VATOPEDI ABBOT: ARRIVAL OF HOLY BELT OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS IS A BLESSING FOR THE SERBIAN PEOPLE

BELGRADE, MAY 23 /SRNA/ - The Abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, Ephraim, visited the St. Sava Theological Seminary in Belgrade, where he donated an icon of the Holy Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos.

On that occasion, he emphasized that the arrival of this holy relic in the Serbian capital is a great blessing for the Serbian people. Abbot Ephraim pointed to the strong spiritual connection between the Vatopedi and Hilandar monasteries, which dates back to the time of St. Sava, wishing the seminary students to remain on the path of Serbia’s first enlightener, according to the Serbian Orthodox Church website. He emphasized the importance of prayer in today’s world and wished the students that their hearts would be filled with the Lord Jesus Christ. The rector of the seminary, proto-deacon Radomir Vrućinić, said that the visit of Abbot Ephraim represents a meeting of two great ecclesiastical centers, and that the Vatopedi Monastery holds great significance for Serbs, as it is the place where St. Sava took his first spiritual steps. The abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery brought one of the greatest Christian and Orthodox relics, the miraculous Holy Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, to Belgrade on the occasion of the city’s feast day, Ascension Day /Spasovdan/. The relic is currently kept at the Church of Saint Sava in Vračar, and the faithful can venerate it until May 29.