American missionary says he is amazed by Serbian people's faith

Photo: Fr. Josiah Trenham. Source: screenshot from the Patristic Nectar YouTube channel

American Orthodox missionary Fr. Josiah Trenham visited St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade on June 5, 2026. The founder of the Patristic Nectar platform came to the Serbian capital to venerate the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos. The priest expressed deep reverence for the spiritual feat of local residents, who have been coming to the cathedral around the clock, UOJ in Serbia reports.

Fr. Josiah stressed that the holy relic had been absent from Belgrade for six centuries. The missionary witnessed tens of thousands of people forming kilometer-long lines every day. Believers spend up to ten hours in the sun for the chance to touch the Belt.

The visitor from the United States paid particular attention to the participation of entire families in the pilgrimage. The presence in the lines of children, parents, grandparents, he said, was a powerful testimony to faithfulness to the Church.

The priest drew a parallel between the lines in Belgrade and mass events in the West. He asked what cause in the United States would make people wait for ten hours. The only examples he could think of were rock concerts or NBA finals. Trenham described the sight of thousands of patient parishioners as deeply moving and almost unheard-of.

As previously reported by the UOJ, nearly half a million believers in Serbia venerated the Holy Belt of the Theotokos.

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