Bishop Vasilije (Veinovic)

Bishop Vasilije (Veinović) (1928-1997)

Vasilije may be spelt Basil, Basile, Vasili, Vasilios, Vasyl, Wasyl.

Veinoic may be spelt Veinović.

Early life of Vasilije Veinović

Vasilije Veinović was born on 23 March/5 April, 1928, in Podgorje, Višegrad, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Vasilije was raised an Orthodox Christian by his family, within the bosom of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Higher education

After his primary and secondary education, Vasilije completed his studies at the Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prizren, Kosovo.

Monastic tonsure, 1948

In 1948, Vasilije entered the Viskoki Decani Monastery, where he was tonsured to be a monk in this patriarchal stavropegial monastery (a monastery directly under the protection of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church). He was given the name Vasilije (he was named after another Saint Basil than his saint at baptism).

Visoki Dečani Monasery

Ordinations, 1948

In 1948, Monk Vasilije (Veinović) was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and then to the Holy Priesthood.

Pastoral service

Besides his monastic obediences, Hieromonk Vasilije (Veinović) was sent to serve in various parishes, in which he also encouraged monastic vocations when he encountered young persons who were sensing this vocation.

In 1953, Hieromonk Vasilije was given the obedience of re-opening the Annunciation Gornjak Monastery. This monastery, located in the Gornjacka gorge, between Žagubica and Petrovac na Mlavi, is situated 132 km (82 mi) southeast of Belgrade, Serbia. It had been closed by the military in 1948.

Annunciation Gornjak Monastery

Further education

On a scholarship of the "Apostoliki Diakonia", Hieromonk Vasilije (Veinović) spent 2 years (1958-1960) studying in Athens, Greece.

Schism of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate from the Church of Serbia, 1963

In the period from 1963 until 1991, there was a schism from the Serbian Patriarchate. The schism was known as the "Free Serbian Orthodox Church".

This fracture was led by Metropolitan Irinej (Kovačević), who was concerned about the degree to which the communist state might be influencing the Church of Serbia. The Church of Serbia had decreed a division of the Serbian Church in North America into 3 eparchies, and Metropolitan Irinej (with many others) perceived this as a clear sign of such state influence. The fracture persisted for almost 30 years.

Transfer to the USA, 1971

From 1960 to 1971, Hieromonk Vasilije (Veinović) served as the dean of the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava in New York City, New York, USA.

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, New York

In 1979, Hieromonk Vasilije (Veinović) was elected to become a bishop.

Episcopal ordination, 1979

In 1979, Archimandrite Vasilije (Veinović) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate by Metropolitan Irinej (Kovačević) and others.

Episcopal service

In 1979, Bishop Vasilije (Veinović) was assigned to serve as the Bishop of the Diocese of Western Europe of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church.

In 1991, Bishop Vasilije (Veinović) was elected to serve as the Bishop of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (later, in the New Gracanica Metropolitanate).

In early 1991, Patriarch Pavle II (Stojčević) of Serbia invited representatives of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church to talks in Belgrade. These talks took place on 24 April, 1991. The fruit of the conversation was the beginning of reconciliation between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Free Serbian Orthodox Church.

Healing of the schism, 1992

In 1992, at the invitation of Patriarch Pavle II (Stojčević) of Serbia, Metropolitan Irinej (Kovačević) led a delegation of priests and other persons from the whole of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church to Serbia. The delegation held discussions with the members of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church about overcoming the schism, and about the return of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church to eucharistic communion with the Serbian Orthodox Church and with world Orthodoxy.

Receiving Holy Communion (the Holy Mysteries) together at the one Holy Table during the Divine Liturgy is the main visible sign of unity in the Orthodox Christian Church. Because of the Incarnation of Christ, the Church, the Body of Christ, must be visible. When the schism occurred, those who were in the schism were no longer able to receive the Holy Mysteries together with the rest of the canonical Orthodox Christian Church. When the matters were finally settled, and when there was mutual forgiveness (a normal and everyday prerequisite for receiving Holy Communion), this visible unity at the Holy Table of the Lord was again possible.

Bishop of Mileševa, 1994

In 1994, after the healing of the schism in 1992, and his entry into eucharistic unity with the Holy Assembly of Bishops ("Sabor"), Bishop Vasilije (Veinović) was elected by the Holy Assembly of Bishops to be the bishop of the newly-reconstructed Diocese of Mileševa, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Repose, 1997

On 26 July, 1997, on the Feast of the Archangel Gabriel, Bishop Vasilije (Veinović) fell asleep in the Lord in the Mileševa Monastery (253 km/157 mi southwest of Belgrade). He was 69 years old at the time.

On 29 July, 1997, in the Mileševa Monastery, the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Hierarch were led by the Serbian Patriarch Pavle II (Stojčević), along with 12 bishops, clergy and a crowd of believers.

After the funeral services were completed, his body was interred in the cemetery of the monastery.

Mileševa Monastery ; Tomb of Vladika Vasilije

— Bishop of Western Europe (Free Serbian church) 1979-1991. Preceded by : See created. Succeeded by : Bishop Damaskin (Davidović).

— Bishop of Australia and New Zealand (Free Serbian Church) 1991-1994. Preceded by : See created. Succeeded by : Bishop Sava (Jurić).

— Bishop of Mileševa (Serbian Orthodox Church) 1994-1997. Preceded by : Bishop Georgije (Djokic). Succeeded by : Bishop Filaret (Mićević).

Reflections

References

Serbian Wikipedia biography

Serbian Wikipedia biography (in Serbian)

Serbian Wikipedia biography (another)

Serbian Wikipedia biography (another, in Serbian)

Additional information :

Puzovic, Predrag, Article about Serbian Orthodox Church Eparchies Abroad (PDF) in “Journal of the Orthodox Theological Faculty, Belgrade” (in Serbian), vol. 40 (1996), nos. 1-2, pp. 87–96 : PDF article in English ; PDF article in Serbian.

Spasović, Stanimir, Miletić, Srboljub, “History of the Serbian Orthodox Church : Schism on the North American Continent” (in Serbian)

Tarasar, Constance J, ed., "Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America" (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.

Vuković, Sava, “History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and Canada 1891–1941” (Kragujevac, Serbia : Kalenić, 1998)

Orthodoxwiki article about the Church of Serbia

Serbian Orthodox Church web-site

Patriarch German (Đorić)

Patriarch Pavle II (Stojčević)

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic)

Bishop Sava (Jurić)

Bishop Georgije (Djokic)

Bishop Filaret (Mićević)

Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America

Wikipedia article about the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America