DODIK: MAY EASTER ENCOURAGE ALL THE FAITHFUL TO STAY ON THE PATH OF TRUTH AND MERCY

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 20 /SRNA/ - The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik said in his Easter greeting that in times of trials it is more necessary than ever to testify to truth, kindness and self-sacrificing love, and wished that the Easter holiday encourages all the faithful to stay on the path of truth and mercy.

"In times when as a nation, as a Church and a community we face trials, Easter calls us to be true followers of the resurrected Lord and bearers of his light in the world," said Dodik in his congratulatory message on the occasion of the greatest Christian holiday to His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, metropolitans, bishops, clergy, monastics and all Orthodox believers. Dodik emphasized that Easter encourages repentance and forgiveness, like a light that illuminates all the regions where the Serbian people live, inviting them to unity, love and mutual support. "May the Easter holiday, as a victory of life over death, encourage all the faithful to stay on the path of truth, kindness and gospel love. CHRIST IS RISEN, TRULY RISEN" said Dodik. The President of Srpska wished that this holiday season would be in the spirit of the centuries-old tradition of the Serbian people. The Serbian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox churches today mark the greatest Christian holiday - Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and which represents the essence of the Christian faith.