SEVEN MONTHS OF "RENEWAL" —OR SEVEN MONTHS OF VIOLATIONS?
- Special Correspodent
- Jul 10
- 10 min read
A Response to the Bishop-Appointed Trusteeship's Own Letter
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Parma, Ohio — July 2026
The Bishop-appointed Trusteeship of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral has recently circulated a letter titled "Seven Months of Renewal at Our Cathedral."
It is a beautifully written piece.
It speaks of dedication, stewardship, volunteers, and progress. It speaks of deep cleaning, new icons, kitchen renovations, landscaping, new tables and chairs, new tile flooring, new storage areas, new equipment, and a new catering staff.
It does not speak of the people standing outside. It does not speak of the bylaws. It does not speak of sacred items thrown in a dumpster. It does not speak of the Footprint Relic of the Most Holy Mother of God — thrown away like trash.
And it does not speak of the bishop who entered through the basement.
Allow us to fill in the gaps.
The Footprint Relic of the Most Holy Mother of God. Found in a dumpster. December 2025.
BEFORE THE "RENEWAL" — WHAT THEY DID FIRST
Before the deep cleaning. Before the new flooring. Before the new icons.
On December 5, 2025, while Father Dragoslav Kosic lay bedridden — too ill to stand — intruders broke into his home through the basement. Locks were changed. Children cried in terror. Police arrived — not to protect the family, but to enforce the invasion. His wife, Protinica, collapsed under the stress and was hospitalized.
In late December 2025 — during the holiest days of the Orthodox Christian calendar, the days of the Nativity of Christ — the Footprint Relic of the Most Holy Mother of God was discarded like trash.
The letter proudly mentions the Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God now displayed for veneration in the cathedral.
They did not mention what happened to the Footprint Relic.
Who ordered the December 5 invasion?
On that day, while it was happening, Katarina Derekh — Secretary of the Trusteeship — was asked on video who had authorized the action.
Her answer: "The diocese made the decision about the priest."
Three days later, the Trusteeship issued an official statement claiming Bishop Irinej was "falsely accused" of ordering the eviction.
The video also shows Katarina offering her phone to police so they could speak directly with Bishop Irinej — in real time, while the locks were being changed.
You cannot be "falsely accused" when your Secretary is offering police officers your phone so they can receive orders from you directly.
Both cannot be true. One of them is a lie.
THE TRAP
The letter does not mention December 29, 2025.
Police arrived before 8 AM — not responding to an emergency, not answering a call. They were waiting. The new priest stepped outside, smiled at the crowd of parishioners standing in 40-degree rain, and said: "Come inside. Everyone is welcome for liturgy."
Fifteen minutes later, a police megaphone announced:
"Leave the church property immediately. If you do not leave, you will all be arrested."
And then:
"The Bishop doesn't want you here."
Standing at the entrance was Stefan Nikolic — not clergy, not police, not anyone with official authority — holding approximately one hundred pre-printed trespass notices, ready to distribute.
This was planned. The invitation was a trap.
Nobody went in.
That same day, D. L. — who had resigned from the Parish Board citing health concerns so serious he could not attend meetings, yet was photographed the day before doing physical labor, throwing sacred items into a dumpster — filmed an elderly woman taking books from a pile marked "FREE" and called it theft.
The cruelty is the point.
THE MONEY — WHO VOTED?
The letter describes an extraordinary amount of work performed on parish property over seven months. Kitchen renovation. Hall renovation. New flooring. New storage. New furniture. Landscaping. New equipment. New catering staff.
The expenditures were significant.
St. Sava Cathedral is a registered nonprofit organization under Ohio law. It belongs to its members. Its finances are not the Trusteeship's to manage in secret. Transparency is not a courtesy — it is a legal obligation.
Under the St. Sava Cathedral Bylaws, Article 4, Section 4(b), the Executive Board may authorize expenditures up to a threshold voted by the membership. Beyond that threshold — which the membership itself set — any expenditure requires a full Assembly vote.
Under Article 4, Section 3, quarterly financial reports must be submitted to the members of the Congregation by the Executive Board. These reports are not optional — they are mandatory. Seven months. Zero reports. That is not an oversight. That is a breach of duty.
Under Article 4, Section 2(b), the Executive Board is required to meet at least once every month. They may well be holding these meetings. But who is on this Board? What positions do they hold? What decisions are being made? The majority of this congregation's membership — the people who built this church, who fund this church, who have stood outside this church for 37 consecutive Sundays — do not know the answer to any of these questions. No decisions have been disclosed. No reports have been distributed. A board that meets in secret, spends parish funds without a membership vote, and refuses to disclose even its own composition is not practicing stewardship. It is practicing secrecy.
