Orthodox Customs Spread Deeper Into Serbian Institutions

The encroachment of religion into Serbia's officially secular state institutions has drawn criticism after the Serbian Army command celebrated St George as its patron saint for the first time on Sunday, in the presence of Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin.

"[St George] was what you here are at present - a high-ranking officer in what was then the Roman army. This gives us [Serbs] hope of survival, despite all the misfortune and hostility surrounding us," the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, told officers at a service to mark the occasion.

Critics argue that state institutions celebrating Orthodox Christian holidays with religious rituals represents a breach of the Serbian constitution's insistence on a secular state - although the trend appears to be growing.

"Obviously it's a problem, because it doesn't take into account pluralism in society and the composition of the armed forces," said Rastislav Dinic, assistant at the Faculty of Philosophy in the city of Nis.

State institutions and even schools in Serbia since the 1990s have increasingly taken up the celebration of patron saints, a Serbian tradition called slava, which used to be a purely family affair in communist Yugoslavia.

One of the most controversial traditions is the nationwide celebration of the day of St Sava, a medieval prince-turned-Archbishop, as the slava of Serbian schools.

Some representatives of non-Christian minorities and secular groups say it is inappropriate to make everyone pay respects to an Orthodox saint, though proponents claim that St Sava is not celebrated as a religious figure but for his alleged service to education in medieval Serbia.

Serbian officials have also begun to observe other Orthodox...