– Humility avoids every demonic snare, and not only that, but the demonic power cannot even draw near to humility – preached on 1 February 2026, on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije, at the Holy Liturgy in the Church of Saint Alexander of Neva in Belgrade.
 
– What is humility, brothers and sisters? Humility is the awareness that everything we have is a gift of God. If we are successful in prayer, in mercy, and in the fulfillment of any commandment of God, let us know that it is not from ourselves. First and foremost, we have received a gift from God, and then the Lord has helped, when we have not hindered Him by our sin, that this gift might be kindled within us and bear a hundredfold fruit. Humility unites us with God, but it also unites us with our neighbor – emphasized His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije.
 
Interpreting the Gospel pericope of the second preparatory Sunday before Great Lent, the Patriarch underscored:
 
– We have seen that self-sufficiency and pride in the Pharisee separate him from God, make God superfluous, but also separate him from his neighbor. And thus we have two degrees, or two kinds, of pride: one is to humiliate and despise our neighbors, and the other is to ascribe every good to ourselves. Therefore, brothers and sisters, as we prepare for the fast that lies before us, let us always take the publican as our example, and not the Pharisee – let us do all that we can, but let us be aware that without the grace of God, without His providence and without His love, we cannot add even a single cubit to ourselves nor take a single step. And humility, in and of itself, says the experience of the saints, is sufficient for us to become beloved of God, to be showered with the grace of God, and to walk the path of salvation.
 
Concelebrating with the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church were: Hegumen Rafailo, Hieromonk Marko, and Hierodeacon Kalistrat from the Monastery of Podmaine; Protopresbyter Stevan Vukić, Dean of the church; Protopresbyters Jovan Gardović and Branislav Jelić; Priests Oliver Subotić, Branislav Kedžić, and Aleksandar Sekulić; Protodeacons Radomir Vrućinić and Dragan Radić; and Deacons Vasilije Perić and Đorđe Petrović.