Serbian Church Joins Battle for TV Ratings

The Serbian Orthodox Churc's new TV station, TV Hram (Temple) starts broadcasting on Orthodox Christmas, January 7.

The first programme on the online station will be an interview with Church leader Patriarch Irinej.

The managing editor of the station is Stojadin Pavlovic, the director of the patriarchal administrative offices.

"Along with church topics, our aim is to present events in the best light... to the public both at home and abroad," Pavlovic told the newspaper Vecernje Novosti on Tuesday.

TV Hram will cooperate with other media from Serbia, from the Bosnian Serb entity Republika Srpska and from Montenegro, as well as with two Russian TV stations and television stations of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Subjects will be varied, "including culture, health and education, and in this regard we will establish cooperation with all state institutions to ensure rich and interesting content," Pavlovic promised.

The Serbian Orthodox Church is already broadcasting on the radio. It runs 12 local radio stations in Serbia and one regional station.