Second Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the memory St.Gregory Palamas, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Thessaloniki. It is very important fact that the church dedicated this Sunday to the memory of St.Gregory Palamas. In essence this is the second Christian victory over the enemies of the Gods truth, of a dangerous new syllogism reported scholasticialy in the bosom of the Latin Church. The appearance of calabrian monk Barlaam and his Barlaamism or erroneous teachings of the divine energy as its material, threatened to reduce Christianity to the materialist religion. In fact heresy of Barlaamism announce the forthcoming Renaissance in which the Latin Church turns to the values of classical Greek polytheism, classical materialist religion, wanting to intrigue''Greeks''and Christians of the East of ''the old values". In addition, Barlaam's teaching was offense only for the Church but also for those''outside''.

On the Second Sunday of Lent the Orthodox Church commemorates our Holy Father Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, the Wonderworker. The feast day of Saint Gregory Palamas is November 14, however, he is commemorated on this Sunday as the condemnation of his enemies and the vindication of his teachings by the Church in the 14th century was acclaimed as a second triumph of Orthodoxy.
Orthodox Church celebrate the Saint with the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.

In Sunday of Orthodoxy in honor and the Victory of Christ Church  over all its enemies, above all the heretics, who were shook the church for seven and a half century and tried to destroy it.  His Grace Bishop Chrysostom of Bihac and Petrovac, served the Divine Liturgy in the temple of Venerable Mother Paraskeva in Podbrdo near Mrkonjic Grad. Although the temple in Podbrdo is among the bigger Churches in Diocese, but it was too small for a multitude of believers who came to pray and receive the Holy Communion. The Bishop served together with Stavrophor Milos Milovanovic, Protoprezbyter Goran Travar and Deacon Zdravko Bogojevic. In sermon after the reading of the Holy Gospel, Bishop spoke of repentance and its importance, and of Holy Eucharist, Bishop called faithful to pray, with firm faith and spirit and by abstaining to oppose all forms of modern polytheism, which act now in a completely different way than the previous period and times onwards which tend Christians to deflect from faith, from love of God. Open war against the Church of God, against God.
For this, they use everyday excesses and scandals among the hierarchy, and also in the society, object that today is in considerable measure in accordance with the Church. Some regarded it, and wanted to see the church again in the persecution and on the margins of our folk and national reality said Bishop Chrysostom.
Bogoljub-R.

The first Saturday and the Great Lent is called Saturday of St.Theodorus the Recruit, and in memory of his struggle and zeal to save Christians from ungodly defilement. St.Theodorus has thwarted the evil idea of Julian, to hurt sensitive conscience of Christians. The essence of the Apostate's idea was to sprinkle food by blood of pagan offerings so that desecrate Christians and at the same time to cause a crisis of conscience. Saint Theodore knew that evil intention of Julian Apostate and advised Christians not to buy and consume foods from the markets.
Instead of desecration, Christians are consecrated by the body and blood of Christ the Lover of Mankind, who gave himself as a food and drink to all who believe in Him. For centuries the faithful in remembrance of this miraculous deliverance from the desecration on Theodore’s Saturday rush into their sacred temples to partake of the body and blood of Christ. Today, as well as all previous Saturday of St.Theodorus in Šipovo church of St.John the Baptist was too small to receive all those that have come to partake the Holy and Divine Mysteries.

The first Sunday of Great Lent is observed as the "Sunday of Orthodoxy" in our Church. It marks both the return of the icons to the Churches in 843 during the Empress Theodora and Patriarch Methodious following the end of the Iconoclast in 8th and 9th century. On this day the miracle on Tzar Theophilos is remembered , who was against the icons, he repent after the Chuch have prayed for him.
Today after the Holy Liturgy or just before the end, clergy together with the Bishop take the icons of our Savior out for a Procession around the Church with all the people and children carrying icons. In local parishes the service concludes with a prayer for peace and unity in the Church and for those who stray from the path of the Truth.

Today we remember the miracle of St Theodore and the boiled wheat. Fifty years after the death of St Theodore, the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), wanting to commit an outrage upon the Christians, commanded the city-commander of Constantinople during the first week of Great Lent to sprinkle all the food provisions in the marketplaces with the blood offered to idols. St Theodore appeared in a dream to Archbishop Eudoxius, ordering him to inform all the Christians that no one should buy anything at the marketplaces, but rather to eat cooked wheat with honey (kolyva).

In memory of this occurrence, the Orthodox Church annually celebrates the holy Great Martyr Theodore the Recruit on the first Saturday of Great Lent. On Friday evening, at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts following the prayer at the ambo, the Canon to the holy Great Martyr Theodore, composed by St John of Damascus, is sung. On this day kolyva is blessed in the Church and distributed to the faithful. The celebration of the Great Martyr Theodore on the first Saturday of Great Lent was set by the Patriarch Nectarius of Constantinople (381-397).
The Serbs call it: Thodors (Theodoros) Saturday

In St. Nicholas monastery Rmanj, in the chapel of St. John Chrysostom, on February 17. 2010, His Grace Bishop of Bihac-Petrovac Mr.Chrysostom, served Presanctified Liturgy in concelebration with Monastery Abbot Archimandrite Seraphim, protprezbyter Sasa Crljića and deacon Zdravko Bogojevic, .
The inspired sermon His Grace Bishop Chrysostom exspresed importance and essence of the Great Lent, particular the need for prayer zeal for seven weeks and abstain for Christ, to be with the good will, not with the grumble, because we should welcome the risen Christ, and prayer and fasting are most fruitful struggle thru which we gain the likenes of the Lord.

Bishop Chrysostom reminded the faithful gathered at the personal testimony of fasting, because it represents the best example of personal testimony.
During Holy Liturgy majority of faithful received the holy Communion. After the worship in the monasteic refectory is organized traditional table of love.

Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov to set Orthodox cross on the southernmost point of American continent

Bobruisk, February 17, Interfax – Renowned Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov will set a worship cross at Cape Horn (Chili) to commemorate perished sailors.

The cross was made and consecrated in Bobruisk. Students of Bobruisk Art College №15 gave it as a present to Konyukhov, the local Diocese reports.

Cape Horn is southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego archipelago located off South American mainland. Shipwrecks lie buried here.

On 13 February 2010 Diocesan Council session was held  in the Diocese office in Bosanski Petrovac, where is discussed about the activities in 2009. and adopted: final account for 2009 and budget  in 2010.
It is expressed satisfaction with the construction of many new churches, as well as reconstruction of damaged and destroyed in the war.
With special care is considered a general plan to celebrate for the 20 anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Bihac and Petrovac wihich was on 19 May 1990, Which will be celebrated and first Šematizma of the Diocese will be published, and also in DVD form.
Milos E.

Called the Clean week, because during this week - in songs and prayers  it is heard the cry of the soul that repents, plain, mourning their sins. By these hymns the Church teaches the faithful to renounce the sins in which have they fallen, and not to lose paradise -like Grandparents by non abstining did, but - with self abstinence come to the salvation and eternal life. Further, in the service of this week is recommended fasting, prayer, tears, repentance, spiritual feats, cleansing body and soul, renunciation of sin and passions, and comeing to the virtue of vigil, - all, that to become worthy to obeisance the cross, and spiritually celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
During the Great Lent, the prayers are longer and solemn, and to reading is given more space than singing. Length of the prayers in this week is even more increased by the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, during the first four days on the Great Compline . This week and  in the last week of Great Lent, the fast is significantly tightened, so in the first two days of fasting, and if is possible four days, full abstention from food.