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V. Rev. Darko Spasojevic, PhD, Cathedral Dean

V. Rev. Dr. Darko Spasojevic was born in 1976 in Montbeliard, France. He spent his childhood and completed primary education in the village of Velika Snjegotina near Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska.

When Fr. Darko was twelve years old, his father departed this life. He and his sister, Tanja, were raised by their mother, Vidosava, in a single parent household.

Fr. Darko pursued his secondary education at St. Arsenius Seminary in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia, where he enrolled in 1991.

Upon completion of his secondary studies in 1996, Fr. Darko matriculated at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade, Serbia, and after one year transferred to St. Sava – Orthodox Faculty of Theology in Libertyville, Illinois, where he completed his post-secondary education in 2001.

Upon his graduation from the St. Sava – Orthodox Faculty of Theology, Fr. Darko pursued his graduate studies at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, where he earned his Master of Arts and Master of Theology degrees. Throughout his academic formation, Fr. Darko earned honors and distinctions as a diligent student of theology.

On November 3rd, 2003, he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Joliet, Illinois. One month later, on December 4th, by the hand of His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher of blessed memory, Deacon Darko was ordained to Holy Priesthood at Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois.

Following ordination, he was appointed parish priest of Western parish at Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Chicago.

On November 1, 2008, His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher of blessed memory, appointed Fr. Darko as Dean of Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Chicago.

In addition to his pastoral duties, Fr. Darko serves as assistant lecturer at the St. Sava – Orthodox Faculty of Theology in Libertyville, Illinois.

He received a PhD in Theology – Ethics at the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary located at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. His dissertation was titled: Public and Political Nature and Praxis of Church and Theology. In this dissertation he argued from the Eastern Orthodox perspective that the history of salvation and politics are inseparable, and that the Church is indispensable for the former. The political is defined very broadly as everything that touches the affairs of citizens. Through the liturgy and sacraments, the Church effects salvation in holistic and organic ways. It prevents any kind of spiritualization and privatization, because if we succumb to those, and many times we do, it becomes increasingly more difficult to see how faith is ‘relevant’ to the ‘real’ life or why it matters at all. By utilizing categories of time and space, both highly operative and with a strong theoretical purchase in theology and political theory, he tried to demonstrate the complexity of space, and the importance of our imagination of time. These categories in turn, influence our thinking of certain concepts, such as human rights, and practices, such as, political and theological forgiveness.

He is proud father of Vasilisa.

When time permits Fr. Darko enjoys playing soccer and tennis.

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