We asked our community a simple question: Has anyone among you received a written invitation to attend an Assembly? Has anyone received notice of a vote on expenditures? Has anyone received a quarterly financial report — as required by the Bylaws?
The answer is no.
However — and we want to make sure this does not go unnoticed — members of this community did receive correspondence from the Trusteeship. Just not about assemblies, votes, or financial reports.
They were asked to donate money. They were asked to bake cakes and pastries.
Apparently, transparency has a price. And it comes in the form of a baked good.
What makes this particularly noteworthy: among those who received this letter — asking for donations and pastries — were individuals who had been refused membership in this very parish.
Not welcome as members. But their money, their time, and their baked goods — those are welcome.
The answer, from the parishioners who represent the majority of this congregation's membership — and who have stood outside this cathedral for 37 consecutive Sundays:
Not one.
Not one written invitation. Not one quarterly financial report.
No vote. No notice. No transparency.
Just a beautifully written letter describing how your money was spent.
THE CATERING — WHAT DOES THE BYLAW SAY?
The letter proudly states:
"Another wonderful addition to our parish has been the dedication and professionalism of our new catering staff."
Our Bylaws, Article 8, Section 2(c), state explicitly:
"No outside catering, professional or otherwise, will be allowed on Saint Sava Cathedral Hall premises."
This is not ambiguous. This is not open to interpretation.
Who authorized outside catering in direct violation of the parish bylaws? Was there an Assembly vote to amend this provision? Was the membership notified?
Or did the Bishop-appointed Trusteeship simply decide — on its own — to violate the bylaws that govern this parish?
THE CONTRACTOR — WHO DECIDED?
The Trusteeship published videos on the parish Facebook page documenting the renovation of parish property and identifying the contractor.
We have a simple question: was a competitive bidding process conducted before awarding this contract; or was the contractor selected because of personal relationships with members of the Trusteeship?
We also note that the contractor in question was not a regular presence at this parish — until there was something to be gained.
Under Ohio nonprofit law, ORC 1702, self-dealing and conflicts of interest in contracting decisions are taken seriously. Personal relationships are not a substitute for a proper bidding process when spending parish funds.
Who authorized this contract? Was it approved by the Assembly? Was it disclosed to the membership?
THE "SMALL BUT MIGHTY" FOLKLORE GROUP
The letter speaks with pride of its folklore program:
"Special thanks are due to our small but mighty folklore group, whose dedication and enthusiasm made it possible for our children to perform during our St. Sava celebration."
Small but mighty. How did it become small?
Before October 28, 2024, St. Sava Cathedral had a thriving folklore program. Dozens of children. Dedicated instructors. Generations of Serbian tradition passed from grandparents to grandchildren on that stage.
Then the Bishop-appointed Trusteeship terminated the folklore director. Parents received trespass notices. One parent was arrested on church grounds. Families were threatened with jail for parking in the church parking lot.
The children left. Of course they left.
And now the Trusteeship congratulates itself on the "small but mighty" remnant — while the children who were displaced have nowhere to dance.
You did not inherit a small folklore group.
You created one.
THE BISHOP — "WELCOMED WITH HEARTFELT WARMTH"
The letter states:
"One of the great blessings during this time were the pastoral visits of our bishop. Our parish welcomed him with heartfelt warmth and the true spirit of Serbian Orthodox tradition."
Let us describe those visits.
March 15, 2026 — St. Sava Cathedral:
Eight police vehicles. Unannounced. No greeting for the parishioners — the majority of this congregation's membership — standing outside in the cold. Liturgy behind a police cordon. Not one word to his flock. Left the same way he arrived — behind a wall of badges.
March 15, 2026 — that same evening — St. Mark's Monastery:
Again unannounced. Again with police. The faithful who came for Great Lenten Vespers found him already inside. Some turned around in the parking lot and drove home. Others left in tears — not from spiritual conviction, but from spiritual desolation. He turned a sacred Lenten service into a painful scene.
June 28, 2026 — Vidovdan:
Unannounced. Entered through the basement. Served Liturgy before a handful of people in a cathedral built for an entire community. Left through the lower parking lot, through the side street next to the newly installed priest's residence, through the neighborhood — to avoid the parishioners standing at the front doors.
We have the video.
That same afternoon — on Vidovdan, the holiest day in the Serbian national calendar — Bishop Irinej appeared publicly and officially at the Greek Cultural Garden in Cleveland alongside Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. The Diocese published the report. The photos are on their website.
"Welcomed with heartfelt warmth."
