Metropolitan Mitrofan Celebrated Pentecost in the Saint Sava Church in Belgrade Before the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos

His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije celebrated the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy on the feast of Pentecost – the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, on Sunday, May 31, in the Saint Sava Church in Vracar, Belgrade. His Holiness was concelebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Mitrofan of Canada and His Eminence Metropolitan Siluan of Australia and New Zealand, the monastic order, clergy and deaconry of Mount Athos, and numerous faithful who completely filled the Saint Sava Church. The Holy Liturgy was also attended by Minister in the Government of the Republic of Serbia Nenad Popovic.

In the center of the church is the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, before which the faithful gathered for worship and during the service. Following the centuries-old liturgical tradition of the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, where this great shrine is kept, Patriarch Porfirije, after the litany, recited a prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos for the peace, health and salvation of the Serbs and all Orthodox Christians during the Liturgy.

The gathering on the feast of Pentecost took place in a spirit of prayer and spiritual joy, as thousands of believers moved before the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos during the service, seeking her maternal intercession and blessing.

In his archpastoral sermon at the end of the Liturgy, Patriarch Porfirije recalled that every person is blessed with the love of God, faith, hope and charity, emphasizing that Christians are called to recognize that their life does not end within the boundaries of this world. “We were not created to be alone nor to have our end here on earth, but we are called to the Kingdom of God, which is not only a future reality, but is available already now and here,” the Patriarch said.

Speaking about the feast of Pentecost, His Holiness emphasized that the Church celebrates its birthday and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles on this day. Recalling the event when the apostles, gathered in one place on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ, received the gift of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire, the Patriarch emphasized that the Church does not only remember events from the past, but experiences them as a living and present reality. “The Holy Spirit builds the Church and gathers us into one body of Christ. Although we are different as individuals, we are one in Christ,” the Serbian Patriarch emphasized.

His Holiness particularly emphasized that the unity of the Church is most fully manifested in the Holy Liturgy, where man becomes one with the Lord and one with his neighbours. Recalling that the Holy Spirit is the “treasury of all goods,” His Holiness called on the faithful people to constantly strive to be better, to preserve peace, harmony and love in their families and to base their lives on the Gospel of Christ.

Referring to the arrival of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in Belgrade, the Patriarch emphasized that today's joy would not be complete if it were not for the One who, through her humility, accepted the will of God and became the Mother of God. Speaking of the Most Holy Theotokos as a constant prayer before the throne of God, His Holiness emphasized that her Belt reminds the faithful people of their belonging to the Orthodox Church and of the call to shape their lives according to the example of humility, obedience, and love of the Most Holy Theotokos.

At the end of the sermon, Patriarch Porfirije called on the faithful to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for peace, health, and harmony, emphasizing that her arrival among the faithful is a great blessing and spiritual strengthening for the entire Serbian people.

His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije then served the invocation of the Holy Spirit, during which kneeling prayers were read, which, according to the ancient order of the Church, are performed on the feast of Pentecost. After the Liturgy, the Patriarch visited and blessed the gathered believers who were standing in line to bow to the Belt of the Mother of God.

After the service, the faithful continued to approach the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, which these days blesses the Serbian capital and the entire Serbian people, gathering the faithful around the Mother of God and her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.