Patriarchate of Pec, October 3, 2010
By
the Providence of God and as graciously deigned by the
Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, I
have been elected and today presented in the Sacred Throne
of the Serbian Patriarchs. Having been led into the Throne
which was established by the first autocephalous Serbian
Archbishop and Enlightener Saint Sava, I am fully
cognisant of my weaknesses and unworthiness for such an
exalted calling.
The
administrative enthronement of my humility was effected
immediately following the election, on 23 January of this
same year in the Cathedral Church of Belgrade. Today
follows the conclusive, official and traditional
enthronement in this ancient See of the Serbian
Archbishops and Patriarchs, in the Church of the Holy
Apostles in this Holy Laura of Pech.
For
seven and a half centuries, this all-Serbian and
pan-Orthodox sanctuary continuously protects under its
shelter the Throne into which are ushered and from which
the successors of Saint Sava guide the ark of Christ's
Church within the borders of their canonical jurisdiction.
They guide the ark to which the Serbian people have tied
their history, their being and their fate. On the
tempestuous sea of life, this ark and its passengers, have
been ensued by winds and storms, thunder and lightning,
have sailed by many Scylla and Charybdis, guided by Him,
who „has built His Church against which not even the
gates of Hades will prevail" (Matt 16:18). Our Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and unto
the ages, the Lord of my glorious predecessors on this
Throne, by Whose Divine might and wisdom they have guided
His Church and His faithful people, will not, I trust and
believe, as their successor, lacking in much and unworthy
of this enormous honour, strip of His Grace in the
steering of His Church.
Today, I have
been solemnly ushered into and elevated onto the most
exalted Throne of the Serbian Patriarchs, to a height upon
which it is impossible to survive without the help and
support of God. I know that this service requires great
sacrifice and superhuman efforts, however I also know and
confess that the mighty and all-mighty Grace of God which
as a gift of God is gifted to us in our human weakness. By
it we are summoned from non-existance into being, by it we
live, move and are. By it we are summoned to this
exceptionally responsible degree of apostolic service to
God, the Church and the people of God.
In
addition to being elevated unto the undeserved Grace of
God, which heals every infirmity and completes that which
is lacking, I anticipate the heavenly assistance of even
our Holy Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs who glorified
God and whom God glorified with unfading glory in His
Heavenly Kingdom, especially those whose relics repose in
this glorious Sanctuary.
Their pilgrimage
and prayers before the Face of God are a powerful
spiritual might and mighty fortitude in undertaking this
joyful cross-bearing service in the mystery of
salvation.
Spiritual and
moral assistance and support of every kind I anticipate
from Our Christ-loving brother hierarchs, as well as the
prayers of the plentitude of the Church - the clergy,
monastics and faithful people - that in prayerful
communion and conciliarity, with our God-given powers,
Christ's Bride, the Ark of our Salvation, the Holy
Church, we may adorn with the bright virtues of the Gospel
and a life in Christ.
Today, I am
ushered into the Throne of the Serbian Patriarchs which
had, and today has, a great role in the history of our
Church and our people. On it were seated holy persons,
shining with virtuous lives, and by word and deed
witnessing and heralding the salvific truth of the Gospel.
They were and forever remain Christ's servants and the
apostolic servants of their people.
The
Throne of the Patriarchate of Pech was and remains the
soul of the Serbian people. It has spiritually unified the
Serbian people, as well as its regions which have been
brought into existence through numerous exoduses, of which
the most famous are those in the years 1690 and in 1737.
In the titles of the first hierarchs and hierarchs of
newly-incepted Serbian regional Churches following the
closing of the Patriarchate of Pech in 1766, there is
visible and impressionable acknowledgement that they
belong to the Throne of Pech. In such the Church in
Montenegro for the entire time of its existence remained
faithful to the Throne of Pech, considering themselves
guardians, and their Metropolitans as "Exarchs of the
Throne of Pech".
Similarly, the
Bishops of Dalmatia have titled themselves as
„Metropolitans of Kosovo and Exarchs of the Throne
of Pech". In so doing they expressed and confirmed
the bond of Krajina-Dalmatian Serbs to their Kosovo cradle
and canonical bond to the Patriarchate of
Pech.
