Bishop Dimitri ( Serb. Bishop Dimitrie , in the world Dushan Balach , Serb. Dusan Bala ; July 16, 1913 , Kordun - May 26, 1979 ) - Bishop of the Serbian Free Orthodox Church, Bishop of Australia and New Zealand.
| Bishop Demetrius | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bishop Dimitrie | ||
| ||
| November 13, 1966 - May 26, 1979 | ||
| Birth name | Dushan Balach | |
| Original name at birth | Dusan Balaћ | |
| Birth | ||
| Death | ||
Biography
At the end of the monastic school at the Monastery of Vysokie Dečany, he was tonsured a monk with the name Dimitri on December 15, 1934. His spiritual father was hegumen Dionysius (Milivoevich) , later Bishop of America-Canada. On December 15, 1935, he was ordained hieromonk . Hieromonk Dimiry was deputy governor of the Decani Monastery, then deputy governor of the Gomirye Monastery and a temporary parish priest in Marindol , near Karlovac [1] .
In 1940, being the governor of the Gomirye Monastery, he received an invitation from Bishop Dionisy (Milivoevich) to leave with him to serve in America, to which Dimitri agreed. Arriving in America on April 15, 1940, he was appointed rector of the Monastery of Saint Sava in Libertville [1] .
Hegumen Dimitri also served in a number of temples in the United States: in South Chicago , Indiana Harbor and Omaha . He then served as a parish priest in Dzhanstownu, on Sheyland, and then in St. Sava’s church in Los Angeles until the 1960s, when he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed secretary of the Diocese of Canada [1] .
In 1964, he followed Bishop Dionysius to England , then to Damascus , Syria and Beirut . At the end of October, they arrived at the Serbs in Australia [1] .
On October 31, 1964, at the First “Church Folk Assembly” in Melbourne, he was elected Bishop of the new Diocese of Australia and New Zealand. At the Church and People’s Cathedral of the American-Canadian Diocese in the Monastery of Saint Sava near Libertyville, which was held from September 28 to 30, 1966, the decision of the cathedral in Melbourne on October 31, 1964 to elect Demetrius (Balach) as bishop was confirmed. November 13, 1966 in the monastery of St. Sava in Libertyville, his ordination took place [1] .
Bishop Demetrius arrived in Australia on December 26, 1966. By its decision of February 8, 1967, on the basis of the Charter of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church - Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, the diocesan Church Court was formed [2] .
With his arrival, a number of temples were built and consecrated. The first temple consecrated by Bishop Demetrius was the Church of St. George in Cambramate. His bishop Dimitri chose as his pulpit and declared it as the Council [1] .
The administrative service stood out for its zeal and accuracy, and its creative energy encouraged others to constructive work. Organized church life [1] .
February 15, 1968 took part in the consecration of the cleric of the non-canonical Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Andrei (Crete) in the "Bishop of Grodno-Novogrudok and Cleveland" [3] , and on March 10 of the same year took part in the consecration of the cleric of the same jurisdiction of Nikolai (Matsukevich) in Bishop "Bishop of Turovo-Pinsk and Toronto" [4] .
He died on May 26, 1979. He was buried on the north side of the monastery church of St. Sava at Libertivile [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stanimir Spasovi, Srboљub Mileti Bishop Dimitriјe (Balaћ) // HISTORY OF SRPSKE ORTHODOX CHURCH AT AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND Ј AFRICA NEEDED
- ↑ [svetosavlje]
- ↑ Andrew (Crete)
- ↑ Nikolai (Matsukevich)