With the blessing of His Holiness, the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, and at the invitation of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana, the Director of the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovci, Presbyter Dr. Oliver Subotić, gave two lectures in Slovenia on very important, current issues of special interest to young people.
The first lecture was held on Friday, September 13, 2024, in Maribor. The lecture topic was “The Orthodox Church and the Challenge of Artificial Intelligence.” The introduction was given by Presbyter Milan Jovanović, the parish priest at the Maribor Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who was the coordinator of the visit of the Director of the Missionary Department. The lecture, held in a full church, was also attended by some non-Orthodox Slovenes. Among them was Miran Perhovec, Slovenia’s most renowned biographer of Nikola Tesla, who also gave his views on the topic of artificial intelligence, at the end of the lecture. Perhovec came to the lecture in order to meet the speaker in person, and to present him with his own book on Tesla. The lecture was filmed by the Roman Catholic television network Exodus from Maribor. At the invitation of this network, the Director of the Missionary Department made a guest appearance on a programme dealing with the Christian perspective on the phenomenon of artificial intelligence, the following day. You can watch the lecture held in Maribor at the following link, and we will post the TV Exodus programme as soon as possible.
The second lecture, titled „Social Networks Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: A Critical Perspective“, was held on Saturday, September 14, 2024, in Ljubljana after the Vigil service. The introduction was given by Presbyter Rade Despotović, the parish priest at the Ljubljana Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and the coordinator of the missionary visit of the Missionary Department Director to Ljubljana. The lecture was held in the church parish hall, with around 200 people attending. As in Maribor, the audience members posed interesting questions, to which the speaker responded. A lot of young people were in attendance, along with the Serbian intellectuals living and working in Slovenia, who were interested in the topic. You can watch the lecture held in Ljubljana at the following link:
On Sunday, September 15, 2024, the Director of the AEM Missionary Department concelebrated the Holy Liturgy at the Ljubljana church, together with its brotherhood. With the blessing of the church’s head priest, Protopresbyter Borislav Livopoljac, who led the service, Father Oliver delivered a sermon on the Gospel passage about the rich young ruler, which you can listen to at the following link:
After the Holy Liturgy, as is the custom, a communal lovefeast ensued, during which Father Oliver addressed the faithful with a fitting sermon about the liturgical and ascetic life.
The joint conclusion of all those involved in the organisation of these events is that, with God’s help, the cooperation with the AEM Missionary Department in the field of mission should be continued and strengthened. The next lecturer from the AEM Missionary Department in Maribor and Ljubljana will be Zoran Luković, the coordinator of the Apologetic Mission Section.
