Jan 4, 2024. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
The head of
the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Patriarch Porfirije, on Thursday visited the
Velika Hoca settlement in Kosovo and said that Christmas is an occasion for
each person’s new essential spiritual renewal, that “we should forgive, build
peace among ourselves,” and pray to God for peace with the Albanians.
The Patriarch began Wednesday his visit to the SPC holy sites in Kosovo ahead of the Serbian Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7.
“We need
one another, we are all people, the same blood flows in every human being,” the
SPC quoted Patriarch Porfirije as saying.
He added
that in God’s love there is a place for everyone, regardless of how they feel
and who they belong to.
Life with
others can be hell if we see the other as an opponent, but life with others can
also be heaven if people support each other, live for each other, see the other
as an icon of God, their brother and friend, said the Patriarch.
It is
important to understand that peace is a spiritual category. We cannot have
peace around us if there is unrest within us. If there is intolerance, hatred,
aggression among us, within us and with others, then there is no inner peace,
no joy, no tranquility, said Patriarch Porfirije.
(Serbian media)