by Mladen Aleksic
The new Patriarch of Serbia, Porfirije, had a meeting with the President of Serbia, Alexander Vucic.
At the meeting, which took place on Wednesday, February 24, the Patriarch of Serbia thanked the President for attending his enthronement and for the words he addressed to him.
He pointed out that at the meeting with President Vucic, he had the opportunity to hear “in the shortest terms the elementary basis of geopolitics in the narrow sense of the word.”
“First of all, I emphasize that I am not a politician, not because I have no affinity for politics, but because I think that the church is a conciliar organism that, no matter how difficult, sometimes impossible, aims to collect, build bridges and overcome polarization. Primarily, to preach the meaning of each individual, but also of the entire nation, regardless of the circumstances,” said Patriarch Porfirije.
“According to the stance of the entire SOC assembly, we will do everything we can as shepherds for the benefit of our people and not to the detriment of others, making it clear that through dialogue we can recognize each other’s values and create a precondition for overcoming temptations ”, said the Patriarch.
The president of Serbia, Vucic said that they talked about the position of Serbian people and the church in the entire region, and they agreed that the state will help even more with the renovation of Serbian churches and shrines wherever the SOC operates.
“The relationship between the state and the church is very important. When the state and the church pursue and set common goals and work together, then Serbia will be the first in Europe on many issues,” said President Vucic.