Politika, April 4th
By Mirjana Kuburovic

The recent, although a short visit to Serbia, is not the first encounter with the Orthodoxy for the Anglican Reverend Donald Reeves from London. Several years ago, Andrei Tarkovski held outstanding lectures on the attitude of the eastern Christianity towards the apocalypse, towards the meaning of life, the faith, love and hope. He held those lectures in the St. James Church in Piccadilly, in the center of London, and was invited by Reverend Reeves, who was the pastor of this Parish for thirty years. In spite of the lasting friendship with the famous movie director and in spite of the fact that Donald Reeves, the author of the international project "The Soul of Europe", got to know the Orthodoxy closely on Mount Athos, his visit to Belgrade was, as he said, kind of a dangerous adventure.

Thanks to the intervention of Lazar Predrag Markovic, the representative of "The Soul of the Europe" for the Balkans, Reverend Reeves accepted to talk exclusively for "Politika" about the reasons for his visit to Serbia, the idea of the project "The Soul of Europe", the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the meeting with Patriarch Pavle and leaders of the greatest religious communities in Yugoslavia.

- Project "The Soul of Europe", altogether with the program for the reconstruction of an orthodox church, a catholic church, and a mosque in Bosnia, and with building of an International Center for Toleration and reconciliation, arose as an expression of protest against the so-called New Europe that is beginning to appear. In Great Britain, this term is connected with the market and the expression of human rights, but what is missing in the conception is connected to the ethical and spiritual questions. By this I mean the consideration of the justice and the right to be different, as well as the awareness that we are created in God's image i.e. that we are all His children. Those "abstractions" are realized in numerous ways in many European cities, eastern, western and central, not trying to attract the attention of the media. The project "The Soul of Europe" is planned as a network of such religious groups as Christian, Muslim and Jewish - said Reverend Donald Reeves, explaining that " the project appeared two months ago with an intention of visiting many cities and countries in Europe in search of the communities which tend to establish human values among people".

- I decided to come to Serbia first, primarily due to the fact that the Balkans is not a region of Europe which is close to the British. To put it the other way, people in Britain do not care about the events in the Balkans. That is why I chose to come to Serbia first, since it is right here, in the Balkans, in Serbia, that there are so many misfortunes, injustice, pain and suffering of people. I came to learn and to see in which way I could help. I was surprised to see that the media in Europe view the events in the Balkans merely as a political question, life being a little more than just that. One of the things that I noticed during my stay in Serbia was the extraordinary vitality of your people, the vitality and the strength that are surprising, and all that in spite of the great difficulties - says the Anglican Reverend from London.

- I was, actually, scared of my visit to Serbia - admits the Reverend honestly and says: I thought I might be kidnapped, arrested, taken as a hostage, since many people think it is not safe to come to Serbia. And when I arrived, I realized that I was very safe here in Serbia, not any less safe than in London, and in some situations even more safe than there.

At the question:" Are you satisfied with the results of your visit to Serbia concerning the realization of the project "The Soul of Europe", Pastor Reeves expressed great content for his meetings at the Serbian Patriarchy, where Patriarch Pavle invited the leaders of the biggest religious groups (the Archbishop Franz Perk, the Belgrade Mufti Hamdija Jusufspahic and the Yugoslav Rabbi Isak Asiel).

- Although they met several times before, in April 1999. as well, it is not either known nor spoken about in the Western countries. During my stay in Belgrade I also discovered beautiful monasteries. I was familiar only with the monasteries in Mount Athos, but there are more of them here, and they are equally beautiful, and are encircled with beautiful nature. I hope that some of them will be, with the permission of the authorized bishops, visited by the Christian groups from Western countries as soon as this summer, the orthodox, catholic and protestant ones. I am certain that those who come will have the opportunity to become acquainted with your people and your way of life, to learn something about the orthodox existence, to help the reconstruction of the damaged,…This could be a good way towards the breaking of the barriers between Serbia and the Western world in such a difficult political and economic situation.

- I am very thrilled that the project "The Soul of Europe" is well accepted and supported by Patriarch Pavle and other religious leaders in Serbia and I think that, at least in Bosnia, if it is not possible in Kosovo, we should start another project which could be a sign of reconciliation in the Balkans. We wish to rebuild an Orthodox Church, a Roman Catholic one and a mosque, all destroyed during the war. They would be rebuild by joint effort of the European youth, both Christian and Muslim ones, who would be jointed by the young Christians and the Muslims of the place in which we plan to rebuild the holy objects. I will personally engage myself on economic reconstruction of the region, for it is irresponsible to reconstruct the sacred places and ignore the poverty people live in, said the Anglican Reverend Donald Reeves, adding that the project was well accepted in the Western Europe, and that the Anglican Church from Great Britain, the Lutheran one from Sweden and a few rich individuals - donors intend to offer financial and every other necessary help.

In order to collect enough money for realization of the project "The Soul of Europe", Reverend Reeves plans to visit another 20 European countries this year. The most influential Western media, such as The Reuters, Sky News, The Guardian and The Times, have announced their support.

Without any hesitation, the London Reverend Donald Reeves said the following about the last year's bombardment of Serbia by the North Atlantic Treaty's airplanes: Canterbury Archbishop of the Anglican Church in his Christmas epistle on last April supported the stand of the Britain parliament on bombardment of Yugoslavia. However, the Britain public opinion was divided over that issue, while the majority believers was against such policy, with which I personally did not agree and said so several times in public. The bombardment of Belgrade was a disgrace for all of us from the West. The question is - why do not we bomb some other European cities as well? Many British were horrified at that act, especially at the shelling of the Belgrade television - thinks the Anglican priests from London Donald Reeves.

Doing his best to reduce the injustice the West did to the Serbian people, he is collecting aid for arrangement of the refugee camps which he had visited during his stay in Serbia. For the purpose of his economic idea, he already won over Lord Plum, the first chairman of the EU, now presiding the advisory board of the project "The Soul of Europe".

To the question of what particularly impressed him in Serbia, Donald Reeves answered:

- Arrival to your country was a remarkable experience, and the meeting with the religious leaders made a strong impression on me. However, I was particularly impressed by Patriarch Pavle, whom I had met three times. Though it could be seen that he had experienced tough periods of life in Kosovo, he tells only the necessary words. I think he could serve as an example for the religious leaders through the world, said the Anglican priest from London Donald Reeves exclusively for "Politika".