deceased Serbs, " he
reports, "I can't get through to the priests in New Jersey."
V. Rev. Toma
Popovic, the parish priest of the New Gracanica parish in New York, could not be
reached for additional
comment.
Zora Cvijic, a paralegel who works across the street from the World Trade Center
(but was on jury duty in Brooklyn on the fateful day in
question) reports
that a friend of her family, a young Serbian girl from New Jersey who worked on
the 106th floor of the WTC, cannot be located. To date, this friend is not
on her company's dead or missing list, so there is still hope. Please keep
her and her family in your prayers.
Zora also reports that most of the
Serbs she knows who worked in the WTC were on the 80th floor or below, and they
got out. She is grateful to God because, as she puts it, "so many Serbs I
know were unharmed even though they were in the
towers".
Protinica
Andjelka Veselinovic of the St. George Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey reports
that so far all parishioners are accounted for. Regrettably, she also
notes that a young Serbian fellow from the nearby St. John the Baptist Church in
Paterson, New Jersey is missing in the wake of the New York explosions.
"No one knows where he is. The Church had a parastos on September 14, 2001, and
prayers were said for him too. We don 't know . . ."
It is ironic
that a young Serb from a parish named in honor of the holy Baptist is missing as
a result of a surprise attack on the day commemorating that saint's
martyrdom. All American and Canadian Serbs are requested to offer
intensified prayers on behalf of this young Serbian and his family.
Fr.
Toma Stojsich, who lives in Brooklyn but serves the Paterson parish could not be
reached. Very Rev. Predrag Micic of the nearby New Gracanica parish
(Elizabeth, NJ) is currently in Serbia and likewise could not be
reached.
On
Friday, September 14, 2001 the St. Sava Cathedral responded to President Bush's
call to churches across America by holding a memorial service for the deceased
and a prayer service for the wounded. Fr. Djokan, parishioners and
non-Serbian visitors who strayed into the Cathedral banded together and also
prayed for an increase in love and a decrease in hostilities. These
prayers were repeated following Divine Liturgy on Sunday, September 16,
2001.
Many Serbs in New Jersey and New York have contracting businesses and a few of
our sources indicate that a number of our people stood shoulder to shoulder with
the rescue and other volunteer workers still making their way through the rubble
in search of life. May the Good Lord reward their concern and their
efforts.
SERB DIES ON FLIGHT
11
According to SSF President Milka Chuk, Alexander Filipov, a Serb born in
Windsor, Ont., was aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to crash
into the WTC. This electric engineer lived in Concord, Massachusetts and
was 70 years old. All American and Canadian Serbs are asked to please
light a candle and to say a prayer in his memory.
SAINT SAVA'S RELICS
BURIED IN MANHATTAN RUBBLE
According to the information service of the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox
Church, located about 500 feet from ground zero, was demolished by the falling
rubble of the WTC. Mercifully, Fr. John Romas, parish priest, was not
present at the time. Vassilios Torazanos, 50, the only parishioner in the
Church on the morning of September 11, rushed out of the building moments after
the first jet crashed into the south tower. He survived.
Fr. Romas
is attempting to locate a site in the area to hold church services and plans to
ask permission from city officials to allow him to retrieve the church's holy
relics: those of St. Nicholas, St. Katherine and St. Sava. They were kept in an
ossuary on what had been the top floor of the four-story building.
Among
the church's unique characteristics were its small size and icons, a gift from
the last czar of Russia, Nicholas II. Listed among the parish's first
members were the parents of television star Telly
Savalas.
Parishioners plan to rebuild the St. Nicholas Church and have established an
account for anyone who would like to donate. (St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox
Church, Atlantic Bank, account number 09062602, 8010 5th Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
11209).
MEANWHILE, HEROES AT THE
PENTAGON
According to the September 17, 2001 edition of USA Today, Army Specialist
Michael Petrovich, 32, was in the affected area of the Pentagon at the time of
the terrorist attack. He threw a desktop computer through a window, then
followed it to safety, but not before resucing Dalisay Olaes, and leading her to
an open window (source: American Forces Information Services, September
13, 2001).
The American Srbobran has not confirmed Spc. Petrovich's
hometown or ethnic origin. Any American or Canadian Serb with information
to this effect is asked to please notify this newspaper.
According to the
information service of the Orthodox Church in America, the Very Rev. John
Stefero, an Orthodox US Air Force Chaplain, was also in the Pentagon when the
plane sliced through the side of the massive building. Father Stefero
immediately assisted in relief efforts.
Washington, D.C.-based SNF
Representative Milan Visnick has informed us that, to date, there is no
indication of any Serbs being harmed as a result of the attack on the nation's
capital.
PARASTOS AT PENNSYLVANIA CRASH
SITE
Rev. Stevan Rocknage of the St. Sava Parish, McKeesport, Penna., is the
President of the Orthodox Clergy Association of Greater Pittsburgh. This
association is planning to hold a 40-day memorial parastos at the crash site
near Somerset, Penna. About 50 Orthodox parishes are in the vicinity of
Somerset. The tentative date for the parastos is October 24, 2001.
For more information please contact Fr. Stevo at (412) 672-1872.
PLEASE
LET US KNOW
All readers are asked to please notify the American Srbobran
of any additional information that you may have about Serbs affected by the
September 11 tragedy. Information can be emailed to [EMAIL PROTECTED], or
mailed to SNF, One Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA
15222.
NSP Lista isprobava demokratiju u praksi
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