A great man is one who collects knowledge the way a bee collects honey and uses it to help people overcome the difficulties they endure - hunger, ignorance and disease!
- Nikola Tesla

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
- Franklin Roosevelt

While their territory has been devastated and their homes despoiled, the spirit of the Serbian people has not been broken.
- Woodrow Wilson

Second Editor's Letter

Dear Readers,

The world of Serbica Americana is a captivating place — the more you know about it, the more interesting it gets. Never has it been so vital to understand how issues in the Old or New Country impact our lives and business. (...and never has information and dialogue about both Old and New been so easily accessible.)

As you already know, only Serbica Americana links the events around the world and brings you all you need to know, plus other stories which are just too good to miss -- thus aspiring to contribute to this dialogue.

Serbian interest in the history of the Diaspora, the search for its puzzles and the will of God in it, reveals a faith in the future, in God’s providential presence and labor throughout history.

The life of the Serbian community in the USA unfolds on the field of dramatic history which is interwoven with God’s providence. A great number of Serbs who find themselves for longer or shorter periods of time spread out throughout the world – often departing after difficult deliberation – remain connected to the land of their birth or ancestry, living a 'double consciousness'...

Departing into the Diaspora could be compared to leaving to a “monastery,” as a type of alienation followed by deprivation, fasting, prayer… (forms of a struggle or podvig that balances a person's aspirations against his inclinations.) It appears that the lone institution which can today sustain the continuation and connection of Serbs throughout the world is the Serbian Orthodox Church, more than anything else because of the quality which we call togetherness ("sabornost"). This in itself brings an enormous responsibility. It is our deepest conviction that the Church plays this uniting role among the Serbian people thanks to her eschatological dimension and ability to accept history on account of her children.

You are invited to once again join the many curious readers of Serbica Americana around the world who rely on the in-depth analysis and insightful commentary that only Serbica Americana delivers.

.


SA

 

People Directory

Stella Jatras

Stella Louis Jatras (nee Katsetos) from Camp Hill, PA, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, as the fourth and youngest daughter of Louis (Leonidas) and Marina Katsetos, originally of Sparta, Greece, and later of Harrisburg and Carlisle.

Stella was quite literally a daughter of Sparta - and her father's name was Leonidas, no less. As Julia Gorin noted, she was Sparta, truly worthy of that heroic heritage. Axia!

In addition to the U.S. Department of State, her professional work included service with the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and the Veterans Administration.

In 1953, she married George Jatras, also the offspring of Greek immigrant parents, and began a long and varied life as the wife of a career U.S. Air Force Officer.

As a career military officer's wife, Stella traveled widely and lived in several foreign countries where she not only learned about other cultures but became very knowledgeable regarding world affairs and world politics. She lived in Moscow for two years, where she worked in the Political Section of the U.S. Embassy. She also lived in Germany, Greece, and Saudi Arabia. Her travels took her to over twenty countries.

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Read more ...

Publishing

The Thunderbolt of Ever-Living Fire

by archimandrite Vasileios of Iveron

The present book consists of Elder Vaileios' talks, discussions and dialogues in various venues mostly in the United States during his visit in 2011, along with excerpts from his writings selected to complement the themes of his talks.  The themes dealt with by Fr. Vasileios so eloquently in this book are extraordinarily wide-ranging; he handles complex and difficult issues in theology, spirituality, liturgics, parish life and monasticism with amazing clarity and insight.  He quotes with equal facility from figures as diverse as Heraclitus, Dostoevsky, St. Isacc the Syrian, St. Maximus the Confessor, Stefan Zweig, Andrei Tarkovsky, Vladimir Lossy, Georges Florovsky and St. Nicholas Cabasilas.  Above all, there is an exhilarating sense of freedom and innocence in his thought.  It is the freedom and innocence of profound faith and spiritual knowledge and childlike simplicity.  HIs wisnow is expressed via the "hyperlogic" of a hesychastic spriti, which makes for surprising connections and illuminating insights.

The appearance of this new book by Archimandrite Vaileios is truly a cuase for celebration.

143 pages
ISBN: 978-1-936773-16-9