Bishop Ilarion: The triumph of the Heavenly Kingdom is felt everywhere, especially in Kosovo

Bishop of Novo Brdo and vicar of the Patriarch, Bishop Ilarion, said that the Church of Christ shines most beautifully in times of hardship and suffering, and that on Christmas the triumph of the Heavenly Kingdom is felt everywhere, especially in Kosovo, RTS reported.

Last night, Bishop Ilarion served the liturgy at the Draganac Monastery in Kosovo, where he welcomed Christmas together with the faithful.

“It was not only our people. Interestingly, there was a Frenchman traveling on foot toward the Holy Land. He celebrated Christmas with us according to our customs. We also announced one American who has decided to become Orthodox, and his priest asked us to read the prayers of catechumens so that he could now enter the preparatory period for baptism. It was joyful and festive, filled with warmth and love, and once again, as always, a renewing experience,” the bishop told RTS.

He emphasizes that Christmas is God as a child, and when asked what that message means, he replies that it is a message that God’s power is revealed perfectly in weakness.

“That power is not in wealth, it is not in violence, but true power is God’s power, which in this world is manifested through humility. And that is the most wondrous sight that could appear in all worlds, that God the Creator, the Lord of all worlds, reveals Himself in the most beautiful possible way, and He reveals Himself as a child. And as that child He blesses us from the Bethlehem cave, afflicted,” Bishop Ilarion said.

He points out that the Church of Christ shines most beautifully in moments of hardship and suffering.

“This is also the experience in Kosovo and Metohija, where the political reality is so bizarre and absurd that wherever a person turns on that plane, they cannot find consolation. On the contrary, one can only be frustrated. But despite all of this, the Church advances irresistibly, and here the triumph of the Heavenly Kingdom is revealed, that Kingdom which, according to folk tradition, Saint Prince Lazar chose on behalf of all of us,” Bishop Ilarion added.

He stresses that in Kosovo in particular, but also everywhere, the triumph of the Heavenly Kingdom is felt.

“In Belgrade as well, churches are full. The people feel the need to be close to the Christ Child. The gates of Hades cannot harm the Church, but as it was said earlier, even the blood of martyrs is seed. The more they kill us, the more the Church will grow. So now as well, we do not have that full measure of suffering for the faith of Christ, but in accordance with the effort of each of us and the distress and injustice we may endure, we too can contribute to the progress of the Church of God,” Bishop Ilarion stated.

He adds that the Heavenly Kingdom triumphs at every liturgy.

“The disposition of a Christian, his outlook on life, is that it is good. He is not embittered, he harbors no hatred, he essentially has neither an enemy nor a fundamental problem. All the basic, foundational problems have been resolved. And the Christian is at peace. He does not need or expect salvation from certain changes on the level of politics or events in this world. Rather, the Christian primarily seeks the peace that God gives, and with that peace he tries to ennoble this world as well,” Bishop Ilarion added.

He notes that we should not be passive, inert, or indifferent to this world.

“On the contrary, God Himself is interested in this world and believes in it, which is why He came into it. We should cultivate it, refine it, participate in social life in every way, but starting from that inner peace. When one has that peace that comes from the Holy Liturgy, from the Heavenly Kingdom, a person knows what they need to do,” the bishop said.

Patriarch Porfirije speaks in his Christmas message about deep divisions in society. Asked where he sees the root of those divisions, Bishop Ilarion says he sees them precisely in the fact that a person sees a wolf in their neighbor.

“That they see hell in their neighbor, as some philosophers have said. You know, the neighbor is my hell, the neighbor is my obstacle. That is a delusion. A human being is our paradise and can be the beginning of our paradise,” he emphasized.

He points out that people want the Church to take sides in political or socio-political trenches along lines of division that the Church does not recognize, but that the Church should remain where it is, in its peace, to dwell and to call people.

“The Church cannot line up in any other procession or any other march except the one led by the Lord Christ. Therefore, our Church, with our Patriarch at its head, awaits its faithful people in its temples. Whoever wishes to hear what the Church has to say, what God, after all, has to say through His presbyters and bishops, let them come to the Holy Liturgy,” Bishop Ilarion said.