LAZIĆ: RETURN TO FAITH AND GOD MARKS SERBIAN RESPONSE TO A TIME OF SPIRITUAL DECLINE

BEOGRAD, JUNE 4 /SRNA/ - The Serbian people have turned to God and eternity at a time when Europe is becoming post-Christian, theologian Nebojša Lazić assessed, adding that the Holy Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos has, in this geopolitical moment, "protected the Serbs".

Lazić said that the arrival of the Holy Belt in Belgrade ahead of the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ marked a miracle among the Serbian people and showed that Orthodox faith performs miracles, even though some mockingly refer to Serbs as a "heavenly people". "At a time when apostasy and agnosticism are increasingly promoted, and when Europe is becoming post-Christian, one people has chosen to turn to God and eternity, thereby securing its future," Lazić told SRNA. He said the Mother of God in the Cathedral Church of Saint Sava in Vračar welcomes Serbs from all regions and grants them blessings, while offerings from believers will be directed to where they are most needed in Kosovo and Metohija. The belt was brought to Serbia for the first time in 655 years, after Prince Lazar had once donated it to the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos for safekeeping. Lazić said the relic has now come to "protect" the people in a deeply significant historical and geopolitical moment. He also addressed criticism from those who, as he said, do not understand the faith and claim that believers are worshipping an object, stressing that Orthodox Christians do not worship matter itself but rather honor what has come into contact with a holy relic through which divine grace acts. "Fabric, wood, relics and icons do not have magical power in themselves; their power comes from God. Only God is worshipped; holy objects are venerated as witnesses of God's grace," Lazić explained. He cited the Gospel account of a woman being healed after touching Christ's garment, saying her faith was accepted by God who acted through matter. Lazić said the long queues of believers outside the Saint Sava Temple are "the most joyful lines", noting that people waited up to 14 hours to venerate the relic, and describing them as calm and content rather than angry or nervous. "We are, by our historical definition, a heavenly people because we rely on the heavens, where the saints and God are," Lazić concluded. The Serbian Orthodox Church earlier announced that from May 21 to June 2 at 8:00 p.m., a total of 576,793 faithful venerated the Holy Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Saint Sava Church in Vračar. The relic, considered one of the greatest Christian Orthodox holy objects, will remain in the church until Saturday, June 6, when it will be ceremonially returned to Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos after a liturgy led by Patriarch Porfirije. Due to strong interest from believers across Serbia and the region, the display period was extended twice.