Welcome of His Holiness, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia and the delegation of Serbian Orthodox Church to London

His Holiness, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia and the delegation of Serbian Orthodox Church arrived today, 12th October 2016, in London on a scheduled Air Serbia flight.

Patriarch Irinej arrived here at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, so as to commemorate the centenary of the memorable Vidovdan speech made by St Nikolaj in St. Paul's Cathedral exactly one hundred years ago, during the difficult years of the First World War.

The Saint of Zhicha was the first non-Anglican to address the Cathedral congregation showing the depth of thought and the power of Christian message, also aimed at all people of all times and all places.

High level delegation of the Anglican Church, His Grace Christopher Chessun the Bishop of Southwark and Canon Dr. Richard Paul greeted Patriarch Irinej at London Heathrow Airport.

To welcome Patriarch at the airport were also present His Excellency dr Ognjen Pribicevic, ambassador of Serbia to the UK and Ireland as well as His Grace Dositej, Bishop of Great Britain and Scandinavia.

In addition to Patriarch, high level delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, officially visiting the Church of England, consists of His Eminence Porfirije, Mitropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana, The Most Revd Irinej, Bishop of East America, Professor Dr Bogdan Lubardic and Protodeacon Vladimir Rumenic.

The prayerful doxology was served in the church of St Sava to honour His Holiness, the whole Serbian Church as well as the faithful in the United Kingdom. A few hundred faithful came to wish Patriarch warm welcome making this event unforgettable and everlasting in the life of our London parish.

On behalf of all the faithful as well as the clergy of the diocese of Great Britain and Scandinavia, His Grace Bishop Dositej said the welcome address to our dear guests and everyone present. He compared the circumstances of our time and the time when Vladika Nikolaj lived, emphasizing: 'the year of 2016 is significant as conflict persists across the world - but in this era not confined to battlefields. In such times we look for strength to our single nation's Christian faith. Our hope is in God, for He alone is the guarantor of our salvation, and that is why we believe in the future of our people, both in our beloved homeland and here and elsewhere in the diaspora. Serbia is no longer in the centre of a European midnight like 100 years ago, but with many wounds on her body even now, she still needs passionate and devout guidance, warm prayer as well as brotherly help and understanding.' (Read the whole speech here).

Patriarch Irinej thanked Bishop Dositej, the clergy and the faithful for their warm welcome wishing them all the best from our Lord God and asked them to work on keeping their orthodox faith alive. He finished his address with a prayer to God wishing that the time would come when all the Serbs returned to Serbia to help restore their beloved homeland.

Reception with drinks and canapés prepared by the church parish followed the doxology so all the present faithful went to St Nikolaj's hall.

Particularly noteworthy was the meeting between Patriarch and the Serbian students from Oxford and Cambridge who came to meet the First Hierarch, get his blessing and the words of encouragement. Patriarch thanked them for coming to London to make this day even more memorable. He wished them good health and emphasized that with good education they had received, they would stand in good stead to their country as well as the Orthodox Church, and that they would find a source of true happiness in serving their 'neighbours'.

Everyone present in the hall had an opportunity to shake his hand, get his blessing, greet him or take a photo with him for eternal remembrance. In the end, the organisers' idea of dedicating one evening to the meeting between Patriarch and the faithful, fully met their expectations.

In conclusion, tonight as well, having heard the words of our Patriarch and the Bishops, we remembered Christ's words: 'It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God'. Luke 4:4

Father Goran Spaic

Photographs can be seen in the Photo Gallery