DODIK: TEMPLE CONNECTS HISTORY AND LOVE OF SERBIAN AND RUSSIAN PEOPLES

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 15 /SRNA/ - President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik said today that the Serbian-Russian Temple in Banjaluka will bear witness to time and connect the history and love shared between the Serbian and Russian peoples.

Dodik emphasized that this temple is proof that the Serbian people will not forget what Tsar Nicholas Romanov did by sacrificing his family and imperial Russia in defense of the Serbs, who were attacked by Austria-Hungary. He noted that this shows that truth lives forever, adding that the Russian and Serbian peoples, as Orthodox peoples, live on the basis of brotherhood - something that should not trouble anyone. "In this way, we want Banja Luka and Republika Srpska to thank Russia and the family of Tsar Nicholas for all they did," Dodik told reporters. He said that the Temple will remain a permanent testimony of gratitude and unity, and announced that, with God's help, work will continue to complete the complex so that the faithful can gather there, as well as Russian friends when they visit Srpska and Banja Luka. The President of Srpska recalled that the construction of the Transfiguration of the Lord Temple was initiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Jefrem of Banja Luka, and said it is a great honor for him to donate bells in the name of his family and all dear people. He expressed satisfaction that the bells and domes of the Temple will contribute to the new urban culture of Banja Luka.