His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia attended the 17. November 2024. year of the celebration of the International Day of Students at the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade. On this occasion, His Holiness Patriarch Mr. Porfirije spoke:
- Dear Mr. Ministers, dear Mr. Rectors of the University of Belgrade, dear Mr. Rectors of other universities of the Republic of Serbia, dear professors and, above all, dear students, God help everyone!
I am very happy to be here with all of you today in this oldest and most important institution of higher education in our country on the occasion of the International Students' Day. My joy is all the greater because your need for education also draws on the experience that on this sacred task and service to the neighbor the Christian tradition and our Orthodox tradition has and offers. Therefore, it is very helpful to keep in mind that from the earliest times the Church has paid great attention to education and enlightenment. In the same spirit, St. Sava, in addition to everything else he did for his people, raising them from the level of ordinary ethnics to an enlightened people, founded schools, devoted great care and investment precisely to the education and enlightenment of his people. And so until our days, when the University of Belgrade was founded, the Church by the spirit of St. Sava, speaking and living, encouraged and participated in the establishment of the university in Belgrade, knowing that the university is one of the most important institutions in its nation and in every country, because the university is the place where the present and future of the nation is created, as well as the most important functions, as well as all other functions, which are not so important, in one society, are occupied by those people who have received a degree and education in the university.
In school and college, we receive an education that not only gives us knowledge in various fields and sciences, but also gives us the opportunity to gain experience in what interests us, to build ourselves as individuals, and to acquire the necessary skills to be able to perform various jobs and thus contribute to making the world a better and beautiful place to live in. However, we must not forget the important fact that the university is also a spiritual institution, because at it we learn and cultivate, among other things, virtue and form our spiritual and ethical values. Thus, the university is not and should not only be a place where knowledge is acquired that relates exclusively to this world and the practical purposes of life, but also a place where, modeled on ancient times, knowledge is linked to both virtue and morality. In other words, in the university. it is necessary and important that virtue also be developed in the full sense of the word. I know that these two pillars on which the university must rest are based in good measure, because knowledge without virtue and morality is often worse and more dangerous than ignorance itself. It is these which prompt and motivate the Church, even to this day, to zealously endeavor to participate in the support of young people who make great efforts and strive to acquire them, and consider it their duty to support the university as a whole, and especially those who spare no effort or effort to acquire both knowledge and virtue. To use the maxim of Vladimir Matijevic, founder of the Businessrednik Economic Foundation, to be industrious, virtuous and thrifty. Thrifty not in love towards others, but thrifty in selfishness, in vanity, in imposing oneself on another with values that the other does not possess. May God give you the strength for a lifetime of excellence in knowledge and virtue. Happy Students' Day, and may God's blessings descend upon you all!
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The Serbian University Student Conference traditionally celebrates International Students' Day every year, so that student representatives can remember the results they have achieved during the previous year. This day is commemorated in the memory of about the day in 1939. the Nazis murdered several Czech students and sent more than 1,200 students to concentration camps for protesting the occupation of their country. The Serbian University Student Conference (SKONUS) represents all accredited public and private universities in the Republic of Serbia with approximately 260,000 xnumx students.
- Dear Mr. Ministers, dear Mr. Rectors of the University of Belgrade, dear Mr. Rectors of other universities of the Republic of Serbia, dear professors and, above all, dear students, God help everyone!
I am very happy to be here with all of you today in this oldest and most important institution of higher education in our country on the occasion of the International Students' Day. My joy is all the greater because your need for education also draws on the experience that on this sacred task and service to the neighbor the Christian tradition and our Orthodox tradition has and offers. Therefore, it is very helpful to keep in mind that from the earliest times the Church has paid great attention to education and enlightenment. In the same spirit, St. Sava, in addition to everything else he did for his people, raising them from the level of ordinary ethnics to an enlightened people, founded schools, devoted great care and investment precisely to the education and enlightenment of his people. And so until our days, when the University of Belgrade was founded, the Church by the spirit of St. Sava, speaking and living, encouraged and participated in the establishment of the university in Belgrade, knowing that the university is one of the most important institutions in its nation and in every country, because the university is the place where the present and future of the nation is created, as well as the most important functions, as well as all other functions, which are not so important, in one society, are occupied by those people who have received a degree and education in the university.
In school and college, we receive an education that not only gives us knowledge in various fields and sciences, but also gives us the opportunity to gain experience in what interests us, to build ourselves as individuals, and to acquire the necessary skills to be able to perform various jobs and thus contribute to making the world a better and beautiful place to live in. However, we must not forget the important fact that the university is also a spiritual institution, because at it we learn and cultivate, among other things, virtue and form our spiritual and ethical values. Thus, the university is not and should not only be a place where knowledge is acquired that relates exclusively to this world and the practical purposes of life, but also a place where, modeled on ancient times, knowledge is linked to both virtue and morality. In other words, in the university. it is necessary and important that virtue also be developed in the full sense of the word. I know that these two pillars on which the university must rest are based in good measure, because knowledge without virtue and morality is often worse and more dangerous than ignorance itself. It is these which prompt and motivate the Church, even to this day, to zealously endeavor to participate in the support of young people who make great efforts and strive to acquire them, and consider it their duty to support the university as a whole, and especially those who spare no effort or effort to acquire both knowledge and virtue. To use the maxim of Vladimir Matijevic, founder of the Businessrednik Economic Foundation, to be industrious, virtuous and thrifty. Thrifty not in love towards others, but thrifty in selfishness, in vanity, in imposing oneself on another with values that the other does not possess. May God give you the strength for a lifetime of excellence in knowledge and virtue. Happy Students' Day, and may God's blessings descend upon you all!
***
The Serbian University Student Conference traditionally celebrates International Students' Day every year, so that student representatives can remember the results they have achieved during the previous year. This day is commemorated in the memory of about the day in 1939. the Nazis murdered several Czech students and sent more than 1,200 students to concentration camps for protesting the occupation of their country. The Serbian University Student Conference (SKONUS) represents all accredited public and private universities in the Republic of Serbia with approximately 260,000 xnumx students.
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