Within the Morning Programme of the Hram (Temple) television of the Archbishopric of Belgrade-Karlovci of the Serbian Orthodox Church, conversations are held once a month where catechist Branislav Ilić speaks about the importance of church worship and sacramental life, providing viewers with an interpretation of different aspects and order of church services, as well as an interpretation of sacred texts and hymnography. Based on his ten-year catechetical experience and work with young people, Branislav offers spiritual guidance in accordance with the needs of modern man who is burdened with many cares and worries.
Thanks to the editorial team of Hram television, headed by Ms. Sanja Anđelković Lubardić, this series has become a catechetical tool used by viewers for spiritual instruction and acquisition of the necessary skills for walking the true path of Christian life, marked by the rhythm of church worship. The format of the Morning Programme meets the needs of modern man, since it succintly, clearly and precisely gives the required instruction and answers to specific questions.
This conversation series, which has been in existence for over a year, also makes a valuable contribution to Religious Education, since God-seeking students are looking for answers to essential questions of faith and life; so it is no accident that examples from the classroom are often cited as a testimony to the importance of catechesis.
The editorial staff of Temple television has a rich programming experience rooted in the age-old truth that the Church has always been contemporary and as such has kept pace with the times, adapting to the specific needs of man. The fruits of the missionary and catechetical work of Temple television are obvious, also contributed by the fact that its dedicated media workers, belonging to the only church television within the Serbian Orthodox Church, continually strive for content improvement.
Owing to the efforts and love of Jana Okilj, at whose suggestion this series was created, ten faith-based conversation programmes have been presented so far, covering the following topics:
- Liturgical characteristics of the holy and great Lent;
- Ancient Liturgies and their significance;
- Liturgical glorification of the Most Holy Theotokos;
- The mission of the Church on the Internet;
- The significance of the Holy Mysteries and the sacramental life;
- Liturgical glorification of the Holy Angels and their presence in liturgical texts;
- Liturgical features of the Exaltation of the Cross Week;
- Liturgy of the Passion (Great) Week;
- Ancient Liturgy of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark and the Gospel of Mark;
- Commemoration of the Holy Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas and the miraculous icon „It is Truly Meet“.
In addition to these ten programmes edited by Jana Okilj, we should also add the ones prepared by journalist Mirjana Jelić:
- Holy Mothers in the Life of the Church and the Importance of Motherly Love in Raising Children;
- Svetosavlje (Saint Savaism) as a Philosophy of Life;
As well as the programmes prepared with love and care by journalist Marija Petrović:
- Lenten Liturgies and the Attitude of Young People to Fasting;
- Feasts dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord.
Praising the Lord for the calling to cultivate His spiritual vineyard in this way, we look forward to the continuation of this series, with the hope that the seeds of the word of God that we sow in the souls of those who follow the varied programmes of Temple television will bear abundant fruit.
We take this opportunity to sincerely thank the editorial staff of Temple television for their loving open hearts and the wide-open doors of their television studio, which has become a kind of a media pulpit. We express our prayerful desire that the Most Holy Theotokos, the intercessory patroness of the Temple television, may cover with her Protecting Veil and inspire all those who ardently and lovingly carry out the ministry entrusted to them of preaching the word of God, because by applying superhuman efforts in their work, they actively bear witness to and manifest the words of the God-wise Apostle Paul: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (I Cor. 3:6).