The son of Stefan Nemanja, the great Serbian national leader, he was born in 1169. As a young man he yearned for the spiritual life, which led him to flee to the Holy Mountain, where he became a monk and with rare zeal followed all the ascetic practices. Nemanja followed his son"s example and himself went to the Holy Mountain, where he lived and ended his days as the monk Simeon. Sava obtained the independence of the Serbian Church from the Emperor and the Patriarch, and became its first archbishop. He, together, with his father, built the monastery of Hilandar and after that many other monasteries, churches and schools throughout the land of Serbia. He travelled to the Holy Land on two occasions, on pilgrimage to the holy places there. He made peace among his brothers, who were in conflict over their rights, and also between the Serbs and their neighbours. In creating the Serbian Church, he created the Serbian state and Serbian culture along with it. He brought peace to all the Balkan peoples, working for the good of all, for which he was venerated and loved by all on the Balkan peninsular. He gave a Christian soul to the people of Serbia, which survived the fall of the Serbian state. He died in Trnovo in the reign of King Asen, being taken ill after the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Theophany in 1236. King Vladislav took his body to Milegeva, whence Sinan Pasha removed it, burning it at Vracar in Belgrade on April 27th, 1595.

извор: www.crkvenikalendar.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters, dear believers in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland.

CHRIST IS BORN, REJOICE!

Come forward today, Brothers and Sisters and bow to your knees before the modest manger illuminated by the divine glory because God’s Son Christ begins from here His holy journey on earth, we bow deeply and with reverence because here in front of the manger is the beginning of our salvation, the beginning of our eternity.

The Son of God brings to earth His peace and Christ the saviour with the feat of His short earthly life gifted man the peace of God. In so far as we live in our Orthodox faith God’s peace resides in our lives – Christ’s love and mercy.

The Lord Jesus Christ is announced to the world as a young child wrapped in swaddling clothes. The virgin mother bent over Him amazed before the unbelievable secret which has arrived in the world. The immaculate mother Virgin Mary, who presented the great secret benevolence, in that moment recognised complete joy because the Son of God had arrived on earth, with the Virgin Mary’s heavenly guest was welcomed and received gifts from the wise men of the East who together with the shepherds and the whole of creation were amazed by the mysterious secret and love of the Living God.

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The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Christmas, 2021

PORFIRIJE

By the Grace of God

Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Christmas greeting:

PEACE FROM GOD! CHRIST IS BORN!

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace,
good will among men” (Luke 2: 14)

Our dear spiritual children,

We know that the birth of Bethlehem’s Divine Child is at the center of the world’s history and that the Christian wreath of values is founded upon the salvation of mankind in our Lord Jesus Christ. The birth of the God-Man surpasses even the creation of the world, for with the arrival of God’s Light in the world, under the arch of a humble cave near God’s city of Jerusalem, mankind was enlightened by the possibility of eternal life. In the Light which has shone forth in darkness but which has not been overcome by the darkness (cf. St. John 1:5), Christian culture and civilization have blossomed. The New Adam has replaced the old one so that the Holy Spirit renews the entire creation through Him. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”, exclaims the Apostle Paul, “the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) In this spirit the Evangelist John gives us the glad tidings that everything has come into existence through God’s Logos (St. John 1:1-3), Who took upon Himself human nature and restored the communion between God and mankind, making the covenant between them eternal.

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, under the presidency of His Holiness Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch decided to start the regular session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church with the service of the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the Memorial Cathedral of Saint Sava in the Vracar district, on May 24, 2021, on the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. The Holy Liturgy will be served by Serbian Patriarch Porfirije with the concelebration of the hierarchs.

The previously planned solemn act of enthronement of the primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Stauropegial Monastery of the Pec Patriarchate, the ancient seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church, has been postponed until further notice due to epidemiological measures in force in this southern Serbian province.

From the Office of the Holy Synod of Bishops

source: www.spc.rs