Porfirije: After 55 years, the wound of schism with the Macedonian church has been healed

You are welcome, bless us and convey our blessings to your people - said Porfirije

Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Porfirije said today, during a liturgy service of reconciliation with the Macedonian Church, that after 55 years a deep and painful wound of schism with that church has healed and that this is a great day and a miracle of God.

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"Let us rejoice and and be happy, let us rejoice, brothers and sisters, because today the wholeness of the church, heaven and earth rejoice, all the saints rejoice, Saint Sava and all who are planted in his root," Porfirije said in the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, where he served the liturgy of reconciliation together with Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia and the archbishops of both churches.

The patriarch stressed that the schism with the brothers from North Macedonia lasted for 55 years and that the Serbian Orthodox Church waited every day for that painful wound to heal.

"There is nothing that we can heal ourselves, it cannot be done only by our powers, now the wound has been healed and it is a miracle of God and a gift from God. When we suffer, it can be an expression of God's providence, most often it is a consequence of our choices and wrong steps, and the wound then becomes again a pedagogical option, and we used it and understood that the wound was inflicted by our actions and therefore prayed to God and Saint Sava," said Porfirije.

He said that now our joy is immeasurable and an expression of God's love.

"Here this call of brothers and sisters from Serbia and North Macedonia - the heart of our people was beating for all of us, in the rhythm of Christ. It shows us that God looked at us and showed us mercy. We understood that the only thing we should not be doing is preventing God's grace," said the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In the talks, we agreed that our actions should be an inverted pyramid and that people should be at the top, and that we should be reduced, that we should be servants of the servants, stated Porfirije.

"You are welcome, bless us and convey our blessings to your people" said Porfirije.

With the liturgy of reconciliation in the Temple of Saint Sava, after 55 years of schism, the Macedonian church returned to liturgical and canonical unity with the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as under its umbrella.

(Telegraf.rs)