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On July 8, 2019, the day of Ss Peter and Fevronia, with a blessing of His Holiness Irenaeus, Patriarch of Serbia, a the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the vicar of the Diocese of Belgrade and Karlovci, Bishop Stephan of Remesiana, at the Belgrade representation of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was assisted by the rector of the representation Archpriest Vitaly Tarasjev, and Serbian clergy.

A great number of parishioners assembled for the service. Present in the church of the Holy Trinity were also Mr. Denis Kuznedelev, Russian counsellor-minister in Serbia, and Mr. Yevgeny Demin, deputy director of the Russian House in Belgrade.

In his homily after the liturgy, Bishop Stephan stressed the importance of the Day of the Family, Love and Fidelity timed to the commemoration day of the patrons of matrimony, Ss Peter and Fevronia.

In the evening, a solemn gathering took place at the Russian House. Among the guests was His Holiness Patriarch Irenaeus. In the beginning of the event, the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church decorated the director of the Russian House, Ms. Nadezhda Kuschenkova, with the Order of the Holy Queen Milica, who was to become the nun Eugenia. It was followed by a celebration of couples who had lived in marital union for over a quarter-century. Their constancy, fidelity and mutual love were marked with Medals of Ss Peter and Fevronia.

In his homily, Patriarch Irenaeus made a special mention of the relation of brotherhood binding the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, saying, ‘Throughout our history we have felt these brotherly relations and the kind attitude of the Russian people who helped us on many occasions. We are bound together by the faith and history, and these ties are preserved today – which was manifested, in particular, by the Russian state and its people and by the Russian Orthodox Church in relations to the situation in Kosovo and Metohija’.

His Holiness also spoke about the great help rendered by Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate in adorning the St. Sava church in Belgrade.

Speaking about the family as a small church, Patriarch Irenaeus said, ‘May the Lord bless your houses, let children be given birth in them. Nowadays the number of children is decreasing but we hope that this crisis will not last long; otherwise, it will become a tragedy for the people, for society and for each of us’. His Holiness also pointed to the need to preserve the institute of the family as ‘a blessed community’.

In conclusion of the official part of the event, Bishop Stephan of Remesiana and Archpriest Vitaly Taraasjev were presented with diplomas from Rossotrudnichestvo in acknowledgement of their active work for the development of international humanitarian and social relations’.

In the artistic part of the program, a performance was given by soloists from the Nekrasov Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments, who came from Russia for the occasion.

DECR Communication Service