On the Second Sunday of Great Lent, dedicated to Gregory Palamas, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint Mark in Belgrade.
In his homily, the Patriarch reflected on the theological teaching of St. Gregory Palamas, emphasizing the distinction between God’s essence and His uncreated energies. He explained that while God’s essence remains inaccessible to human understanding, God reveals Himself through His divine energies, through which believers can know Him and enter into communion with Him through faith and prayer.
“Through prayer we confess God and affirm that we need Him,” the Patriarch said. He noted that St. Gregory Palamas understood that the human mind is often darkened by pride, vanity, narcissism, selfishness, and sin. For this reason, the saint encouraged believers to seek divine enlightenment through prayer, recommending the simple invocation: “Lord, enlighten my darkness.”
The Patriarch explained that this prayer expresses the desire for God’s light to enter the human heart and soul, allowing believers to see the world with God’s eyes, understand with His mind, and act with His love.
Commenting on the Gospel reading from the Gospel of Mark, which recounts the story of four friends bringing a sick man to Christ for healing, Patriarch Porfirije emphasized the importance of faith. He said the passage shows that everything in the spiritual life depends on faith and trust in God.
According to the Patriarch, the true miracle of faith is not only physical healing but also the miracle of repentance and inner transformation. Through repentance and continuous spiritual renewal, believers strive to become better persons so that God’s grace may dwell within the community of the faithful.
During the solemn liturgy, Patriarch Porfirije also ordained Milorad Ilić, a doctoral student at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Belgrade and an employee of the Holy Synod, to the rank of deacon.
The Patriarch was assisted in the service by numerous clergy, including Bishop Tikhon of Moravica, along with archimandrites, priests, and deacons of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
