Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on January 8, 2022
💭 Novak Djokovic’s father has launched a passionate defence of his son and has likened the tennis superstar’s treatment at the hands of the Australian authorities to the crucifixion of Jesus.
The 34-year-old Djokovic was granted a medical exemption from Covid-19 vaccination requirements to compete in the year’s first grand slam but after a public outcry he was detained by officials at the border on Thursday.
Djokovic is now in a quarantine hotel in Melbourne after his lawyers secured an agreement for him to stay in the country for a court hearing on Monday in which he hopes to overturn the federal government ban on his entry.
💭 World No. 1 Tennis Player Orthodox Christian Djokovic Told to Leave Australia on Christmas Day
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on January 6, 2022
💭 Orthodox Christians celebrated Orthodox Christmas Eve in front of the St Sava Church + Church of the Holy Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena
Christmas is celebrated on January 7 in Serbia, according to the Julian calendar. Orthodox Christmas is also celebrated by Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Egypt and Ethiopia.
During the Christmas Eve in Serbia, many of the believers were gathered at their Orthodox temples to celebrate the most joyous Christian holiday that follows – Christmas.
Christmas Eve is the religious holiday celebrated by the Orthodox Christians on January the 6th. The holiday announces Christmas – the day of Jesus birth. The name of the holiday comes after a Christmas tree (“Badnjak” on Serbian) that is cut and burned on that day. Christmas Eve is full of rituals and symbolism, and they are all connected to the celebration of family and hearth cult.
Badnjak firing symbolize light and warmth, it is a central element of the symbolism of the birth of the New Year, and the sparks that scatter in the direction of the sky symbolize the hope that the next year will be the fertile. Depending on the part of Serbia, different Christmas trees were selected. In eastern Serbia it is a cer, and in western parts are the oak or beech.
“Cesnica”, the Christmas bread, is usually flat, round bread, fat and yeast free. It is prepared early on the Christmas day, with few drops of holy water and with a coin inside, which symbolize the happiness and plentifulness in the year that follows. Cesnica is never cut, it have to be divided with hands during the family dinner. The luckiest among present ones get a piece of bread with a coin in it. There is a belief that the next year will be especially rich for him.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on January 6, 2022
💭 No coincidence! Controversial and more and more autocratic Australia is sending its indigenous (aboriginal) people into COVID internment and concentration camps – and now it is turning against ancient Orthodox Christians of the world.
Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic may not be able to defend his 2021 title after his visa to enter Australia was canceled following an outcry over his controversial “medical exemption” from the country’s coronavirus vaccination rules.
Djokovic, the men’s tennis world no.1, hasn’t publicly revealed his vaccination status — but in a news conference on Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he “didn’t have a valid medical exemption” to the vaccination requirement for all arrivals.
“Entry with a visa requires double vaccination or a medical exemption,” Morrison said. “I am advised that such an exemption was not in place, and as a result, he is subject to the same rules as everyone else.”
“There are many visas granted, if you have a visa and you’re double vaccinated you’re very welcome to come here,” he added. “But if you’re not double vaccinated and you’re not an Australian resident or citizen, well, you can’t come.”
The 34-year-old traveled to Melbourne after tournament organizers, in conjunction with the Victoria Department of Health, said he had been granted a medical exemption to play but he was blocked at the border and told he had not met the required entry rules.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said Thursday it was up to Djokovic whether he wanted to appeal the decision — “but if a visa is canceled, somebody will have to leave the country.”
Djokovic’s legal team sought an urgent injunction against the Australian Border Forces’ decision to revoke his visa. The country’s Federal Court has adjourned the decision until Monday on whether he will be allowed to remain in Australia or be deported, according to Reuters and public broadcaster ABC.
Djokovic will be staying in Australia overnight as the injunction goes through the courts, ABC reported.
On Thursday, supporters of Djokovic gathered outside the Park Hotel in Melbourne, where he was allegedly transferred after being detained at the airport, according to CNN affiliates Seven Network and Nine News. The hotel was formerly used as a Covid-19 quarantine hotel for returned travelers, but is now operating as a detention facility housing asylum seekers and refugees.
Djokovic has previously voiced opposition to compulsory Covid-19 vaccines, saying he was personally “opposed to vaccination” during a Facebook live chat. He contracted the virus in June 2020, but since then there have been no reports of him being re-infected.
The controversy comes as Australia faces a growing outbreak, having reported a record high number of daily new cases for several days in a row.
Tournament organizers earlier said the Serb, who is trying to break the record for most men’s grand slam singles titles, had received a medical exemption to play in the prestigious tennis tournament.
The exemption was met with controversy as Djokovic traveled to Melbourne on Wednesday.
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