The professor of accounting and auditing at the Faculty of Agriculture in Belgrade, Dr. Vladimir Zakic, analyzed in his authorial text the announcement of the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church regarding the dismissal of Metropolitan Justin of Zica. He questioned the Synod’s claims that Justin registered himself as the owner of “three commercial companies” that operated at a loss, and that he was punished for that reason.
Citing publicly available data from the Business Registers Agency, Zakic points out that all the disputed companies are formally and factually owned by the Eparchy of Zica and that they operate with a profit. Zakic warns that imprecise and heavy accusations create a wrong image in the public and emphasizes that every word must be carefully weighed when speaking about possible economic crime.
The authorial text of Dr. Vladimir Zakic, professor of accounting and auditing at the agro-economic department of the Faculty of Agriculture, is transmitted in its entirety:
GOD BE WITH YOU, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?
I just read the announcement of the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church regarding the dismissal from duty of Metropolitan Justin of Zica:
“In the previous period, it was determined that Metropolitan Justin of Zica unauthorizedly founded three commercial companies – ‘Trifora doo’, ‘JEZ d.o.o.’ and ‘Studenica Monastery Winery d.o.o.’, concealed their operations, registered himself as the beneficial owner of the three commercial companies, and then performed the unauthorized sale of 34 church real estate properties (apartments, business premises, and the like) in Kraljevo and Cacak.”
The first thing that came to my mind were the lyrics “GOD BE WITH YOU, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY” from the gusle song “The Death of Priest Milo Jovovic.”
How can any metropolitan register himself as the “beneficial owner of three commercial companies?” And everything else stated is a direct accusation of economic crime. I decided to look at what is written on the website of the Business Registers Agency; those data are available to everyone.
The first company mentioned is “Trifora doo,” and the sole member (owner) is the Serbian Orthodox Church – Eparchy of Zica, Kraljevo. The registered activity is the construction of residential and non-residential buildings. For the last two available years, they have been operating with a profit; the net profit for 2024 is about 11 million dinars, and for 2023 about 38 thousand dinars (data for 2025 will be available in the coming months, which applies to any company).
The second company mentioned is “Pilgrimage Agency of the Eparchy of Zica Jez doo Kraljevo,” owner also the Serbian Orthodox Church – Eparchy of Zica, Kraljevo. The registered activity is tour operator. They operate with a profit, for 2024 about 19 million dinars, previous year 18 million dinars.
And the third company mentioned is “Studenica Monastery Winery d.o.o.”, owner again the SOC. They also operate with a profit, for 2024 7.2 million dinars, previous year 1.1 million dinars.
At first glance, it seems that these companies are successful, operating with a profit, so I am not sure if the SOC was financially damaged at all. My personal opinion is that the church should not engage in businesses such as commercial construction of apartments and business premises, but in this case, that is irrelevant. At least in Belgrade, that is a frequent occurrence…
The first part of this announcement, that Metropolitan Justin unauthorizedly founded three commercial companies and registered himself as the beneficial owner, creates a wrong image among ordinary people. For all three companies, the sole owner is the Serbian Orthodox Church – Eparchy of Zica, Kraljevo.
And to add, based on the comments, there is a formal entry for “beneficial owner,” but that would essentially be significant in some “suspicious” company registered on, say, distant islands, to prevent money laundering and the like. Here it is clear from an economic and financial aspect that the actual and sole owner is the Serbian Orthodox Church, so I do not see the guilt of the Metropolitan if he fulfilled the new mandatory legal provisions.
In any case, when such heavy accusations are made, every word must be carefully weighed and checked. Consequently, trust is also lost in the statement that this is not a “political persecution” and a result of the fact that he criticized the government with the Christian statement “power is not given for violence, but for service.”
And finally, as the Latin proverb says “nomen est omen” or “the name is a sign,” I hope that Metropolitan Justin will eventually justify his name, which in our language would have the meaning Just or Honest. I certainly will not be the first to cast a stone…
MORE TOPICS:
Source: Nova.rs; Photo: Ozonpress