Welcoming letter of His Holiness Patriarch of Serbia Mr. Porphyrios at the celebration of the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Church and Martyrdom of Šabac in World War I, which was held in front of the Memorial Crypt in Tekeriš, on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, on August 19, 2024, by the envoy of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Vicar Bishop of Jegara and the British-Irish elected Mr. Nektarniki
His Eminence and Most Reverend Brothers Archbishops, Honorable Mr. Envoy of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Ladies and gentlemen, Ministers, representatives of the Republic and local authorities, Gentlemen, officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Serbian Army, Dear representatives of cultural and educational institutions and associations, Honorable clergy, Venerable monks, Dear brothers and sisters!
There are days that surpass all others and there are places that surpass all others. There are events that stand out for their significance and personalities that stand out for their greatness, and out of everything, today and this place where we are gathered and the event that we remember together with those who participated in it stand out. still gave birth and what happened on this piece of earth and under this piece of sky.
Our whole history is a sign of the cross and the resurrection, because our people promised themselves to Christ through the St. Sava, and through St. Prince Lazarus he confirmed this promise with blood. And so, from Sava to Lazarus and from Lazarus to our days, that consecration to Christ and affirmation of belonging to Him in the Serbian people has been going on continuously, bearing new fruits and multiplying the chorus of God's holy delights, known and unknown, sifted in our family. In the endless book of our history, there is a chapter, measured in four years, in which the most tragic, but also the most glorious page of our history is written. It is clear that we are talking about a military war unprecedented in its scale and horror, called then the Great War and then the First World War, and the first sentence in that chapter was the first victory of the Entente allied countries, won by small forces, but by courage and skill, by the great Serbian army right on the slopes of the proud Cer, at the foot of which we are, and on the vast, beautiful fields of the valley of the Jadar River.
It is clear to everyone that this is the famous Battle of Cera, originally called the Battle of Yadar, which was fought in this area from August 16 to 19, that is, August 24, 1914, and in which nearly 400,000 soldiers from both belligerents participated. . Much has been said about this battle, that is, about the historical facts connected with it, much has been said, much has been written, much has been sung. Therefore, I will not speak about it now, because I believe that you are you know all this very well. I will not talk about it also because it is the work of historians who could give much more and better in this field.
My desire, as the spiritual father of all Orthodox Serbs and as the head of the Svetosava Church, is to say a few words about the message and the lesson of their struggle and their feat.
Everything great, holy, virtuous and eternal in our history and in our family is born of the Orthodox faith, i.e. the teachings of the Gospel, which our ancestors laid in the foundations of our national ethos and social structure. Hence the struggle that our physical and spiritual fathers waged in these territories exactly 110 years ago, their feat and their sacrifice, the fruit of that faith and devotion to Christ and His Gospel. We think and believe that this is so, because only those who are truly rooted in the love of Christ, which is embodied in the dual love of God and neighbor, can find strength and courage, can despise themselves and their lives for the sake of their neighbors, for the sake of their race and their homeland. And such were the Serbian soldiers who stormed those fields and hills in those very August days of 1914, who put their chests to the enemy's bayonets, rifle and cannon barrels. You were, by the standards of this world, simple and illiterate people, but rich in the wisdom that comes from God, like everyone from all sectors of Serbian society at that time, realized their duty and responsibility to their ancestors and descendants, both past and future.
In this consciousness of theirs lies the answer to the superhuman feat and sacrifice they made, and their sacrifice, according to historical sources, amounts to some 3,000 dead and 15,000 wounded warriors. However, this sacrifice is much greater if we take into account the suffering of a huge number of our absolutely innocent civilians - women, children and old people, the weakest Serbs, who were attacked by the furious Austro-Hungarian soldiers all over Macva, Jadra, Počerina. , Rajevina and Podrinje. In particular, the town of Šabac, once called the First City of Serbia for its cultural and economic progress, and later, because of the terrible destruction it experienced and the unprecedented suffering of its population, was named Serbian Verdun during the hostilities on Cere. Therefore, today we prayerfully remember our ancestors and their sacrifice.
Children who have forgotten their parents cannot hope for any happiness or blessing in their lives. This is a law that has prevailed among people since time immemorial. So too, a nation that forgets its ancestors and predecessors, that forgets their advice and oaths, in a word, a nation that forgets its history and its past, loses the direction of its future historical course, loses the basis on which it can be to build our future. We must realize this terrible truth, brothers and sisters, always and everywhere, and especially in such places of suffering and martyrdom, where people fought and died for our lives, for our happiness and freedom. Aware that even in these sad days of ours we make sure that not only with words, but above all with life and deeds, we pay our debt and express our gratitude to our ancestors, to those who suffered here and to all others, from Kosovo-Jadovno, and we will do this best if we strive, each according to our vocation and gift, according to the position and opportunities that God has given us, to try to be true men of God, children of His Holy Church. Then we will be true Serbs and we will be useful in building our society.
May the Almighty God rest in the arms of His love all those from our family who fell for the faith and the fatherland in this place and on all other battlefields and fields of death throughout our history of baptism and resurrection, and may their love and sacrifice for us, their children and descendants be a source of strength and inspiration in all the storms and hardships of this world. To our God, the God of our fathers, and the God of our children, glory to all ages! Amen!
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