The eighth NevskyTalks missionary project lecture in English, which opened the new season, attracted a multinational audience from Australia, America, Canada, England, and also, a number of Belgraders, who were intrigued by the topic, “Artists and Christianity.” The lecture was also attended by the newly-ordained priest Radovan Radovanović, from the British Diocese.
The questions which ensued after the lecture, showed that the audience was as interested in the subject of Bach, Handel, Mozart and Chopin, who all had a daily prayer routine, as in the personal experiences of the pianist Marina Milić Radović, and the spiritual life of our diaspora in London at the end of the last, and the beginning of this century.
The foreign nationals were also acquainted with the spiritual character of Laza Kostić, and his merits in establishing the Shakespearean cult in Serbia, which is why the great poet was once called “the Serbian Shakespeare.” They also learnt about the Serbian composers, previously unknown to them, such as Mokranjac, Tajčević, Hristić…
A special reference was made with regards to the efforts and significance of the work of Fr. Milun Kostić, the former head of the St. Sava Church in London, during the period of sanctions and the bombing of Serbia. As Fr. Oliver pointed out, Fr. Milun was, in his time, a kind of an “institution”, raising the spirits of the Serbian believers in the British capital, and addressing all their spiritual needs. The lecture ended with a prayer for the recovery of Fr. Milun and his wife Dobrila Kostić, from ill health.
The department ‘s director, who was also the event’s moderator, announced the next NevskyTalks guest speakers, Fr. Sergije Janošević and his daughter Srđana, who are scheduled to speak on the topic “Orthodoxy in the Seychelles”, in the second half of September.
Photo: Missionary Department of the AEM
