On 7 July 2026, the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Forerunner and Baptist, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the church dedicated to this great feast in the Petlovo Brdo district of Belgrade.
“There is no greater miracle than that a human being can become one with God, and that we, each of us different from the other, can also become one with one another, for with God all things are possible,” the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church emphasized in his homily, adding that everything in our lives and around us is a miracle.
“Today we celebrate the wondrous Nativity of the Holy Forerunner. Wherever God wills, the Holy Spirit transcends the laws of nature. Thus it was in the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth: the natural order was overturned, because for the person who lives close to God, believes in Him, and dedicates his life to Him, all things are possible.”
“St John the Baptist shows us that humility is what the Lord Himself taught and affirmed as the only true and natural way: when the ‘I’ within us grows smaller, when our selfishness diminishes, only then does the Lord Jesus Christ increase within us and make His dwelling in our hearts. And when the Lord is born within us, when He becomes the centre of our lives, then everything is transformed into joy. Everything becomes easier, everything acquires meaning, and everything comes in its proper time and finds its rightful place. In every other case, if our ‘I’ does not become smaller and Christ Himself does not increase within us, then everything is distorted, and everything becomes deformed,” Patriarch Porfirije said, recalling St John the Forerunner’s call to repentance.
“Repentance is not merely self-condemnation. It is the awareness and acknowledgment that we are sinful and weak, but it is also the humble struggle through prayer, faith, and almsgiving; through keeping, or at least striving to keep, every commandment of God; through the struggle to return to God and free ourselves from the claws of hatred, condemnation, envy, pride, self-love, and selfishness. It is the struggle to make humility the foundation of our lives, to examine ourselves constantly, seeing where we have sinned and where we have strayed from God’s commandments, with the unceasing desire to become better before God. And when we become better before God, then we become better towards everyone and every person, everywhere and in every place. Then we also grow in our salvation, and we become better for our own selves.”
The Dean of the Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in Petlovo Brdo, Protopresbyter Predrag Todorović, thanked Patriarch Porfirije for his visit and, on behalf of the parish clergy and the faithful, presented him with an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of the “Great Lent” as a commemorative gift of the Eucharistic gathering. The nuns of the Monastery of Žiča painted the icon.
Upon the recommendation of the Brotherhood of the Church of St John, the Patriarchal Commendation of the Patriarch of Serbia was awarded to the parishioner and great benefactor of the church, Mr Sebastian Babić, owner of the Belgrade-based company Legi Sistem.
Congratulating Mr Babić, Patriarch Porfirije reminded those present of the words of his blessed predecessor, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, who, whenever someone made an offering to the Church, would pray, saying: “Lord, bless the hands that give.”
