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The Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia celebrated two significant milestones this past June. The first, on June 21, 2022 was the dedication of the newly renovated building for the Bishop’s Office in Novi Sad; this was followed on June 22, 2022 by the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church in Serbia, which took place at a worship service in the Lutheran Church in Novi Sad.

The anniversary observed the 100th anniversary in 2021 of being an autonomous [from the Hungarian Lutheran Church] Slovak Lutheran Church. It was attended by bishops, pastors, state dignitaries, and ecumenical guests from the Serbian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, as well as numerous international church bodies, including the Lutheran Churches in Slovakia, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Bishop Jaroslav Javornik, bishop of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church in Serbia, and an alumnus of our Slovak Zion Synod intern trainee program, presided over the festivities. Present from the ELCA were Bishop Wilma S. Kucharek and the Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Drobena from the Slovak Zion Synod, Rev. Rachel Eskesen from the ELCA Europe Desk, and a delegation from the Northwestern Ohio Synod, which is also a companion synod to the Slovak Lutheran Church in Serbia.

We in the Slovak Zion Synod extend to our companion church in Serbia our congratulations on their centennial and gratitude to God for their 100 years of faithful ministry, and we pray that God will bless their continued commitment to the mission of Christ.