Protopresbyter Jovan Marjanac, until recently the secretary of the Serbian Orthodox Church\u2019s Diocese of Canada, has been defrocked by a decision of the Church Court due to proven suspicions that he committed multiple financial abuses, including payments based on falsified and personal invoices, Serbian Times has learned from sources close to the Diocese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the epilogue of a scandal that came to light in early February and shook the church public and the large Serbian community in Canada, which our portal has already written about in a text HERE!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The now former priest Jovan Marjanac found himself at the center of an investigation which, as we learn, revealed that the disputed payments were carried out through the diocesan treasurer, and that Bishop Mitrofan was excluded from official electronic communication, which prevented him from having insight into financial flows and events in the Diocese of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 During the hearing before the commission, which was formed prior to the initiation of the Church Court proceedings, Marjanac changed his statements several times regarding the amount of damage caused. He first admitted that he damaged the Diocese by $50,000, then $120,000, only to finally increase the amount to $165,000. Although he remained at that figure, there are well-founded suspicions within the church that the actual damage could be significantly higher and represents only a part of the total irregularities, says our source close to the Diocese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us recall, according to information obtained by Serbian Times, the actual damage is estimated at between 250,000 and 300,000 Canadian dollars. After the conducted proceedings, the Church Court made a decision to defrock Jovan Marjanac. He has been informed of that decision, but in the meantime he has taken sick leave, which allows him to continue receiving a salary for a limited period (three months) even after the measure has been imposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n