Pat. Porfirije: The Church Must Resist Applause at Appearing 'Modern'
Serbian Patriarch warns against diluting the Church’s mission during visit to historic Belgrade parish.
BELGRADE — On August 10, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint George the Great Martyr in Bežanija, one of Belgrade’s oldest churches. The parish was filled beyond capacity as faithful joined the Patriarch in prayers of thanksgiving.
Reflecting on the Gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, His Holiness noted that the crowd wanted to make Christ a political leader rather than recognize Him as the Son of God.
“... They expected one who would bring social justice, lead a revolution, and wage political struggle against the occupiers of the chosen people,” he said.
Using the image of the Apostles caught in a sudden storm, the Patriarch compared it to the Church navigating the turbulent “sea of this world.” He warned of storms both violent and subtle, including the temptation of applause when the Church appears “modern” by adapting to the spirit of the age — a path that “means abandoning her true self, relativizing and diluting her nature and message.”
“By the Holy Spirit, we are called to transform the world, not be transformed by it,” he stressed. The Church’s mission, he added, is not primarily to solve social or political issues, but to proclaim Christ crucified and risen:
“In Him lies the meaning of this life and the next. He resolves the mystery of the grave and answers our deepest hunger - the hunger for meaning, for existence, for eternity, for love.”
The youngest parishioners offered a touching moment by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed in unison. Concelebrating with the Patriarch were Bishop Stefan of Remesiana and clergy from the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade and Moscow.
