Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia was received with all due solemnity on 28 July 2026 at the Cathedral Church of Saint Basil of Ostrog in Nikšić.
At this significant historical moment, the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church delivered the following message:
Priests and brothers, venerable fathers, brothers and sisters, children of Saint Sava and heirs of the covenant of Saint Lazarus, children of Saint Peter of Cetinje and spiritual descendants of Saint Basil of Ostrog and of all the saints whose prayers ascend to heaven, before the throne of God and before the face of God, and whose spiritual sweat has watered this holy land,
Truly great is God’s blessing upon every person who comes to this holy land, and especially upon us, whom God has appointed to be servants of His Holy Altar.
Indeed, I never come here as a stranger, nor even merely as a visitor, but as one who belongs among you and is among your closest brethren; as a brother, as one of you, as the shepherd and spiritual father of the flock whose roots were planted by Saint Sava throughout the centuries, until our own days; until the blessed Metropolitan Amphilochios and, behold, until the present shepherd of the Church of Christ.
I come as one of you.
I come not primarily to deliver a speech or to teach others, but to strengthen and increase your own faith; so that, looking upon your faces, I may see through you the Holy Church of Christ; that I may see all those who, through their prayers, have nourished this holy land, and above all and before all else, that I may see the Church, the living Church of Christ, and the very presence of God.
For this reason I come, so that together with your hierarchs, the sacred clergy, the monastic community, and with all of you, brothers and sisters, we may pray to God and celebrate the Divine Liturgy.
For it is there, in that place, in the Divine Liturgy, that we reveal and affirm that we transcend every kind of division and every boundary; both those given to us biologically and those created by our mistaken will and our wrong choices.
There, in the Divine Liturgy, we are members of the same Body; we are members of the same Church.
There, having one faith and partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we become one with Him and one with one another.
There, it no longer matters who is Greek, who is Jew, who is rich and who is poor, who is educated or lacks education, who holds a particular social or political position in society or does not hold one, who is considered a so-called ordinary citizen.
There, in the Divine Liturgy, the only measure and the only criterion is the faith we carry within our hearts; it is the truth that we have been baptised in the name of the Holy Trinity, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Of course, the measure and criterion is also the extent to which we have increased the gift that was given to us, the extent to which we have multiplied what we received from the Lord, and the extent to which we return it to Him as thanksgiving and offering in return, having love for Him and confirming this love through our love for our neighbour.
And every human being, created according to the image and likeness of God, has been created to be our neighbour. That is, whether someone is or is not our neighbour depends upon us, upon the love we have for that person, and not so much upon the way that person behaves toward us or upon what that person does to us.
Therefore, in the Divine Liturgy, the Lord is present. It is the revelation and the presence of the Kingdom of God among us.
In the Divine Liturgy, this world acquires its true meaning. Its beauty receives an eternal dimension and eternal beauty. Without the Divine Liturgy, everything is empty, and everything is temporary.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we who are Orthodox Christians possess the greatest possible gift: we have the ability to recognise this mystery, and we have the ability to participate in it.
For this reason, we also have a far greater responsibility than all those who are deprived of these mysteries, as well as those who have themselves distanced themselves from this mystery and have been deprived of its gifts and blessings.
For this reason I come to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, to pray to God together with you, and so that all of us, through the grace of God, may enter more deeply into and understand more fully this gift that He offers us.
I come to pray together with you for peace throughout the entire world, for peace among all peoples, for peace between our people and other peoples, for peace within our own people, for unity, harmony, and mutual understanding; so that we may understand the truth that we need one another and that we cannot exist without one another.
And, of course, I come to pray to God together with you that God may grant you health, health and harmony to your families, and to your children every progress in virtue and goodness.
And so that, now and always, together with all the saints, we may glorify our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, together with His Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia arrived in Podgorica during the afternoon hours of 28 July 2026.
The Patriarch of Serbia and his sacred entourage were received at Podgorica Airport by Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral and Metropolitan Methodios of Budimlje-Nikšić.
Afterwards, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia proceeded to Nikšić, where he was ceremonially and solemnly received at the Cathedral Church of Saint Basil of Ostrog.
Metropolitans Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral and Methodios of Budimlje-Nikšić were present at the Vespers service and at the official service of thanksgiving and doxology.
Metropolitan Methodios addressed words of welcome to the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, emphasising that the faithful people recognise in his presence Christ Himself and the successor of Saint Sava:
“Today, this martyred Serbian land of ours and this holy church have become a tangible part of the Heavenly Jerusalem, because in Your person we welcome Christ the Lord Himself and the successor to the throne of Saint Sava.
Your arrival in the Diocese of Budimlje-Nikšić represents a manifestation of the fullness of Saint Sava’s conciliar spirit.
May today’s Saint Sava gathering remove every human division.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
