Free Archbishop Jovan from prison in FYRO Macedonia

P E T I T I O N

We, the below signed Orthodox Christians, citizens of the United States of
America, and of many countries of the western world, direct this petition,
at the same time as a voice of plea, and of common sense too, and in
accordance with the still unsolved situation of His Beatitude Archbishop
Jovan, who, beside all the positive laws of the free world, is still in
prison, as a victim of misunderstanding and lack of good will of the
authorities of the FYRO Macedonia.

One of the basic foundation on which all the democratic principles of a
free world rest, is the freedom of religious confession. We, as Orthodox
Christians, and also the Christians of other confessions who feel the
grace of all civil rights and the freedom of religious confession,
in America, and the rest of the western countries, cannot
reconcile the fact that the biggest and the only "guilt" of the imprisoned
Archbishop Jovan is that he, in a peaceful and decent way, menacing
nobody, in unity with ecumenical Church, wishes to complete the mission of the Ohrid Archbishopric in the FYRO Macedonia.

The lone fact that today in Europe, at the beginning of the twenty-first
century, a Christian dignitary of a church, is staying in prison, and in
accordance with all the positive laws of the modern world, menacing nobody
and nothing, throws an enormous flaw on all of the phrases of civil and
religious freedoms, coming from the FYRO Macedonia. It is difficult
to understand how the authorities of the FYRO Macedonia imagine the
entry in the European Union, and in the increasing family of advanced
countries, while at the same time, expressed in mild words, they are
proceeding according to feudal principles when interpreting and putting
their laws into effect.

The prison sentence, with which Archbishop Jovan has been punished, is
nothing else but yet indelible heritage of the communist regime, which the
authorities in the FYRO Macedonia proceed in their thoughts and
unfortunately in their deeds.

As citizens of a free world, we direct the voice of our protest against
the unprecedented breaking of civil, human and religious rights over
Archbishop of Ohrid Jovan, and over all other people upon whom his mission
is spread, at the same time pleading all the major factors who are
responsible for proceeding democratic principles in the free world, by the
voice of COMMON SENSE, PEACE and GOOD WILL, to do everything in their
power so that Archbishop Jovan is free in the shortest period of time.
We are forwarding this petition to all governmental agencies in USA(State Department, Senate, Congress, White House), also West Europe as well as to government of FYRO Macedonia.
We kindly ask you for your prayers as well and as an expression of good will, to please sign this petition in support of the cause to release our beloved Archbishop Jovan from prison in FYRO Macedonia.




P E T I C I J A

Mi, dolepotpisani, Pravoslavni Hriscani, gradjani Sjedinjenih Americkih Drzava, kao i mnogih zemalja zapadnog sveta, upucujemo ovu peticiju, istovremeno i kao glas molbe, ali i glas razuma, u vezi sa jos uvek neresenom situacijom Njegovog Blazenstva Arhiepiskopa Ohridskog JOVANA, koji je, mimo svih pozitivnih zakona slobodnog sveta, jos uvek u zatvoru , kao zrtva nerazumevanja i odsustva dobre volje vlasti Republike Makedonije.

Jedna od osnovnih postavki na kojima pocivaju svi demokratski principi slobodnog sveta jeste i sloboda veroispovedanja. Svi mi, kao Pravoslavni hriscani, ali i Hriscani ostalih konfesija, koji osecamo blagodeti svih gradjanskih prava, pa samim tim i slobode veroispovedanja, na prostorima Amerike, kao i ostalih zapadnih zemalja, ne mozemo da se pomirimo sa cinjenicom da je najveca, i jedina, "krivica" utamnicenog Arhiepiskopa JOVANA jedino u tome sto na miran i dostojanstven nacin, nikoga ne ugrozavajuci, zeli da u jedinstvu sa vaseljenskom Crkvom, obavlja misiju Ohridske Arhiepiskopije u Republici Makedoniji.

Sama cinjenica da danas, i to u Evropi, jedan Hriscanski crkveni velikodostojnik, na pocetku dvadeset i prvog veka, lezi u zatvoru, a da prema pozitivnim zakonima savremenog sveta nikoga i nicim nije ugrozio, baca i te kako veliku mrlju na sve fraze o gradjanskim i verskim slobodama, koje dolaze iz Republike Makedonije. Tesko je shvatiti kako vlasti Republike Makedonije zamisljaju svoj ulazak u Evropsku Uniju i u sve vise narastajucu porodicu naprednih zemalja slobodnog sveta, a da, istovremeno, jos uvek postupaju po, blago receno, feudalnim principima u tumacenju i sprovodjenju svojih zakona.
Zatvorska kazna kojom je kaznjen Arhiepiskop JOVAN ne predstavlja, po principima slobodnog i demokratskog sveta, nista drugo, nego jos uvek neizbrisivo nasledje komunistickog rezima, koje u misljenju, ali na zalost i u ponasanju sprovode vlasti Republike Makedonije.

Kao gradjani slobodnog sveta, upucujemo glas svoga protesta protiv necuvenog krsenja gradjanskih, ljudskih i verskih prava Arhiepiskopa JOVANA OHRIDSKOG, kao i svih onih na koje se prostire njegova misija, moleci istovremeno sve odlucujuce cinioce sprovodjenja demokratskih principa u slobodnom svetu da GLASOM RAZUMA, MIRA i DOBRE VOLJE ucine sve sto je u njihovoj moci e da bi se ARHIEPISKOP OHRIDSKI JOVAN u sto skorije vreme nasao na slobodi.
Ovu peticiju upucujemo svim merodavnim institucijama u USA (Senat, Congres, Bela Kuca, State Department), Zapadnoj Evropi, kao i vladi Republike Makedonije.

Potrebne su nam Vase molitve kao i potpis ove peticije , u znak podrske, radi oslobadjanja Arhiepiskopa Jovana iz zatvora Idrizovo u Makedoniji.


Blake and Snezana Denker