Changes

As a layman, Zoran Vujisić was director, from 1982 through 1988, of St. Mary’s Orthodox Community Welfare Center (in Sydney, Australia), which served people from 105 ethnic backgrounds, including his beloved Montenegrins, and other immigrants from the FRY. He was also coordinator of the parish’s Community Refugee Sponsorship Program, which provided housing and support for immigrants and refugees. He continued in those capacities after his ordination to the diaconate on January 29, 1988 and to the priesthood on February 15, 1989 by Archbishop GABRIEL, after which he was assigned as priest of St. Mary’s Pan-Orthodox Parish. Several of his spiritual children now serve as Orthodox clergymen and monks. The miracle of the Myrrh-streaming Icon of the Crucified Christ occurred at St. Mary’s Church from 1994 to 1995 during his tenure. For his arduous work, he was awarded the Patriarchal Medal of the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, His Beatitude IGNATIUS IV. While at St. Mary’s, he also served (on loan) at Holy Annunciation [[Romanian Orthodox]] Parish and St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Parish (OCA), both in the Sydney metropolitan area. During his priestly service in Australia, he was the administrator of the Archdiocesan Community Housing Program, which provided low cost housing for underprivileged and struggling immigrant families. Additionally, he served as Archdiocesan Religious Education Coordinator for Public Schools from 1991 through 1995, which attended the religious educational needs of hundreds of children from the FRY.

On September 29, 2009, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate unanimously elected Dr. Vujisić as Bishop of Tralles. The Patriarchal announcement of his election was cited by the official election notice of the Archdiocese of Mexico, which was published worldwide. It references the growing number of Orthodox immigrants in Latin American countries in need of pastoral care, and states that the Bishop-elect would assume the responsibility of establishing and administering Pan-Orthodox communities wherever necessary. Regarding the news of Dr. Vujisić’s election to the episcopacy, Metropolitan HILARION (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) writes to Metropolitan ATHENGAORAS: “Throughout the years,…Bishop-Elect ANDREW has earned and enjoyed an unblemished reputation as being a model of true godliness and eminent piety, which is indeed evident to all those who meet him. His life has been marked by self-sacrifice and hard work….”. Metropolitan AMFILOHIJE (of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]) writes: “With joy have I received the news of the consecration of His Grace, Bishop-Elect ANDREW (Vujisić) to the Episcopacy by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople… We attest that His Grace has served with me in [[Montenegro]] and Australia, and has also served with other Bishops of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] on numerous occasions and that we know… [of his unassailable character] personally…”. On December 13, 2009, after personal discussions with His All Holiness, Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW I, in Constantinople, Dr. Vujisić submitted a petition to the Holy Synod requesting that his consecration be temporarily postponed. His petition was accepted, but two weeks later, upon the insistence of Metropolitan ATHENAGORAS, he was elevated to the rank of Archiepiscopal Vicar of the General Secretariat for Pan-Orthodox Ministries. As Archiepiscopal Vicar, he was responsible for the reception into the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the 527,000 members of the former Orthodox Catholic Church of Guatemala in January 2010.

Dr. Vujisić is also currently working on several projects, including (a) The Ecumenical Patriarchate as a Subject of International Law, (b) The Impact of Orthodox Neptic-Psychotherapeutic Treatment on Depressive Symptomatology, Electroencephalograph Asymmetry, and Regional Serotonin Transporter (5-Hydroxytryptamine) Binding, (c) Assessment of the Impact of Religious Psychotherapeutic Methodologies on Mental Health, Worldview, and Self-Actualization, (d) The [[Petrović-Njegoš]] Dynasty, and (e) The Orthodox Montenegrin Identity.