Due to the severe damage to the churches in Sisak and Petrinja, the believers celebrated Christmas in the churchyard.
In the earthquake that hit Croatia at the end of 2020, all Orthodox churches in Banja were destroyed or severely damaged. The church of St. Petka, as well as the parish house in Sisak, are unusable until further notice. Due to that, the believers of the parish of Sisak served Christmas services in a tent set up in the churchyard. Although they themselves were left homeless, or their houses suffered great damage, the believers from Sisak did not give up the Christmas services and gathered around their priest. The evening worship service on Christmas Day was served by their parish priest Veselin Ristic, after which he blessed and burn the Yule Log with the faithful.
On Christmas, early in the morning, several believers from Petrinja joined the Sisak community, together with their parish priest, archpriest Sasa Umicevic, in whose parish all churches were destroyed, so that it is not possible to perform the Liturgy in any of them. Priests Sasa and Veselin celebrated the solemn Liturgy, read the Nativity Epistle of the Serbian Orthodox Church and congratulated the gathered on the Nativity of Christ, comforting them and giving them hope for recovery from the consequences of the severe earthquake and the restoration of normal life in Banija. The Holy Liturgy was also attended by Sanja Lakic, a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and a member of the Committee for Diaspora and Serbs in the region.
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church
