Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Eastern America – New Marcha Monastery Fundraiser
On the evening of Saturday, November 18, 2023, in Cleveland, Ohio, a large gathering of the Serbian Orthodox Faithful came together in response to an invitation to support an extremely worthy cause of beautifying and building a proper monastic complex at New Marcha Monastery, dedicated to the Holy Archangel Gabriel, located in Richfield, Ohio. This project has been the vision of Our Bishop and Father, His Grace Bishop Irinej, and on this evening at the St. Sava Cathedral, His Grace elegantly and with great detail, articulated the plan that will be set into motion for the Monastery expansion.
To begin the event, the faithful entered the beautifully decorated social hall of St. Sava Cathedral which displayed the talent and hospitality that is always present in the parish of Protopresbyter Dragoslav Kosić and Church Board President, Dragan Knežević. Traditional Serbian dinner music filled the room by the group, Dijamanti, led by Ranko Stanković and an artfully designed Meze Table and delicious meal was enjoyed by all, thanks to the tireless efforts of Stanka Nikolić and the St. Petka Circle of Serbian Sisters.
Deacon Mihajlo Pancoe of St. Demetrius parish in Akron, Ohio welcomed the faithful and introduced the first segment of the program, which was a very talented performance by the Folklore Group, Tradicija, under the leadership and choreography of Vinka Zorić.
After the folklore performance, Mr. Miloš Papich, of Akron, OH, gave heartfelt gratitude for being part of the committee for this project that received its first donation from his father, +Kosta Papich, before he reposed in the Lord. Mr. Papich then introduced poet, Milica Mijatović, who emphatically recited her poem titled Za Povratak (For Return).
It was at this time in the program that His Grace, Bishop Irinej, presented the thoughtfully designed plans at the hands of Architect Lazar Noel Cupkovic and his coworkers for the expansion of the Monastery. His Grace presented a concise historic background of Monastery Marcha and explained how previous generations had laid the groundwork for our beloved Monastery, and now, our generation is blessed with the opportunity to expand on this foundation.
In the Bishop’s presentation, it was evident how the professional design of the future buildings and grounds would lend to a proper monastic building to embrace the church and house our monastics. In addition to monastic cells, it will contain a library, expansive dining room, and many other features proper to a traditional Orthodox women’s monastery. As His Grace Bishop Irinej turned over the program to the Fundraising Committee Co-Chair, Mr. Alex Machaskee, His Grace offered a personal donation to the project, which was the beginning of a very generous evening by all!
Alex Machaskee spoke on behalf of himself, Co-Chair, Mrs. Gerry Ostich and Treasurer, Mr. Miloš Papich, giving thanks to His Grace Bishop Irinej, the St. Sava Cathedral Parish and all the faithful that gathered to support Monastery Marcha. The Machaskee, Ostich and Papich families have been long-time benefactors and donors of not only Monastery Marcha, but also of many building projects in the Serbian Orthodox Church. Mr. Machaskee presented an articulate speech encouraging the faithful to join together around Our Bishop and support this project financially and prayerfully.
Thanks to God, as a result of this successful event there was a significant amount of funding received to begin the project. Although much more is needed for its completion, with God’s help and our newly energized inspiration, we are prayerful that it will be completed in the near future through additional fundraising events and heartfelt donations to the project which can be sent to the Diocese at any time!
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