This
awareness has most certainly dominated the life and entire
history of the Serbian Patriarchs in Srem's
Karlovac.
Joseph
Rajachich, elected Patriarch at the Karlovac May Assembly
of 1848 and his successors, never severed the spiritual
tie to the Throne of Pech, considering themselves to be
successors to the Patriarchs of Pech.
With
the restoration of the Patriachate of Pech in 1920 and the
election of Metropolitan Dimitrije of Serbia as the first
Patriarch of the restored Patriachate, the view was held
that the Patriarch-elect must continue the history of the
Patriarchate of Pech there where it was forcibly severed.
As a sign and confirmation of the restoration of the
Patriarchate of Pech the new Patriarch was enthroned in
Pech in 1924 and from then to this present day, Serbian
Patriarchs are enthroned in the Patriarchate of Pech.
Thereby, we are convinced, the same will hold true in the
times which are to come.
From
the very beginning of the existence of the Patriarchate of
Pech, its Primates as the Holy Apostles before them sowed
the seeds of Christ's knowledge on the field of the
souls of the people and shared alike with their people
both good and evil and were truly spiritual leaders of the
people. In times of peace and properity of the people,
they built churches and monasteries and embelished the
same with holy images; wrote and transcribed books, taught
and enlightened the people in the spirit and truth of the
Gospel, inspiring in them the love of Christ and the love
of the people to which they belong, glorifying the Name of
God, as in monastic habitations, so also in villages and
cities and in the home of the people.
In
the days of the suffering of the people, they strengthened
the faith and poured forth hope in the mercy of God, hope
that the Lord will not abandon them and that the day of
liberation will soon be at hand.
When
difficult circumstances ensued in which the people were
left without their leaders, princes and elders, they
placed themselves at the head of their people, wisely
leading them, endeavouring that the people save their
faith, language and rich spiritual
inheritance.
With
gratefulness to their Church and its wise Christ-loving
and patriotic spiritual leaders, our people survived five
centuries of Ottoman enslavement, preserved their soul,
their faith, religious and moral values, as well as the
awareness of their national identity.
The
time and circumstances of my being led into the Throne of
the Serbian Patriarchs is, in so many ways, similar to the
time and circumstances in which the Serbian Church with
its people had experienced and survived difficult and
fateful days in its history. Let us remind ourselves of
the recent time of general suffering, practically in all
territories where our people live. The consequences of
that suffering are still visible and present: destroyed
churches and monasteries, burned homes of the people,
persons expelled from their centuries-old hearths, and in
great part, dispersed throughout the
world.
All
that has been said is, sadly, still visible on the
territory of Kosovo and Metohija. We cannot, but mention
the gaping wound on the body of the Serbian Orthodox
Church and the Serbian people, here in Kosovo and
Metohija, in this truly "dread place of
judgment". Today we are visiting and bowing before
this sanctuary in our most sacred Serbian land, the cradle
of our history, spirituality, Christian, Orthodox culture
of the Serbian people. A land drenched in the martyred
blood of the Kosovo martyrs and new-martyrs. Here in the
territory of our greatest sanctuaries, among which is the
sanctuary in which we find ourselves, in which are
preserved the holy relics of our Archbishops and
Patriarchs and the graves of prayerful intercessors and
those who spiritually laboured, and before the sacred and
miraculous icon of the Most Holy Mother of
God.
In
close proximity is the resplendent Dechani Monastery, the
epitome of our architectural and iconographic art of the
14th century, with the incorruptible relics of its Holy
Benefactor, King Stephen of Dechani. And slightly further
is the Ljevish Theotokos in Prizren, the Imperial City,
with its ten preserved medieval churches, the Monastery of
the Holy Archangels, the greatest foundation of the
Emperor Dushan, and the glorious Prizren Seminary. We
cannot omit the most beautiful Grachanica, the glorious
Banjska, foundations of King Milutin. We cannot, omit to
mention the great sanctuary of Devich and the one thousand
and three hundred remaining churches and monasteries in
this blessed Serbian land. In the most recent past, many
of the churches and monasteries were burned, destroyed,
and vandalised, as well as the homes of our Serbian people
who have abided here for centuries and left the indelible
mark of their existence and creativity.
