“We pray for all people, compatriots, and those who live with us, including above all our Albanian brothers. Let’s build peace together, as Serbian families use to build it with Albanian families who, in good and bad times, guarded the Pec shrine and the holy Decani. God, as love in its essence, does not care who is who. Those virtuous Albanians knew that everyone is God’s children,” Serbian Patriarch Porfirije said today from the Pec Patriarchate.
After an almost two-hour-long liturgy, Patriarch Porfirije was formally enthroned this morning in the seat of the 46th head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Patriarchate of Pec.
„We gathered today in this centuries-old seat of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs, a meeting place of writers and artists and the most intelligent Serbs of the past, for many reasons. There are many causes and reasons, but only one is the most important, without which none of the others would be possible. The main reason is that the Holy Mother of God brought us together, her veil which is a comfort and joy for Christians,“ the patriarch said at the beginning of his sermon.
He said that today’s holiday causes joy among Orthodox Serbs as they realize, understand, and remind themselves that they are God’s people, that they belong to God and have his blessing of salvation.
Today’s holiday, the patriarch underlined, reminds them that they have their father’s home – the church and that they belong to their families, but also their people and society.
„That’s the reason why we came and why the Serbian patriarch is here today. This is the reason that allows us to pray for all people, for the community of love, for the peace and good that Christ gives and wants for everyone,“ said Patriarch Porfirije.
He called on all believers to pray for all people, compatriots, and those with whom they live in the area of Kosovo – above all, for their Albanian brothers.
„Let’s build peace together, as Serbian families use to build it with Albanian families and who, in good and bad times, guarded the Pec shrine and the holy Decani,“ he pointed out.
„These virtuous Albanians, even though they were Muslims or precisely because they were Muslims, as virtuous people, knew the power of prayer and knew that wherever prayer is present, God is also present. They knew that in Orthodox shrines, prayers were offered for them and their children. And that God, as love in its essence, does not care who is who. They knew that they were all God’s children.“
He sent a message of peace – so that no one would „attribute something else to the Serbian Church“. The patriarch also underlined that the program of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Patriarch is peace and nothing but peace.
Peace, with reconciliation and forgiveness, with those closest to you, is the only chance for survival, especially for children – Patriarch Porfirije underlined.
„Reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace with those closest to us. With our closest neighbor, peace is the only possibility of survival for our children and theirs. Our children are the most important to us, who live here. Only we have the chance to make it possible for them to live in peace. And no one else can provide or is interested in giving our children such an opportunity,“ he said.
He sent a message to Serbs and Albanians, as well as other citizens of Kosovo, telling them to protect each other.
„With God’s help, let us find strength in ourselves and protect each other because the desire for peace is in line with the basic principles of our faith. Peace is part of God’s plan for the human race and humanity and the entire world. Peace as a gift from God is unquestionable and constant. Peace is internal – the one we have inside us, but also external – with all people and creatures.“
In his words, this is what Christ expects, as well as the predecessors of the Patriarchate.
He reminded that they are the ones who established the tradition of the SOC – that every Serbian patriarch be enthroned in the Patriarchate of Pec.
Highlighting that patriarchs have been enthroned in the Patriarchate of Pec since the 13th century, he emphasized that the throne of Pec is the closest throne to God that the people built. That is why the Patriarchate is the most important and safest house of believers – he added.
The patriarch also said that even when the patriarchs of Pec were far from the throne – „their souls and thoughts were tied to this throne, to the Serbian Orthodox Jerusalem.“
„God’s blessing comes from here and reaches the entire Serb people. That blessing protects all our holy sites in Kosovo, which are like a star in the summer sky. This is how he protects the Serbian Orthodox people, to survive in their homes because Kosovo is the home of the Serbian Orthodox people. We were born here for Christ – in the Patriarchate of Pec, Decani, Gracanica, Holy Archangels, and other Prizren churches,“ emphasized the Serbian patriarch.
While noting that the nuns of the Pec Patriarchate are the ones who build and protect the throne of Pec, but also other monks and nuns in other holy sites in Kosovo, Patriarch Porfirije emphasized that the Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo are the ones who elevate it with their strength and will.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
