Ceremony of the Abbot of I.M. Chilandariou from the Serbian royal familytranslated

On the occasion of the historic visit of the three generations of the Serbian royal family of Karageorgevich to the Holy Monastery of Hilandari on Mount Athos, the heir to the Serbian throne Alexander, his son and hereditary prince Philip, as well as the little prince Stefanos, spoke last night with the monks of the Holy Monastery in the Synod. On this occasion, Prince Alexander awarded His Holiness Archimandrite Methodios, Abbot of Chilandariou Monastery, the Royal Order of the Star of Karageorgevich (Grand Officer's Order) for his services to the Royal House, the people and the common good.

Tree planting at a historic site This morning, the three members of the royal family planted, according to tradition, a cypress tree near the olive tree of Emperor Dushan, not far from the fortress of the Monastery.

Elder Methodius, blessed the tree with holy water, and it was then planted in the ground by members of the Royal Family as a permanent memento of their visit.

After the planting, the abbot delivered a short speech, recalling the following: "Here, history surrounds us from all sides; there is the olive tree of Emperor Dushan, there are others...