The Patriarch visited Kosovo and Metohija on Saint Vitus Day

His Holiness Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch, celebrated the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the Gracanica monastery, on 28 June 2021, on Saint Vitus Day (Vidovdan).

The Liturgical gathering was officiated  by His Holiness Porfirije,  Serbian Patriarch, with the concelebration of Their Graces Bishops Atanasije of Mileseva, Joanikije of Budimlje-Niksic and elected Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Teodosije of Raska-Prizren, Jovan of Slavonia, Siluan of Australia-New Zealand and Stefan of Remesiana.

His Holiness, Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch, said in his sermon that every time he comes to Kosovo and Metohija he has a feeling that he has returned to his home, and that every absence from Kosovo is separation from God and brothers.

"Every time we come to this land, we deeply know that we have returned to our homeland. This holy Gracanica testifies to that, Decani, the Pec Patriarchate and the Mother of God of Ljevis testify. So many holy sites testify that this is our home. We also see the Albanian brothers as our brothers. I am sure that we can not only understand each other but also live together, grow and build. "Let us not be taught peace and community by those who sow discord among people, and have only some foreign distant earthly interests," the Patriarch said during the Hierarchal Liturgy served on the occasion of Saint Vitus Day.

"Kosovo and Metohija is the land where we were born, born for Christ and, of course, gained a lot of what others can't or won't understand. Gracanica and the holy sites we have listed are the world cultural heritage, but, brothers and sisters, the world as such does not exist if it does not have its own name and surname. Our names and surnames are Gracanica and Pec Patriarchate, Holy Mother of God of Ljevis, Kosovo and Metohija. Our name and surname are our Orthodox Church ", Patriarch Porfirije said.

"They are the pearls in the world's cultural heritage, but they are primarily the heritage of our fathers, the heritage of the Serbs and Orthodoxy. That should not bother anyone, because everyone has their own heritage, culture, everyone prays to God in some way. Differences should not be a cause for conflict and separation. Differences are just gifts, and the word gift means that it is something we received in order to multiply it and give ourselves to others. Gracanica is our eye, our ears, our heart. That is what Prince Lazar decided on Saint Vitus Day. He chose faith in Christ, not the dinner. And that is why when they tell us: `Give up Gracanica, give up Kosovo and Metohija`, well, gentlemen, would you allow them to take out your eye, to cut off your ears, to rip out your heart? We know you wouldn't agree. It is a battle for essential freedom, "the Patriarch underlined.

After the Liturgy,  Professor Dr. Zoran Milosevic and the humanitarian organization All for Kosmet were rewarded with Bishop's letter of gratitude. The Diocese of Raska and Prizren awarded  mothers with four or more children with the Order of the Mother of the Nine Jugovics, while the Office for Kosovo and Metohija provided financial assistance for them.

This was followed by a traditional prayer gathering at the memorial in Gazimestan, where His Holiness Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch, together with bishops, priests and monks of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, served a memorial service for the Serbian heroes who died in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.

Source: Diocese of Raska Prizren