Patriarch in the Easter Epistle: Prayer is stronger than weapons; we pray for the preservation of Kosovo and Metohija in Serbia

In his Easter Epistle, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije called on all faithful people to multiply their prayers for the peace and preservation of Kosovo in Serbia, stressing that for the Serbian Orthodox Church, the alienation of that province from the Serbian state, "directly or indirectly, de facto or de jure - is unacceptable", RTV reports.

In the Epistle, the Patriarch also called on the faithful to pray for peace in Ukraine and pointed out the necessity of preserving the Serbian language and the Cyrillic alphabet.

"We rejoice today, our dear spiritual children, we rejoice and celebrate the most important Feast, the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the dead because by doing so we receive a pledge of our own victory over the chains of death and we announce the joy of life to the world," the letter published on Serbian Orthodox Church website states.

Brothers and sisters, as the patriarch stated, it was the faith of the Orthodox Church that the White Angel of Mileseva revealed to us, showing us the empty tomb of Christ with the message, "Do not be afraid!”.

God spoke those words of encouragement in the most diverse circumstances of individual and national trials, crucifixions, and troubles, according to the Easter Epistle.

"We rejoice because, despite all the circumstances and difficulties, the large and calm Raska eyes of the White Angel are following us, the most beautiful, the most loved, and the most famous frescoes created by our people, telling us that Jesus of Nazareth, crucified on the cross, rose from the grave," the Patriarch said.

The Patriarch emphasized that, just as the strength of faith and the prayers of our righteous ancestors and fathers had carried us through the straits of history, so it was necessary that even today, in all hardships, we listened to the voice of the Church, the voice of God - let us unite and multiply our prayers for peace, for the preservation of Kosovo in Serbia, for the preservation of our sanctuaries.

"Let us unite and multiply our prayers for the peaceful life of our people everywhere so that our or anyone else's suffering is not repeated. Know that the prayer of the believing people for peace, the prayer of the Church for peace, is stronger than any weapon. Archbishops and faithful people of the Serbian Orthodox Church, whose first name is the Patriarchate of Peja, are firmly and unchangingly of the opinion that the alienation of Kosovo and Metohija from the state of Serbia, directly or indirectly, de facto or de jure, is unacceptable. We pray to the Savior and advocate for a common life, in mutual respect and understanding with Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija, because if there is room in our souls for both, there will be room for everyone in Kosovo and Metohija," Patriarch Porfirije said.

He assessed that our nation still had enough "faith, enough prayer and righteousness to save us and everything around us in the times to come."

The Patriarch emphasized that they especially called for the preservation of the Serbian language and the Cyrillic alphabet, on which Serbian culture had been built.

"We appeal to normalize the use of the Cyrillic alphabet in public space, as well as to stop the violence against the Serbian language and to abolish the provisions of the laws that impose that violence, especially through the unconstitutional law that imposes the so-called gender-sensitive language, behind which is hidden the fight against marriage and the family as God-established sanctuaries and natural forms of man's personal and congregational life. We built and built our way of life, our ethos, and our value system on the Gospel foundations, in which marriage and family, based on love for God and mutual love, are the presumption of harmony in the life of people, society, and state," the patriarch said.

In the Epistle, he emphasized that the Lord Jesus Christ also said, "Don't be afraid! Just believe!" Because the faith that pervaded and designed life's path, that nourished every human being with the juices of grace, could truly do anything.

The Patriarch also called for prayer for peace in Ukraine, for an end to the suffering and conflict between brothers of the same faith and blood, and for enmity and hatred to be replaced by friendship and love.

"Today we especially pray to the Risen Lord for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its hierarchy, and its faithful people, who are exposed to injustice, violence, and persecution," he said.

He wished the believers and everyone who heard the words of the White Angel a happy, virtuous, and blessed holiday and said: "Do not be afraid! Look for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified. He got up, he is not here. Wherever any of us are today, we greet each other with a greeting of eternal joy".