Patriarch Porfirije: The Church does not exist to adapt to every current spirit of the times
Published on January 26, 2026
On 9 August 2025, the feast of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije presided over at the Divine Liturgy in the church built in honor of this wondrous saint of God in Mirijevo.
Delivering sermon to the pious people gathered in the church, whose foundations were laid in 2002 with the placement of specially prepared granite brought from Hilandar Monastery, His Holiness said:
– Glory to the Great Martyr Panteleimon, the saint of God! Glory to God, in Whose honor we are raising this church, this place where we gather together, all of us who believe in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in His Father and the Holy Spirit. We gather so that, standing before the face of God, we may become one with Him in the Holy Mystery of Communion, and also so that among ourselves we may become one body and one organism. We gather to pray to Him, our Lord, for our salvation, for the salvation of our neighbors, to pray for peace, as we say at the very beginning of the Holy Liturgy, for the salvation of the entire world, and also for our peace, for peace within us, and for peace among us.
Reminding that, because we know that everything good and virtuous is a gift from God and comes from Him, we likewise know that everything that is His and comes from Him is perfect, the Patriarch emphasized:
– God is absolute perfection, beyond any perfection or goodness conceivable to us. Nothing can be added to Him, nor, on the other hand, can anything be taken away from Him. We can only be made worthy to, by His grace and love, have something of His truth opened to us in our hearts and souls when we walk the path of humility and spiritual struggle. Nothing can be added to or taken away from His Church.