Through the basement. Through the side street. With eight police cars. And on Vidovdan — with the Greeks.
THE "FAITHFUL WHO RETURNED"
The letter speaks of "the return of many faithful people who, for various reasons, have become distant from our cathedral in recent years."
We invite you to look at the photographs from June 28, 2026 — Vidovdan — when Bishop Irinej visited St. Sava Cathedral.
Outside:
The majority of this congregation's membership. Flags. Signs reading "Bishop Irinej is UNWORTHY." "Abuse of Power." "Chetniks Built This Church." "Faith over Fear." Families. Elderly. Children. The same people who built this church. The same people who paid for every chair inside it.
Inside:
Row upon row of empty chairs. Twenty, perhaps thirty people — including their immediate families, godparents, children, grandparents. Enough to send to Belgrade with the message: "See? Everything is normal. The people are here. All is well."
The photographs tell the story that the letter does not. The faithful did not return. They were never gone.
They are standing outside.
THE BUILDERS' CHILDREN
On December 29, while police threatened mass arrest and pre-printed trespass notices waited at the entrance, Smilja Radivoj stood in the rain and read words written by Vojvoda Momcilo Djujic in 1998:
"The Church properties are managed by the people who acquired them. Our Church cannot do anything without the decision of the Church-People Assembly."
"These are the days of the battle for the survival of the Church and the people."
Smilja's brothers — Pavle and Tode — came to America after World War II and helped build St. Sava Cathedral with their own hands. Their labor. Their donations. Their lives.
Her daughter cannot enter the church her uncles built.
The Bishop doesn't want her there.
Vojvoda Djujic saw it coming in 1998.
WHAT "RENEWAL" ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE
The letter ends with these words:
"May our doors remain open, our hearts remain welcoming, and may all who enter find a home in Christ."
For 37 consecutive Sundays, the doors of St. Sava Cathedral have been closed to the parishioners who represent the majority of this congregation's membership.
They were not welcomed. They were threatened with trespass notices. One was arrested. Families were threatened with jail for parking in the church parking lot. Children were displaced. Their folklore director was terminated. Sacred items were thrown in a dumpster.
And the Footprint Relic of the Most Holy Mother of God was thrown away like trash — during the holiest days of the Orthodox Christian calendar.
And the bishop who presided over all of this entered through the basement and left through a side street.
You call that renewal.
THE LAW — WHAT OHIO SAYS
Under Ohio nonprofit law — ORC 1702 — the Trusteeship has potential exposure on multiple fronts:
Breach of Fiduciary Duty — failing to act in the best interest of the membership.
Breach of Duty of Loyalty — prioritizing personal relationships and the bishop's interests over the interests of the organization and its members.
Breach of Duty of Care — failing to exercise reasonable oversight over significant expenditures.
Self-Dealing — awarding contracts to personally connected individuals without competitive bidding.
Failure to Maintain Required Records and Reports — quarterly financial reports are mandatory under the Bylaws. Seven months. Zero reports.
Violation of Bylaws — unauthorized outside catering, expenditures without Assembly vote.
So we ask — directly, and on the record:
Did the Board vote on expenditures that exceeded the membership-approved threshold?
Did the membership receive the quarterly financial reports required by the Bylaws?
Was a competitive bidding process conducted before awarding renovation contracts?
Who authorized outside catering in direct violation of Article 8, Section 2(c)?
Who is on this Board? What are their positions? What decisions have they made with parish funds?
These are not rhetorical questions - yhey are legal ones.
Each of these carries personal liability for each individual trustee, by name.
This is not institutional liability - this is personal liability.
ONE FINAL NOTE
The Holy Synod of Bishops in Belgrade has received the documentation. The canonical process is underway. A ruling is pending.
To the Bishop-appointed Trusteeship: if you believe that rewriting the bylaws to suit twenty or thirty people — while locking out the majority of this congregation's membership — will protect you, you are gravely mistaken.
Bylaws amended without proper Assembly authorization, without notice to the membership, and without canonical approval are not valid bylaws. They are paper. And paper does not override Ohio law.
ORC 1702 does not care about internally amended bylaws. It cares about fiduciary duty. It cares about the membership. It cares about transparency.
And it applies to every single trustee — by name — regardless of what the bishop instructed, regardless of what was quietly amended, and regardless of what beautifully written letters claim was accomplished.
The Holy Synod is watching, and so are we.
You renovated the hall. You installed new floors. You hired your friends. You threw the Footprint Relic of the Most Holy Mother of God in the dumpster.
And you called it renewal.
There is a word for what you did, several, actually.
God sees everything. And soon — so will everyone else.
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