Patriarch Irinej in Ljubljana: There is no difference among people no matter what religion they belong to

  His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, attended the act of inauguration of the newly built Parish Centre by the Orthodox church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Ljubljana.

After the talks with the Orthodox faithful, who had come from all parts of Slovenia, as well as from Italy and Austria, the Patriarch celebrated the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the centre of Ljubljana with the concelebration of many hierarchs and priests. At the end of the Liturgy the Patriarch delivered a sermon in presence of a great number of believers in the churchyard and called upon them to attend church services regularly. The Serbian Patriarch admonished them to respect their new homeland and to maintain good relations with Slovenians, because “the Serbs have always been in good relations with Slovenians”. The Patriarch also called upon the Serbian people to respect citizens of other religions, “since we are all the children of God and there is no difference among people no matter what religion they belong to”.

Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb-Ljubljana, as the host hierarch, thanked the Patriarch for having payed a canonical visit to Slovenia “where your faithful live as well”.

The ceremony of inauguration of the Parish Centre was attended by high representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia, Ambassador Mrs. Zorana Vlatkovic and First Advisor Mrs. Ivana Jaksic Matovic, as well as by representatives of other Churches and religious communities in Slovenia.

The Parish Centre was built in the courtyard of the church in the Centre of Ljubljana, beside the famous park in Ljubljana – Tivoli. The Centre will host all the important cultural performances of the Serbian societies, and it is expected to host many Serbian writers as well as musical and theater groups from Serbia and  from the Republic of Srpska. The Parish Centre will also be a domicile and a school for learning the Serbian language and Cyrillic script.

Source: Hram (translated by the Information Service of the SOC)