Kosovo and
Metohija are today without hundreds of thousands of
expelled Serbian people. All traces of their spiritual
historical roots are being eradicated.
There are still
tens of thousands of refugees from this sacred land. They,
remain turned toward their age-old bosom, and with tearful
eyes and painful hearts, anticipate the day and
possibility in which they can return to their, albeit
destroyed and burned, homes. Only the few and most brave
have succeeded to return to their
hearths.
From
this sacred place, in this joyous-yet painful moment, we
forward our anguished cry to the powerful factors of this
world in whose hands lie the fate of Kosovo and Metohija,
praying to the Lord that they sin not against their souls
by bringing forth decisions regarding the status of this
Serbian southern territory by which the Serbian people
will be stripped of their centuries-old right to their
Homeland, their homes and properties, the graves of their
ancestors and their sanctuaries.
The
Serbian people do not have any other mediator state save
Serbia of which Kosovo and Metohija have been for
centuries an integral part. Here, there is ample living
space and place for the cohabitation of Serbs, Albanians
and other peoples. These two peoples have lived together
for centuries. Why cannot they do the same
today?
Therefore,
appealing in this solemn moment with love and respect not
only for the Serbian Orthodox people of Kosovo and
Metohija but also for the honourable Albanian people and
all local inhabitants, we invite them to peace and unity,
always predicated upon Divine and human
justice.
Let
us pray to the Lord, to the God-pleasing of Pech, and the
Holy Kosovo Martyrs, all the saints of our people and all
those who are God-pleasing that in this land peace, unity
and love among the peoples will prevail, and that the
wounds of all inflicted by hatred and wickedness will be
healed.
We
appeal to the honourable episcopate, the clergy, the
monastics and faithful people of our local Church of Saint
Sava, praying to Christ our Lord that He will strengthen
in all of us true faith and faithfulness to justice and
Divine truth and the unity of the Church of God, directing
us on the path of Salvation, to spiritual and every other
form of regeneration.
With
love and gratitude for this concelebration and prayerful
participation I greet all of those here gathered from
throughout the world, the Primates and representatives of
the Orthodox Churches of God. Your presence, beloved
Fathers and brothers, and participation in this solemn
rite of our local Church, testify to the indivisible unity
and fellowship of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic
Church of Christ. As the First Hierarch of the Serbian
Orthodox Church, I will endeavour with all my strength,
together with my brother Hierarchs and faithful people, to
confirm and advance the unity of the Church of God, as
well as the evangelical mission of our Orthodox Church
among all the peoples of the world.
We
also rejoice and in gratitude, greet the brotherly
presence of the high delegations of Christian Churches
present in this Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostles -
the Roman Catholic Church, the Churches of the Reformed
Tradition and the Anglican Church. This apostolic temple
and apostolic rite invite all of us who confess the
Only-begotten Son of God, the God-Man Christ, to the
renewal of the apostolic faith in us and the love among
us, and toward the fulfilling of Christ's prayer to
our Heavenly Father: "That they may all be one, as
you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may be one
in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent
me" (John 17:21).
With
respect and gratitude for their presence and friendship I
greet, also, the honourable heads and high representatives
of the Islamic Community of Serbia, as well as the high
representatives of the Jewish Community of
Serbia.
We
greet also those representatives of our State here present
headed by the President of the Republic of Serbia Mr.
Boris Tadic, the representatives of Orthodox and
neighbouring states, as well as the representatives of the
International Community and the Diplomatic Corps. I greet
also His Royal Highness, the descendent of the great
Leader Karageorge and King Peter I Karageorgevich, the
liberator of Kosovo and unifier of the Serbian
people.
Upon
you, the people of God, gathered here in this great Church
of the Archbishops and Patriarchs of Pech, all the people
of God and Saint Sava in the Fatherland and throughout the
Dispersion, as well as upon all people of God and
Christians and to all persons and peoples of good will, I
bestow our Patriarchal blessings: peace to you and the
Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father
and the communion of the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages.
Amen!
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