On the occasion of the church’s patron Saint day, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije celebrated the Divine Liturgy on 8 May 2024, on Saint Mark’s Day, at the church of Saint Apostle and Evangelist Mark on Tašmajdan.
– If we have faith in the Resurrected Christ, that is what makes us always truthful and true. That is what assures us that justice will ultimately show its strength in our lives. That is what guarantees that we are alive already here and now, because we do not believe only in some abstract, impersonal God, in some distant and mighty force. We believe in the Resurrected Christ, and therefore, that is the theme and question we should ask ourselves every day and remind ourselves that our God is Jesus Christ, Who was crucified on the Cross and rose again. Despite our failures, weaknesses, hardships, and mutual misunderstandings and disagreements, that is the only guarantee that here and now, not just in some future age, we will taste life, truth, and justice, even though death, injustice, and lies are often directed against us – emphasized Patriarch Porfirije.
During the Divine Liturgy, Patriarch Porfirije elevated priest Branislav Borota to the rank of Protopresbyter, and priests Aleksandar Lučić and Miodrag Ristić to the rank of Archpriests.
Concelebrating with His Holiness the Patriarch there were: His Grace Vicar Bishop of Novo Brdo kyr Ilarion and His Grace retired Bishop of Canada kyr Georgije; Archimandrite Nektarije (Đurić), Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of Bishops and Dean of the Church of Saint Apostle Mark; Archimandrite Danilo (Gavranović), Director of the Patriarchal Administrative Office; Protosyncellus Pavle, Hegumen of the Manasija Monastery; Archpriest Vitaly Tarasiev, Dean of the Russian Church of the Holy Trinity in Belgrade; Protopresbyters-Stavrophors: Trajan Kojić, Vasilije Tomić, Slobodan Milunović, Dragoslav Stikić, and Grigorije Sapsaj; Protopresbyters Đorđe Stojisavljević, Nenad Jovanović, and Branislav Borota; Presbyters Stevan Vukić, Jovo Kalinić, Aleksandar Lučić, and Miodrag Ristić; as well as Protodeacons Dragan Radić and Radomir Vrućinić.
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church