Monastery Hilandar – Mount Athos

At Hilandar,

13/26 July 2013

On the Day of Venerable Fathers of Hilandar,

No. 52

To Foundation Nasleđe otaca;

Production House OPET&OPET,

Belgrade

Great nations have awareness of their extent, of the place of each generation in their history. Recognition of the heritage that was given to us as a salutary experience of our ancestors is always a good footing for further development and a creative attitude towards life. It is not merely a memory, or an outdated relic of the past, but a foundation, a woof and warp of the fine weaving of spirit and culture that never ceases and in every epoch adds its own unique and inimitable pattern.

In the accelerated time of the 21^st century, the Serbian nation seems to have entangled itself in a the maelstrom of historical events, in the intricate threads of oblivion, rushing headlong towards abyss, getting way and away from the pinnacle of the spirit in which it had once resided. How to rediscover the spiritual identity, to resist the forces of gravity of the world, how to find the beginning of that fabric of life are all questions of our generation.

As one of credible answers to all these challenges and dilemmas, we have received with joy the news of the idea and intention of the Foundation Nasleđe otaca and Production House Opet&Opet of the making of the first feature film about St. Sava, under the title The Father. As the spiritual father of the Serbian people, Saint Sava represents The Beginning, that quintessential landmark and a way sign, an always current guide through historical adversity and fate.

Eight centuries away from the time of Saint Sava and his father, Venerable Simeon the Myrrh-Gusher, we walk the same earth; we find their legacy of stone, word and spirit. They are still around us and in us; by recognizing them we shall recognize ourselves.

We trust that a narrative conveyed in the language of cinema of the time when we emerged as a nation, church and society, can provide a great and so necessary an inspiration, can teach and fortify the souls of our contemporaries, especially the young, from whom the salvific teaching of Christ seems to have been hidden almost.

In firm belief that our brother in Christ, Deacon Nenad Ilić, possesses God-given talents to authentically, in an inspired and filigree manner, transfer to the screen our saints, we are offering to him and to his collaborators Foundation Nasleđe otaca and Production House Opet&Opet our heartfelt support.

We pray to the All-Holy Theothokos, the patron of the Holy Mountain, to St. Sava Serbian, to Venerable Simeon the Myrrh-Gusher, to the founders of our Holy Family and to All Our Venerable Fathers, the founders of Hilandar which we celebrate today, that God enlighten and fortify with His beneficial powers all those who are involved and who with their efforts contribute to the formation of this joint effort.

Hegumenos of Monastery Hilandar,

Archimandrite Metodius

With his brethren in Christ

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With Lord’s blessings!
Since there is cinema, Serbs have been waiting for something like this. I know it will not be easy and simple, but I am sure that by the prayers of St. Sava and St. Simeon this endeavour will be brought to fruition in the best possible way.

And indeed you are right: the modern man of today finds it hard to imagine all that hard work and emotional fracture which occurred in the souls of these great men, their faith and suffering are a like a fairy tale for modern man. Yet, as the Resurrection does not happen without the Cross, so nothing in this world happens without passion and suffering. I am sure this film will reveal all fairy tales and will demonstrate to the youth of Serbia today that their path is – reality.

We Serbs around the world must and can unite in this project and I hope that Saint Sava will give his blessings and strength that from here, from the American continent, we participate in that which you have begun.
With God’s blessing!

Priest Vladislav Radujković,
Paterson, New Jersey, USA