His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Mr.. Porphyrios celebrated a memorial service for the victims of NATO aggression on March 24, 2024 at the Thermal Heroes Square in Prokuplje. The following is the speech of His Holiness the Patriarch:
Honorable Mr. President of the Republic of Serbia, Honorable Mr. President of the Republic of Srpska, Your Eminence, His Eminence the Archbishop, Honorable Mr. Mufti, all is well and orderly, brothers and sisters, dear Toplicani!
On this occasion, for the Serbian people of Svetosava, we have gathered to pray to God, who is Love and who dwells in love, to testify to our unwavering determination to be on the side of love and not hate, peace and not war. justice and not tyranny, truth and not lies, innocents and not criminals. In truth, both dimensions of human expression turned this piece of land exactly 25 years ago into a world arena where God knows how many times in history the ancient truth has been confirmed: how great a man is only when he is human, and how heartless he is when he chooses to be anti-human!
I am happy as a human being, happy as an Orthodox Serb, blessed as a priest, because no ultimatum has forced my people to give up love, God and neighbor. And if the price of such a commitment very dear, it is at the same time the guarantee of survival and duration not only on geographical maps, but also in eternity, in the Empire to which St. Sava guided us and to which the Venerable Prince and immortal knight Lazarus was pleased.
Did not little Milica Rakic, and Boban Nedeljkovic from Toplican, and the other eleven soldiers who died in the barracks in Kuršumlija, and all those who died in the NATO bombing, stand on the same side as Abel, on the side of the innocent victim? and their liquidators on the side of Cain's fratricidal man-hatred!? The innocent blood then shed all over the land God gave us was the pledge of our hope and the seed of salvation.
That is why we have been sad for two and a half decades and still are, because of all those who were forcibly taken from us then, but with faith in Christ, risen from the dead and one Lord of love, we confess that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:39), their love, the land for which we paid with our own blood for centuries, our determination never to pay tribute to the hatred of another person, even if it was those who numbered themselves among the enemies.
To decide in favor of Christ means to support every innocent sufferer, no matter who they are or what nation, religion, or language they belong to. That is why we are pained by the wounds every Abel, every innocent victim, regardless of his religion, color, or nation. The essence of this attitude is not that we want to be victims, but that we will not be cowards, not because we are both individually and collectively immature, or as some might say: they are stubborn, clinging to immature stubbornness and wanton boldness and willingness to be provocateurs. No. It's just the opposite.
Our landmark and reference point are the holy martyrs who remained true to themselves and to a non-alternative value system, and this is the strongest expression of human maturity and piety. This is why, despite the fact that we have lost our loved ones and that grief has broken our hearts, our trust in God, our living faith means that the main feeling that overwhelms us is not inconsolable grief and irreparable loss, but the deepest knowledge. and conviction that we had, have and will have the most worthy among us, who did not want and will not trade their Calvary sacrifice for the privileges of an executor. At the same time, all of us, as well as all those who, especially in these days of Lent, enter with their hearts into the mystery of the cross of Christ, but also of His resurrection, are at a constant advantage. That is why, as we summarize today's prayerful remembrance, let us remember the past, let us live the present given to us, and let us resolutely look and go to the The future with hope as our guide, for in the words of the Holy Scripture: hope does not put you to shame (Romans 5:5).
Dear Toplichani, I am glad to be with you tonight. The people of this region, led by your spiritual guiding star and the first host of Prokupile, the holy martyr Prokopios, whose relics have rested here for centuries, give birth to men of fearless faith, a faith that does not yield to the powers. lies and evils of this world at the cost of life. As Procopius was, so are the Toplichans from the beginning to today. Only such an attitude could give rise to the Iron Regiment, to win freedom, to survive the bombings and to go on, to go forward with a message of peace and love for all, with the conviction that good is stronger than evil, with prayer. this disarms all the deadly instruments of human hatred and violence.
It is extremely important that tonight we gather here, in front of St. Procopius the Great Martyr, to analyze the common strengths of our being, to see if we are able to follow him in the profession of faith, which means: love, peace, tolerance, forgiveness and readiness for self-sacrifice. Before him, as when the sun is at its zenith, it is obvious that the victims of the 78-day bombardment are his followers and the younger brothers and sisters of Christ.
We pray that all will realize that we all need each other, that the all men are brothers and that they are all our brothers, even those who persecute and slander us, who unfortunately still persecute us. We will not persecute and slander anyone, but we will publish and testify to the truth for them and for us. The memory of our suffering, the prayerful remembrance of the innocent victims of the NATO bombing is not a bad memory and with God's help will not turn into vindictiveness. The remembrance of our suffering, like our prayer for the innocent victims, is a witness to truth, justice, love and peace, a striving to manifest the fullness of life in every goodness and in every virtue.
Therefore, let us pray to God together with the prayer of my great predecessor, Patriarch Paul: Lord Jesus Christ our God, accept our diligent prayer and forgive us our sins. Beware of our enemies, who hate and oppress us, and do not repay them according to their deeds, but consider them according to Your great mercy, that they also may see that evil cannot bring good. Deliver Thy holy Church and Thy faithful from all evil by Thy almighty hand. Help, O Lord, You who came to the cross and suffered death for the salvation of all, that in us and in the whole world hatred may be replaced by love, anxiety by peace, sorrow by joy, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life as Your people, brothers and sisters among us. and one with each other. Amen.
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