ARCHIMANDRITE EPHRAIM: MORE THAN ONE MILLION PEOPLE VENERATED THE BELT OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

BELGRADE, JUNE 6 /SRNA/ – Archimandrite Ephraim, abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery, has said today that more than one million people venerated the Belt of the Mother of God at Saint Sava Cathedral Church in Belgrade's Vračar district.

“Serbia is an Orthodox country, whose people have demonstrated it because more than one million people came to venerate the Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God,” Archimandrite Ephraim said in an address at the church after the Akathist service to the Holy Mother of God. He noted that, for this reason, the presence of the Mother of God among the Serb people was not accidental but rather evidence that God had seen the efforts of all. He emphasized that this was also confirmation from the Most Holy Mother of God that she would support Serbia, which is exposed to many enemies and dangers but remains firmly rooted in the foundations of Orthodox tradition. The abbot reiterated that the grace of the Mother of God remains. “We are returning to Mount Athos carrying the Belt with us, but we leave knowing that we will not forget you,” Abbot Ephraim said. He urged the faithful to remain with God, emphasizing that Serbia would be preserved through its spiritual foundations, its monasteries and parishes. His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia repeated that the blessing of the Most Holy Mother of God remains with the Serb people. “Our souls are filled with joy because in these past days we received a blessing we did not expect and which cannot be expressed in ordinary human words,” the patriarch of Serbia said. He stressed that it is now known that God's love for the Serb people exists and that the task to live in spiritual fullness should remain. “Gratitude and eternal thanks, on behalf of the entire people and the Church, to Archimandrite Ephraim and the brotherhood of Vatopedi Monastery for their love, faith, and prayers,” the patriarch said. The Belt of the Mother of God was carried out of Saint Sava Cathedral Church by Patriarch Porfirije in the presence of a large number of faithful.