The main way in which sermons differ from those of more traditional ministers is that sermons provide more of a "lecture," and speak to a specific topic that the minister feels is important.
This region was also politically unstable as there were different ethnicities and there was also rising nationalism in the region. Nationalism brought about tensions. There was also rising Serbian nationalist groups. Combined with the brinkmanship of the European Powers the area became a fuse to the powder keg that Europe had become. The Balkans has strong Cultural, Religious, and language ties to the surrounding Empires but they were in small pockets making nation building difficult.
It is because of subduction<span>: oceanic crust tends to get colder and denser with age as it spreads off the mid-ocean ridges. It gets so dense, that it sinks in the upper </span><span>mantle </span><span>(subduction). This is like a giant recycling system for oceanic lithosphere! Because continental crust is lighter than oceanic crust, continental crust cannot subduct. We therefore still have some very </span>old continental rocks<span> at the surface of the Earth.</span>