Patriarch Porfirije awarded scholarships to high school and university students from Kosovo: If I were to leave you, I would be leaving myself

The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, today awarded scholarships to high school and university students from Kosovo at the Cultural Center in Gracanica. The scholarships are granted from the endowment of Sima Andrejevic Igumanov, one of the greatest church benefactors and the founder of the Prizren Seminary "Saints Cyril and Methodius".

In his address, Patriarch Porfirije emphasized that in Kosovo there was, what it was.

"It is entirely wrong to think that someone can be something else if they leave themselves. If I were far from you, and if I left you, I would actually leave myself, and that is not possible", Porfirije said.

Speaking about the Sima Igumanov Foundation, he mentioned that the SOC has the desire to work on expanding the foundation by including people who want to help.

"We have come to fulfill love and obedience in relation to the one who knew that when he loves and when he loves, he is a disciple of Christ, to fulfill the faith of love of Sima Igumanov, who is a descendant of Kosovo and Metohija, who gave his being and heart to Kosovo and Metohija, divided it into two parts, left one part of his being to the Seminary in Prizren, and the other part left to the youth of Kosovo and Metohija, those who learn and grow with knowledge. From the Sima Igumanov Foundation, one part is given to the Seminary, and the other part to the students in Kosovo and Metohija", Porfirije said.

As he added, love for God was what moved Sima Igumanov, and the SOC participated in that love.

Bishop of Raska and Prizren, Teodosije, welcomed the Patriarch to Kosovo and said that the Patriarch's decision to spend Christmas with the Serbs in Kosovo represented his divine love for everyone.

"These joyful days are special for us because of your visit and the services and prayers you offered to God. We remain in Kosovo and Metohija by the will and help of God, and that is the most important thing. This will is reflected in everything we experience in Kosovo and Metohija, in our crucifixion, but also in our renewal, as evidenced by our sanctities destroyed in 1999 and 2004. And you, Your Holiness, help the Seminary function, live and work, so that professors and workers are satisfied, and students are happy", Bishop Teodosije said.

In front of the students who received scholarships from the Sima Igumanov Foundation, Anica Savic, a student at the Academy of Vocational Studies, addressed and thanked the Patriarch and the SOC for their support in difficult times for the Serbs in Kosovo.

"On this occasion, I thank the Patriarch and the SOC because they are always with us, with our people in Kosovo and Metohija, teaching us with their care how to endure these difficult moments. Thank you for every help, for the warm word, and the extended hand; it means a lot to us because we know that we are not alone", Savic said.

Director of the Cultural Center in Gracanica, Zivojin Rakocevic, stated that Patriarch Porfirije was currently more needed by the Serbs in Kosovo than anyone else.

"Thank you to the Patriarch because he is spending these days with us, thank you for love, because love multiplies only when shared. No one has been happier to see you than the Serbs in Kosovo at this moment. Their special message is: do not leave us. At this moment, you entered the Church of St. Archangel Michael in Rakitnica, which was taken from us and then returned; you opened its doors with love, as well as hundreds of others that we can hardly or cannot reach", Rakocevic said.

The event featured the participation of the Byzantine Choir "Mojsije Petrovic" from Belgrade, the Ballet School of the Cultural Center "Gracanica", the Music School "Stevan Mokranjac", and acclaimed young artists Pavlina Radovanovic, Andrej Mihajlovic, Helena Inic, and Helena Popovic.