In Belgrade, thousands of believers celebrated the Serbian New Year together

On the night of January 13-14, thousands of Orthodox residents of Serbia gathered together in front of the country's main church - the Cathedral of St. Sava - to traditionally celebrate the New Year according to the Julian calendar, which is also called the 'Serbian New Year' here. The service on the square in front of the cathedral was led by the Serbian Patriarch Irinej.

According to TASS, the believers also offered prayers 'in support of the suffering people in Montenegro, Kosovo and Metohija and all Serbian regions.' “Dear citizens of Belgrade, thank you for gathering at the church of St. Savvas, which we will consecrate this year, embodying the long-standing hopes of the Serbian people. Let us thank the Lord for the year that we have lived and will celebrate the new year. The past year has been full of temptations both for our people and for the whole world, let the coming year be the year of the Lord's mercy. We also gathered to pray for our brothers in Montenegro, where the atheists raised their hands to the holy places, ”Patriarch Irenaeus addressed the audience with such a primordial word.

Recall that several dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro own about six hundred churches and sixty monasteries; 85% of Montenegrins are children of the canonical Orthodox Church. According to the law 'On freedom of religion and belief and the legal status of religious communities' adopted by the Montenegrin authorities on December 29, 2019, the SOC will now be forced to confirm its rights to own these objects in the period before December 1, 1918 (!) Of the year. Otherwise, according to the new legislative act, the churches and monasteries of the SOC in the country will become the property of the state of Montenegro. In fact, the new law cancels the decision in force in this country since 2006, according to which immunity was guaranteed to all churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the territory of Montenegro.

During the Serbian New Year celebrations, Patriarch Irenaeus informed the audience that the actions of the Montenegrin authorities had caused widespread condemnation in the world - and urged them to leave the shrines alone. On the other hand, the high priest noted, 'What happened awakened Montenegro, awakened the faith of the Montenegrins, the faith is alive, and this makes us happy.'

The address of the Serbian Patriarch to the flock ended with fireworks, after which folk festivals and festive concerts were held in Belgrade.

In the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on a festive night, a solemn service was also held, which was performed by the Metropolitan of Montenegro-Primorsky Amphilochius.