BISHOP SERGIJE: IF, GOD FORBID, SUFFERING HAPPENS AGAIN, WE WILL NOT GIVE IN

LIVNO, JULY 30 /SRNA/ – His Grace Bishop Sergije of Bihać-Petrovac has today held a memorial service in the church in Livno for the Livno New Martyrs, stating that they were killed solely because they were Serbs by people who wear the cross and call themselves Christians.

The Bishop reminded that 84 years ago that area was ruled by a state of hatred, destruction, and the enslavement of everything Orthodox. Even today the same NDH policy is being promoted through the institutions of another state. He referenced a recent concert by Marko Perković Thompson, known for singing Ustaše songs and spreading messages from back in 1941. “If, God forbid, such suffering comes again, we will not give in. We will defend ourselves with bare hands, if it comes to that,” said the bishop, adding that he believes it will not come to that. He stressed that no one is against patriotic songs or natural expressions of national identity. “What we are against are those who promote hatred, because hatred is not Christian - no matter how much they call upon the Lord, they do so in vain,” Bishop Sergije emphasized. After serving liturgy in the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Livno, where the feast of St. Mary the Fiery /Ognjena Marija/ was celebrated, Bishop Sergije says this day is similar to St. Vitus Day /Vidovdan/, and that the holy Livno martyrs are ancestors and compatriots, part of the Lord’s vineyard. He emphasized that these martyrs laid down their lives simply because they were Serbs, with no other guilt. even if they had any, he said, they washed it away with their blood. “To be a martyr means to witness truth, justice, and God’s love. But no matter how much we suffer, we must not grieve too much. We may cry, but not for our entire lives, that is not Orthodox theology,” he said in his sermon. True confession and martyrdom, he explained, means being ready to suffer for the faith if God demands it. if not in that way, then one must toil, raise children, refuse to give up one’s ancestral homes, not sell them. “If we sell them, they will no longer be ours, and we will have nowhere to return to,” said the Bishop. After the divine liturgy, a feast of love was held in the parish hall. The Livno New Martyrs were killed and thrown into the Bikuša pit and other execution sites in 1941. They are a symbol of suffering but also of the spiritual strength of the Serb people in these areas. The prayer gathering was also attended by Aleksandar Rodić, the Minister of Justice and Administration of Livno Canton.