On Serbian Remembrance Day, Patriarch Porfirije calls for love and unity

Patriarch Porfirije during the service. Photo: Orthodoxia News Agency

On August 3, 2025, a memorial service was held in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia, in remembrance of the victims of Storm Operation, during which approximately 200,000 Serbs were expelled from territories in modern-day Croatia in 1995. The event was reported by the Orthodoxia News Agency.

The service was  by officiated by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In attendance were the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the head of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, clergy representatives, and thousands of Serbs from across the country.

In his homily, Patriarch Porfirije recalled the suffering of the Serbian people who were forced from their ancestral homes in Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun, and other regions. He emphasized that overcoming both historical and current divisions is possible only through the fulfillment of God's commandment of love: "This commandment directs us toward our neighbor – in the family, in society, in the workplace. Only through love and forgiveness can we attain peace."

He also reminded the faithful that Jesus Christ commanded unity and urged everyone to rise above selfishness, political ambition, and enmity in order to preserve the spiritual unity of the Serbian people.

"If we wish to continue calling ourselves children of Saint Sava, we must be united – in goodness, in forgiveness, and in care for one another," the Serbian Patriarch declared.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a Jerusalem hierarch had called on the Orthodox Churches to support the persecuted UOC.

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