HRH Crown Prince Alexander attended a reception held on 26 February, held in the United Nations Headquarters in New York to celebrate the Statehood Day of Serbia and Serbian Armed Forces Day.
The event was hosted by Mr. Radomir Ilic, Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the United Nations, Mr Vladimir Bozovic, PhD, Consul – General of Serbia in New York, and Colonel Miroslav Glisic, PhD, Senior Military Adviser of the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the United Nations. They personally greeted His Royal Highnesses and also used this opportunity to discuss further strengthening of the relations of the Serbian diaspora in New York and the United States of America with their homeland. The Serbian community in USA has great respect for TRH Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine and strongly supports their activities on helping Serbia and the Republic of Srpska and making good connections between our people no matter where they live in the world.
The reception was also attended by many other distinguished guests, including His Grace Bishop Irinej of East America, HE Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, representatives of the permanent missions and military advisers to the UN, as well as UN officials, representatives of the City of New York, members of the New York Consular Corps, and the Serbian diaspora.
In his remarks, Consul General Vladimir Božović emphasized the significance of Sretenje, noting that it is not only a moment to reflect on Serbia’s legacy but also an opportunity to celebrate the invaluable contributions of Serbians abroad, to their homeland, but also to the environments in which they lived and created. He also expressed gratitude to Mayor of New York, Mr. Eric Adams for proclaiming 15 February as Serbian American Heritage Day in New York City, recognizing it as a powerful tribute to the Serbian community and a testament to the strong and enduring ties between Serbia and the United States.
The reception was a vibrant tribute to Serbia’s statehood, rich historical legacy, esteemed global standing, and enduring partnership with the United States.
As a reminder, HRH Crown Prince Alexander, in his statement for the National Day of Serbia, said earlier this month: “On the Statehood Day of our Homeland, the holiday of the Meeting of our Lord, we remember the year 1804, when the First Serbian Uprising was raised under the leadership of the Supreme Leader Karađorđe when the fight for the final freedom of our people began after centuries of enslavement, but also the year 1835 and the first Constitution of Serbia, one of the most modern, most democratic and most liberal highest legal acts of its time.
Although these two events from our past are the main motives for celebrating Statehood Day, the Meeting of Our Lord is much more than that. In “Sretenje”, the statesmanship of Stefan Nemanja met and united with Karađorđe’s courage and determination, the wisdom of Saint Sava with the perspicacity of Prince Miloš, the legislative tradition of Emperor Dušan with the resistance to occupying force and faith of Prince Lazar, the love for justice of King Peter I with the visionary spirit of Prince Mihailo… We could list many more rulers and famous people from our history and the virtues that adorned them, and what would be common to all of them is that they are all connected by the same thread, woven into the collective being of our people, which is a firm faith in the ideals of justice and equality, togetherness and unity in love for people and homeland.
In short, the holiday of Sretenje united the courage and love of freedom with statesmanship and feeling of justice of our ancestors, it is their legacy to us, their descendants. By preserving their heritage and striving to worthily continue their work, we build the future of our homeland as an unbroken thread that our fathers began, and which we will pass on to our children, and so on, as long as we exist. May the examples of the great people who built Serbia inspire us not to divide ourselves on the basis of our differences, but to unite, to turn to each other, to stand on common foundations and on the values that we all share.”
We are very grateful to the Consulate General of Serbia in New York for the provided photos.
Photos (except no 7) – Luka Funduk
