Church of the Assembly of All Serbian Saints (Saalfelden)
The Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assembly of Serbian Saints ( Serbian : Црква Сабора свих српских Светитеља, Crkva Sabora svih srpskih Svetitelja ) in Saalfelden is the first Serbian house of God built in the traditional Byzantine style in Austria .
In addition, the church in Saalfelden is the first Serbian Orthodox church in the state of Salzburg . The church was built from 2002 to 2009.
The church is consecrated to the assembly of all Serbian saints and is the parish church of the parish of Saalfelden in the dean's office of South-West Austria of the Austria-Switzerland eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
location
The church is on Palvenstrasse in the north of the 16,000-inhabitant city of Saalfelden in the state of Salzburg. The church serves as a place of worship for the 2,000-member Serbian Orthodox parish of the Pinzgau town.
history
The Serbian Orthodox Church in Saalfelden is called the Church of the Assembly of Serbian Saints . Construction work began in 2002. The building shell was completed in 2009 after seven years. The Serbian Orthodox parish planned to celebrate the erection of the cross on September 17th .
The first pastor of the church was Jovan Alimpić, son of the archpriest of the church in Hrtkovci ( Serbia ), who served as a model for the planning of the church. Serbian Orthodox church services have been celebrated in Saalfelden since 2002. The evangelical parish made their peace church available to the Serbian believers.
There is a similar situation in the city of Salzburg , where the Serbian Orthodox services are celebrated in the Catholic Citizens Hospital Church of St. Blasius . The beauty of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Saalfelden is so valued by the citizens that it is sometimes referred to as the “pearl of the city”.
Dedication ceremony of the church on September 19, 2009
The then diocesan bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOK) in Austria, Germany , Liechtenstein and Switzerland , Bishop Konstantin (Đokić), consecrated the first traditional style Serbian church in Austria: The Church of the Assembly of Serbian Saints . Then the bishop celebrated the Holy Liturgy in the newly consecrated church with the concelebration of the parish priest Jovan Alimpić and his father, Archpriest Dragiša Alimpić, pastor in Hrtkovci in northern Serbia.
The connection between the parish and other parishes in the diocese was made clear by the participation of a singing quartet from the Serbian Orthodox parish of Zurich under the direction of the local pastor, Dr. Miroslav Simijonović, at the service. How well the Serbian Orthodox parish in Saalfelden is integrated into Austrian society was shown by the singing along with the choir from Saalfelden, in which a former vice mayor of the city, Ernst Pesentheiner, sang. After the services, around 2,000 members and guests of the community celebrated their patronage party in the Saalfelden Congress Center.
Their integration into Austrian society was again clearly expressed, because at the ceremony not only Bishop Konstantin and the Serbian Consul General Zoran Jeremić from Salzburg, but also the mayor of the city of Saalfelden, Günter Schied, pastor Roland Rasser spoke of the Roman Catholic Church and Pastor Robert Jonischkeit from the Protestant parish. In his speech, Mayor Schied underlined the beauty of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Saalfelden and praised the efforts of Pastor Jovan Alimpić, who also helped out with the construction work. The current priest of the church is Gojko Ostojić.
Funding the Church
The Serbian Orthodox parish in Vienna contributed significantly to the financing of the construction project. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg and the Protestant parish of Saalfelden also financially supported the construction of the new church.
In addition, they had promoted the Serbian Orthodox community by making their own church services available to the community for years. In a conversation with SOK AKTUELL, Pastor Jovan Alimpić emphasized the selfless help of the two churches and expressed his great gratitude towards them.
He also emphasized his gratitude to the community of Saalfelden. Both Mayor Günter Schied and the second Vice Mayor Erich Rohrmoser and the former Vice Mayor Ernst Pesentheiner supported the construction of the church in the traditional Serbian-Byzantine style from the start, says father Jovan Alimpić: “The building permit was not a problem at all. We were also able to get a beautiful piece of land next to the Protestant church! "
The construction of the church was also financed with the help of numerous voluntary donors and helpers. Around 100 Serbian craftsmen from all over Salzburg built the church in their free time, saving EUR 200,000 in costs.
architecture
The building was planned by a Salzburg architecture firm based on the model of St. George's Church in Hrtkovci ( Srem / Vojvodina ) in northern Serbia ; one of the architects involved is a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The church was built in the Serbian-Byzantine style .