His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije and Mr. Vladimir Roganović, the Director of the Administration for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities of the Ministry of Justice of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, signed contracts for scholarships for students of theological faculties and academies on 16 April 2024, in the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade.

Before the signing of the contracts, those present were briefed on the basic information regarding the outcome of this year's competition, as well as the fact that this year 67 students of undergraduate, master's, and doctoral studies will be beneficiaries of the scholarship from the Administration for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities. Dr. Vladimir Roganović, as the host and patron of the gathering, addressed those present, emphasizing in his welcoming speech the general significance of knowledge and education both for individuals and for society as a whole. He particularly emphasized the multifaceted significance of theological education in every aspect of human life. Therefore, religious education is an indispensable segment of learning and self-understanding.

– The Administration for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities remains committed to the intention to accompany and assist the field of theological education with a useful and strong incentive, as in this way, we all together open up an immeasurable field of future and improvement of spiritual and theological culture. Traditionally, the Administration allocates significant funds for scholarships for students of higher theological institutions and for the implementation of numerous projects of secondary religious schools and theological faculties. Therefore, we advocate remaining dedicated to nurturing the best possible relations with all our traditional churches and religious communities, extending a hand of cooperation and support, and there is no better or more godly way on that path than investing in the education and upbringing of our children, who are our future and our hope – emphasized Dr. Roganović.

After the welcoming speech, Director Roganović and representatives of traditional churches and religious communities in Serbia proceeded to sign the contracts. In the name of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the contract was signed by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije, who emphasized on that occasion:

– Most reverend Hierarchs, Your Excellences Bishops, esteemed Muftis, dear Mr. Director, representatives of the Ministry of Education, brothers and sisters! Everything that the Director of the Administration has said fully expresses, I am sure, all of us and covers everything we could briefly say about the significance of this day, and, more importantly, about the meaning and significance of education and education. Precisely for all the reasons that the Director Roganović mentioned, education for our Church, and I am sure for all other churches and religious communities, represents one of the most important concerns precisely because theology is not just one of the sciences that offers the individual and the community the opportunity to acquire knowledge in the field related to faith, precisely because theology is not just the collection of certain information about God and knowledge related to religious life, but because theology is primarily an expression of the experience of encountering the living God. In that sense, theology is something that concerns our entire being and life, encompasses everything we think, say, do, and what we are from within. Therefore, theology has both its external expression and its internal dimensions. What we experience in encounter with God becomes our life, becomes our testimony. That is why we say that the theology is about values, i.e. ethos, that is the way of our existence. We not only preach with words what we believe, but we live it and bear witness to it. Hence, theology as our entire life is not something that changes from epoch to epoch and that essentially depends from epoch to epoch on external circumstances, i.e., theology does not aim to align itself with the spirit of the times, to conform to the spirit of the times but aims to transform the spirit of the times and to make the spirit of the times a foretaste of eternity, a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. Theology in that sense and for those reasons is one of the most important concerns of the Church and all religious communities.

– Knowledge and education are equally important for a society and for a state, but since both a society and a state are a whole and since the Church cannot be separated from society, there is no strict boundary separating these two realities. Namely, when we talk about society and the Church, we are talking about one and the same thing. Not only do these two realities permeate, but they also coincide. And as much as acquiring practical knowledge from the realm of all other possible sciences is important for a society and for a state, religious education and upbringing are important because they concern, to use that word in the best sense, identity, i.e., what a person is and should be. The significance of theology for the state and for society is reflected precisely in the fact that theology testifies, points out the way, and provides opportunities for a person to be what they are, to live, think, and act in accordance with the reason for their existence and in line with the purpose of their existence. Therefore, we consider cooperation between the state and the Church in all its segments to be very important, and of course, especially in the segment of education – Patriarch Porfirije stated and concluded:

– Therefore, we not only support this project and this idea, but we also rejoice in it and participate in it with our whole being, feeling gratitude towards the state for this fact, but especially feeling gratitude and expressing it publicly towards the Administration for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities. I have to say at the end: Thank you, Director! May the Lord bless us all, and may this path we tread only develop and multiply so that we truly become one in what is most important, not only in faith but in deep, inner knowledge and understanding that God is our Creator, but that He is also our Benefactor, the One who cares for us; that He is primarily love, and that we are created in His image and likeness, which means that we are created not only as biological beings with a beginning and an end within the framework of this transient world but as beings created for eternity. Thank you once again, and may the Lord bless you all!

After the address by His Holiness the Patriarch, the contracts were also signed by Mufti of the Islamic Community in Serbia, Mr. Mevlud Dudić, and Mr. Ivan Polet, envoy of the Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan Ladislav Nemet. They also addressed the gathering. This was followed by a joint photograph and a short break, after which the attendees moved to the Serbia Hall, where they participated in a round table discussion on the topic Theological Education in the 21^st Century – the Perspective and Alignment with Education in Public Schools in the Republic of Serbia.

The round table was opened with befitting address by Dr. Vladimir Roganović, highlighting the Government of the Republic of Serbia's concern for the advancement of religious and higher theological education and inviting attendees to discuss in that regard. Director Roganović emphasized several topics important for churches and religious communities, as well as for religious education. These include: the question of the possibility of aligning religious and public education with the existing regulations in the field of education and upbringing, i.e., the conditions that must be met in that regard; issues related to the state graduation exam project, the conditions, procedures, and opportunities that secondary religious schools students could use after completing their secondary education; the question of possibility for students of secondary religious schools to continue their education at one of the faculties of social sciences; verification of secondary schools and accreditation of higher education institutions.

At the round table, among others, remarks were also given by: His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije; His Grace Bishop of Bačka kyr Irinej; Protopresbyter-Stavrophoros Zoran Krstić, Professor at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Belgrade and Rector of the Theological Seminary in Kragujevac; Prof. Dr. Ivica Radović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education; Mufti Mr. Mevlud Dudić; Mr. Aleksandar Jović, Assistant Minister of Education for Higher Education; Dr. Ana Šijački from the National Accreditation Body.