Epistles
Encyclical on the Occasion of the Centennial Celebration of the Re-establishment of the Serbian Patriarchate
15. May 2022 - 11:41
PORFIRIJE,
By the Grace of God, the Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the hierarchs gathered at the regular annual session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops, sends this pastoral encyclical to the clergy, monastics and all sons and daughters of our Holy Church on the occasion of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the reestablishment of canonical unity of the Serbian Patriarchate.
We greet you with joy, dear spiritual children, from one of the three historical headquarters of the Serbian patriarchs, from the God protected Sremski Karlovci, where we are liturgically celebrating the great jubilee of the one-hundredth anniversary of the renewal of the ancient Patriarchate of Pec, the unification of all the Serbian church regions, which were until then in various statuses and jurisdictions, into one Serbian Patriarchate, which, due to the epidemic, we were unable to celebrate in 2020.
Paschal Encyclical of the Serbian Orthodox Church
23. April 2022 - 16:35
The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Pascha, 2022
+PORFIRIJE
By the Grace of God
Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Paschal greeting:
CHRIST IS RISEN!
This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us greatly rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 117:24
Our dear spiritual children,
With these words from the Old Testament days, the king and prophet David enthusiastically cried out, foreseeing by the Holy Spirit the great day of Christ's victory over death and our spiritual celebration because of that. On this great and mysterious Day all creation is bathed in the light of eternity and with unspeakable joy sings the song of victory to the Lord who banished the darkness of sin and illumined us with the unfading rays of life. "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it," (St. John 1:5) - so the essence of divine revelation and our Christian testimony was summed up by the Holy Apostle, Evangelist and Theologian John who during the Mystical Supper rested his head upon Lord’s bosom and took in all the power, beauty and mystery of His life-giving Being as the God-Man.
Patriarchal Pascha Encyclical 2021
30. April 2021 - 12:59The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Pascha, 2021
PORFIRIJE
By the Grace of God
Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Paschal greeting:
Christ is Risen!
Come, on this auspicious day of the Resurrection, Let us partake of the new fruit of the vine of divine gladness and of the Kingdom of Christ, praising Him as God unto the ages.
(Paschal Canon, Ode eight, the first troparion)
With these words, dear brothers and sisters, glorifying the Resurrection of Christ, the Church calls and gathers us to the pious paschal joy, the joy which surpasses and exceeds all of our earthly celebrations. The pious joy which the Lord has prepared for us is the joy of eternal Life, the eternal victory of Good over evil and the conquering of demons. The most wonderful John Chrysostom exclaimed in the festal delight: “Let no one today be afraid of death, for the Savior’s death has made us free: it is extinguished by Him Whom it had held captive, Hades is despoiled by Him Who has descended into Hades, by receiving His Body Hades has been embittered.”
The Nativity Encyclical of the Serbian Orthodox Church 2020
4. January 2021 - 23:28
The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Christmas, 2020
The Holy Hierarchical Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church
With all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Christmas greeting:
Peace from God! Christ is Born!
Christ is born, glorify Him!
Christ is come from Heaven, welcome Him!
Christ is on earth, be lifted up!
Sing unto the Lord all the earth!
With these words Saint Gregory the Theologian begins his Nativity sermon, and these same words we, sixteen centuries later, sing in our services. Sing to the Lord, all the earth, for the joy prophesied by the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 2:2-3; 9, 6; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Ezekiel 34:23; Micah 5:2) and the righteous (Genesis 12:3; 18:15) has been fulfilled. The most difficult task of man’s life is to comprehend how that announced and then fulfilled joy is not like any earthly joy; rather it represents the very essence of life and our faith. Every earthly joy and celebration is limited by time and space, but the joy of Christmas is an event which lasts, giving meaning to all of our relationships and our whole life here and now. This joy has manifested itself, it has begun, it is already given to us according to Christ’s words: “Your joy no one will take from you.” (St. John 16:22)
Patriarchal Paschal Encyclical 2020
16. April 2020 - 22:14
The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Pascha, 2020
+IRINEJ
By the Grace of God
Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Paschal greeting:
Christ is Risen!
This is the day of Resurrection; let us be illumined by the feast!
Let us embrace each other joyously! Let us say even to those
who hate us: Let us forgive all by the Resurrection;
and so let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
[The Stichera of Pascha from Matins]
Here we are, dear brothers and sisters and dear spiritual children, in the festivity and joy of the great Feast Day: Pascha. Today is the Feast Day of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice and celebrate! Pascha is our greatest feast day, the feast of the victory of Life over death, God over Satan, Man, in Christ Jesus, over sin. Christ is risen from the dead! Let us say it to all and make glad all and everyone, even those who hate Him, the Resurrected God Man, and us, His inheritance here on earth, and those who do not believe and still doubt that He is the Redeemer and Savior of the world.
Patriarchal Nativity Encyclical 2019
6. January 2020 - 10:19
The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Christmas, 2019
+IRINEJ
By the Grace of God
Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Christmas greeting:
Peace from God! Christ is Born!
In this year of our Lord, when we once again celebrate the most-glorious Incarnation of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ – the only New under the Sun, we all hasten towards the temple of God to gather around the Divine Child, the Most Pure Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and the righteous Joseph.
