Photo: Tanjug
From February 1, the entrance fee to the Temple of Saint Sava for tourist visits was supposed to start. For groups, the price should be 350 dinars, and for an individual tour, 600 dinars. It is not specified whether this also applies to citizens of Serbia. Patriarch Porfirio's blessing is still awaited
The Serbian Orthodox Church had informed the tourist agencies that from February 1, the entrance fee will be charged Church of Saint Sava on Vračar, reports Euronews Serbia.
The written announcement states: "We inform you that from February 01, 2023, an entrance fee of 350 dinars per person will be charged for organized tourist visits to the Temple of Saint Sava." The notice refers to tourist visits organized by agencies, which are obliged to come with a Serbian licensed tourist guide. If someone wants individual guidance with an expert from the Temple of Saint Sava, the price will be 600 dinars per person."
The collection has not yet started, we are waiting for thorough elaboration, preparation of tickets and precise regulations, and above all, the blessing of Patriarch Porfirio.
Four months ago, the Serbian Orthodox Church tried to charge entrance fees to the Temple. At that time, it only applied to organized tourist groups from abroad, but it was abandoned without explanation.
In the National Association of Travel Agencies, YUTA, they expect that Serbian citizens will be exempted from payment this time as well.
Tourist agencies support the intention of the Temple to introduce entrance fees because the largest Serbian church is also one of the biggest tourist attractions that, apart from believers, attracts tourists from all over the world with its architecture and mosaics.
"It is important for us that we can pay for tickets through an account, on the basis of an invoice, to receive receipts or that when passengers pay for tickets individually, they receive a piece of paper for that," Ljubiša Nešovanović from YUTE told Euronews in Serbian.
It is not known how the payment will be regulated. Fiscal advisor Pap Đerđ says that "in addition to being outside the VAT system, churches and church communities are also outside the taxation of religious income." According to the regulations, those revenues related to religious ceremonies are exempt from payment and other revenues".
Ljubiša Nešovanović from the National Association of Travel Agencies expects that "all this will be established and will work, with some technical problems." The question is who will stand at the entrance and in a nice way to see who the guests are - go ahead, pay the entrance fee, or if you have a Serbian identity card - go ahead, you are already a donor, so you can take care of your spiritual or spiritual needs".
Churches in Russia that are museums or partly museums have an entrance fee, as do the Kremlin churches. There is no entrance fee to the largest church in the world, the Church of the Holy Savior, Christ the Savior in Moscow. There is no entrance fee to St. Peter's Church in the Vatican either. There is a fee to climb the dome and enter the Vatican Museum. For Meteori monasteries, entrance is charged to everyone except Greeks, regardless of whether they come alone or in a group.
S.Ć./Euronews
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The construction of the St. Sava Memorial Temple is not the first time in the center of attention. On the contrary, this monumental building, the construction of which began 85 years ago, and the idea of its creation was conceived almost 130 years ago, is a witness and an actor of various historical events, a reflection and indicator of the changing relations between the Church and the state, a symbol of religious and national, and their intertwining. Patriarch Irinej is the sixth dignitary at the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church since its foundations were laid. It really seems that since the time of the Temple, there have not been such good relations between the church and the state leadership as they are today. Considering, however, what the country is like today and what are the values of those who lead it, it is hardly good news
