Church of the Three Hierarchs (Balatun)
The Church of the Holy Three Hierarchs. ( Serbian : Црква Света три јерарха, Crkva Sveta tri jerarha ) in the Opština (municipality) Bijeljina belonging village Balatun is a Serbian Orthodox church in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina .
The church , built from 2000 to 2008, is dedicated to the three holy hierarchs : Basil the Great , John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nazianzen . It is the parish church of the Balatun-Velino Selo parish in the Bijeljina deanery of the Zvornik - Tuzla eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church .
location
The Church of St. Three Hierarchs is located in the center of the village of Balatun, which has around 1,350 inhabitants. Balatun is located in the flat plain of the Semberija , about 15 kilometers northeast of the municipality capital Bijeljina.
The village lies on the direct border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighboring country of Serbia to the east . The border between the two countries here makes the river Drina , which at Balatun in the Sava flows.
The Opština Bijeljina is located in the Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two entities in the country. The RS has a predominantly Serbian population.
There are two monuments near the church. One is dedicated to the Yugoslav partisans who fell in World War II and the other is dedicated to the victims of the Bosnian War from the village. The parish has a rectory. Next to the church in the fenced church yard is the village elementary school and the football field.
Balatun and Velino Selo each have their own Serbian Orthodox cemetery. The Slava of the village of Balatun is the Ascension of Christ (Spasovdan) and the Slava of the village of Velino Selo is St. Tsar Constantine .
history
On February 5, 2014, the parish Brodac II , previously mentioned , was given its current name by the resolution of the then bishop of the Zvornik-Tuzla Hrizostom (Jević) eparchy : Parish Balatun-Velino Selo. The parish registers have been kept since February 15, 2014. The two villages Balatun and Velino Selo belong to the parish of Balatun- Velino Selo .
Before the parish was founded, the villages belonged to the parish of Brodac with the church of St. Archangel Michael, and the parish registers with the dates of those born, baptized, married and deceased of the two villages belonged to the parish of Brodac until 2014.
The construction of the church began in 2000. The primary school in the village of Brodac had willingly given the church the building land for the church. The foundations of the church were consecrated on June 11, 2000 by the then bishop of the Zvornik-Tuzla Vasilije (Kačavenda) eparchy .
The construction work on the church building was completed in 2008. And on August 31, 2008, after eight years of construction, the church was solemnly consecrated by Bishop Vasilije (Kačavenda) . The godfather of the church is Dragan Sarić from the village of Balatun.
architecture
The single - nave cross-domed church was built in the Serbian-Byzantine style , with an altar - apse in the east, a round dome over the center of the nave and a church tower with an entrance portal in the west.
Entrances to the church are on the west and north sides. The church has two silver crosses. Above the entrance there is a large patronage icon depicting the Three Hierarchs.
The Church of St. Three Hierarchs was painted with Byzantine frescoes from 2009 to 2012 by Vuk Lukić from the Serbian capital Belgrade . Lukić only painted the altar area and the dome of the church, the rest of the church building was painted by Aleksandar Čereković from Sremska Mitrovica .
The iconostasis of walnut wood was in the workshop of Dragan Petrović from Višnjačka Banja carved in Belgrade. The icons on the iconostasis were painted in the workshop of Petar Bilić, also from Belgrade.
Priest of the parish of Balatun-Velino Selo
Srbislav Topalović has been the acting priest of the church and parish since 2014. Before that, the priests of the parish of Brodac served in the villages of Balatun and Velino Selo.
swell
- Article about the church on the website of the Bijeljina deanery , (Serbian, with pictures)
- Article about the consecration on the website of the Serbian Orthodox Church , (Serbian)
Coordinates: 44 ° 51 ′ 39.2 ″ N , 19 ° 19 ′ 29.8 ″ E