Serbian Church transfers relics of Jasenovac new martyrs to Croatia

The presentation of the icon of Saint Dositheus of Zagreb during the divine service at the Monastery of Saint Petka in Zagreb (Croatia). Photo: Press Service of the Serbian Patriarchate

On January 11, 2026, on the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, a solemn service was held at the Monastery of St. Petka in Zagreb (Croatia), during which the Serbian Orthodox Church transferred particles of the relics of the Jasenovac New Martyrs to the Orthodox community in Croatia, the Press Service of the Serbian Patriarchate reports.

The Divine Liturgy was led by Bishop Jovan, Bishop of Pakrac and Slavonia. Bishop Kirill, Bishop of Buenos Aires and South–Central America, who is temporarily administering the Zagreb–Ljubljana Eparchy, also took part in the service.

During the liturgical gathering, Bishop Jovan presented the monastery with a particle of the relics of the holy Jasenovac New Martyrs for prayerful veneration. In his address, he emphasized that the veneration of holy relics from ancient times has been one of the foundations of Orthodox tradition, and that bringing this shrine is a spiritual response to the care shown by the Zagreb–Ljubljana Eparchy for the places of the New Martyrs’ suffering, including the Jasenovac Monastery.

Bishop Kirill expressed gratitude for the gift, noting that the relics of the New Martyrs rightfully belong to this holy place and will become a source of spiritual strengthening and consolation for the faithful. As a sign of brotherly fellowship, he presented Bishop Jovan with an icon of St. Dosifey of Zagreb, which will be placed in the restored Jasenovac Monastery.

The Jasenovac New Martyrs are Orthodox Serbs who perished during the Second World War in the Jasenovac camp on the territory of the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945), where people were exterminated for their faith and national identity. In the Serbian Orthodox Church they are venerated as martyrs, and the transfer of their relics to Zagreb is regarded as an act of preserving historical memory and providing spiritual support to Orthodox believers in Croatia.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Patriarch Porfirije supported Serbian students and schoolchildren in Croatia.

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