When Adventist pastor, Josip Tikvicki, heard the windows of his church being stoned around midnight on April 15, he believed an explanation was in order. This was the eighth attack on Adventist churches in Serbia within 10 ten days. When he confronted the group of three men vandalizing the church building, he was brutally attacked. When police found him unconscious in front of his church in Zrenjanin, 65 kilometres north-east of the Serbian capital Belgrade, he was taken to hospital with a concussion, several fractured ribs, a broken jaw, and other injuries.
The Adventist community is concerned about the increasing violence against them, believing it to be an "orchestrated campaign against a religious minority." They report that there have also been attacks against Adventist churches in Belgrade, Kragujevac, Negotin, Smederevo, and Backa Palanka. According to Dr. Radisa Antic, president of the Adventist Church in southeastern Europe, some of the Serbian media reports have been distorting facts, suggesting that Adventists are to be blamed for the attacks. For the past two years in particular, the Serbian media has been critical of religious minority groups.
Pray for a quick recovery for Pastor Tikvicki. Pray for all of those facing fear and uncertainty. Pray for peace and inner strength for the believers in Serbia.
