Serbian cleric: What saves us is whether we belong to Christ, not nationality

Priest Blagoy Katic. Photo: UOJ

In an interview with UOJ in Serbia, Priest Blagoy Katic of the Serbian Orthodox Church urged the faithful to remember the unity of the Church as the Body of Christ, which transcends national divisions.

Fr. Blagoy drew attention to the tragic plight of modern-day martyrs for the faith. He recalled a recent case in which about 200 people were killed during the Divine Liturgy in an African church. In the last ten years, 65,000 Christians have been killed in Africa.

“Christians are still suffering today. This has not ended,” the priest emphasized. He noted that today’s martyrs “stand alongside the great martyrs Demetrius, George, Theodore the Recruit, and all those who gave their lives for Christ.”

The Serbian cleric drew a parallel between the self-sacrifice of the martyrs and the everyday Christian life: “Look at how they come to Christ and what they sacrifice for Him – and what do we sacrifice? Waking up a little earlier? And even that is hard for us!”

Fr. Blagoy quoted an elder: “I do not ask You, Lord, to take away my burden, but to give me strong shoulders so I can carry it,” calling this phrase an expression of the essence of Christian suffering.

The priest paid special attention to the issue of ecclesiastical unity. “Whether we call it the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, or the Serbian Orthodox Church – I believe this is merely a matter of territorial affiliation. The Church is much greater and far broader. The Church is the Body of Christ,” he stated.

According to Fr. Blagoy, national identity does not determine salvation: “We are not saved by being Serbs, Ukrainians, Russians, Bulgarians, or anyone else. We are saved solely by whether we belong to Christ.”

Concluding his message, the priest expressed his support for “the brotherly Ukrainian people” and prayed for an end to their suffering: “May the Lord bring all this suffering to an end! And He will.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a Serbian priest condemned the “examinations” of the relics in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

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