A CALL TO THE SERBIAN PEOPLE TO OVERCOME DIVISIONS AND ACHIEVE RECONCILIATION

BELGRADE, JANUARY 5 /SRNA/ - The Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/ and His Holiness, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, called on the Serbian people in their Christmas Message to overcome divisions, noting that Christmas is a feast of peace, and that the angelic Christmas hymn is a prayer for peace, unity, and reconciliation.

It was emphasized that the Christian faith does not teach us to wait for better days in times of crisis, but rather to become living signs of the future Kingdom of God ourselves, people who already live differently, who do not heal fear with fear, nor hatred with hatred. Pointing to the unstable and difficult situation in the world, the Message notes that the situation in Serbia, to which the entire Serbian people are looking, is no less complex or challenging. Internal political tensions have led to deep divisions within society and a lack of trust among people, while differences in opinion are increasingly turning into irrational hatred. The Message emphasizes that the Church’s blessing obliges us to spread peace ourselves, and that today, more than ever, humanity needs to return to the source of peace, peace that is not imposed by force, but is revealed in humility, in love that “does not seek its own,” and in relationships that build trust, community, and respect for every person. “We live in a time of ever-deepening religious, ethnic, and cultural divisions, in a world in which geopolitical tensions are constantly rising and in which wars are becoming an increasingly frequent means of resolving economic and political conflicts,” the Message states. The shift in the global order and the struggle among major powers for dominance are assessed as contributing to instability, security crises, and a fear of an uncertain future. “To this are added economic insecurity, inflation, growing inequality, poverty, hunger, and the uncontrolled depletion of natural resources. Technological transformations bring new ethical dilemmas and give rise to digital isolation - a semblance of presence without genuine community,” the text reads. All of this, it is emphasized, leads to a crisis of trust in institutions and the media, to the relativization of truth, to rising anxiety and loneliness, and even to a loss of the meaning of life among many people today. The Message says that there is no need to be afraid, because the world in which we live, with all its fractures, conflicts, and fears, is no longer self-sufficient or self-explanatory, nor is it left to the blind forces of history. The Message emphasizes that the Feast of the Nativity of Christ carries two essential messages and truths: the first is that God became man for our sake and for our salvation, and the second is that every person, precisely because of this, can and should become our brother.