On October 29, 2024, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, delivered a lecture in the Grand Hall of the Student City Cultural Center on the topic “The Liturgy – A Choice for the Kingdom of God.”
As with every visit Patriarch Porfirije makes to Studenjak, motivated by fatherly love and concern, as well as his often-stated mission of educating and enlightening the youth, the Grand Hall once again proved too small to accommodate the hundreds of young souls seeking answers to questions about the meaning of life, love and sacrifice, eternity and transience. According to Patriarch Porfirije, these answers are found in the Church, which he describes as an icon of the Kingdom of God.
“The Son of God, Jesus Christ, entered history, assumed human nature, and fully identified with humanity, except in sin. He, as King, embodies the Kingdom of God. By coming into the human world and drawing near to us, He brought the Kingdom of God closer. His Kingdom is now among us—closer than ever! It Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia,! The Lord comes, gathers apostles, preaches, performs miracles, and thus implements the Kingdom of God within history. Through His incarnation, the choosing of apostles, His miracles, His suffering, and of course, His resurrection, the future Kingdom that God prepared from eternity has drawn near to humankind,” Patriarch Porfirije said, inspired.
He emphasized that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself established the Church as the Holy Liturgy, which the Apostle Paul affirmed by saying that “the Church is Liturgy.” Patriarch Porfirije explained that the Holy Liturgy is an assembly in which bread and wine are offered, symbolizing everything essential to sustain life. During the Liturgy, these offerings are transformed by the Holy Spirit into the Body and Blood of Christ, and by partaking in them, we become co-body members with Christ.
Recalling the Lord’s words during the institution of the Holy Liturgy—the Eucharist—“Do this in remembrance of Me, until I come again,” Patriarch Porfirije highlighted that in these words, the Lord promised to return in fullness, once and for all when history would be transformed into eternity. As we live in expectation of Christ’s return, the Divine Liturgy, as the mystery of His remembrance, offers a foretaste of the future Kingdom. “A foretaste, but not in fullness; we see Him as in a mirror, but when He comes, we will see Him face to face. The Liturgy is a drama in which everyone has a role. The entry ticket to the Holy Liturgy is baptism. Through it, we board the ship of salvation, steering towards the future—a ship sailing to the harbor known as the Kingdom of God. In this way, everything gains the seal of authenticity, the seal of Christ, and the meaning of eternity. Establishing the system of values of the Kingdom of God gives history its meaning. And what are these values?” Patriarch Porfirije asked, and promptly provided the answer:
“They are the fulfillment of the commandment of love. Love your neighbor as yourself, but also love your enemies. This is the measure for all other values. When we evaluate everything by this Gospel standard, and choose the Kingdom of God as our guiding principle, when we place God in His rightful place, everything else falls into place,” concluded Patriarch Porfirije, who in the final part of the gathering answered questions that had been sent to the organizers via social media by Reverend Darko Nikolić.
Source: Patriarchate of Serbia
