PATRIARCH PORFIRIJE: THE SUFFERING OF THE JASENOVAC MARTYRS IS A TESTIMONY OF FAITH THAT DOES NOT FADE

DONJA GRADINA, APRIL 19 /SRNA/ - His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije said today that there is no more exalted or powerful place from which the life-giving greeting "Christ is Risen" can be heard than from the place of the crucifixion of the innocent Lord Jesus Christ near Jerusalem, or from Donja Gradina, at the site of the most terrible Golgotha of the Serbian people.

Addressing those gathered in Donja Gradina at the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustasha crime of genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp, the Patriarch emphasized that Donja Gradina is soaked in human tears and blood, but also sanctified by prayer. "Here, words are not enough, or rather they are completely unnecessary. Here, above all, a silence of the heart is needed-a silence in which we listen and hear the voices of those who, through their suffering, testified to faith, love, and the dignity of the human person," the Patriarch stated. The Serbian Patriarch stressed that the Jasenovac martyrs passed through the darkness of Ustasha evil and followed the path of Christ, and that their suffering transcended time and space, becoming a testimony of faith that does not fade. "We remember our own, as well as the victims among Jews and Roma, and praying to the Jasenovac saints and martyrs, we also remember all innocent victims, whenever and wherever they suffered, and regardless of who they were," the Patriarch emphasized. Patriarch Porfirije pointed out that even today, senseless bloodshed is taking place around the world, leaving behind ever more victims. "In these days, the Church lives the mystery of joy and resurrection from the dead, the mystery of victory over death, the mystery of the triumph of life. Therefore, in this place where human malice sought to speak, we confess that human malice does not have the final word; we confess that evil in general does not have the final word. That word belongs to life, and the final word belongs to love and to Christ, for He has risen from the dead and shown that darkness cannot conceal the light!" the Patriarch said. The Serbian Patriarch added that the Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac are not defeated or dead, but glorified and alive in Christ. "We do not come here only to remember the past, but to learn from the Holy Jasenovac martyrs how to live today-to preserve faith in our hearts and not allow our hearts to be filled with bitterness or a desire for revenge, because that would be poison for us and our souls; to remain people of peace, truth, and justice, who know that life is a wonderful gift from God and that the final judgment belongs to God," the Patriarch emphasized. Earlier, with the concelebration of several bishops and priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church /SPC/, Patriarch Porfirije served a memorial service at the plateau next to the Topole burial field in the Donja Gradina Memorial Area for 700,000 innocently killed Serbs, Jews, and Roma who were murdered in the Jasenovac system of concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/. At the Donja Gradina Memorial Area near Kozarska Dubica, in the presence of the highest officials of Republika Srpska and Serbia, the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustasha crime of genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp and its largest execution site—Donja Gradina in the NDH—is being commemorated today.