At the invitation of the administration of the Student Center in Belgrade, His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije gave a lecture on 5 March 2024, in front of several hundred students who, eager for words of love and paternal advice, filled the small hall of the Students’ Dormitory “Karaburma” to capacity and attentively followed the exposition of their First Hierarch.

The students, who spend their most beautiful youthful days in one of the most significant student institutions in our country, welcomed the Serbian Patriarch in a hospitable, traditional manner, in beautiful Serbian national costumes with bread and salt, although far from their homes and families. In response to the love and efforts of the students, the First Hierarch of our Holy Church delivered an instructive lecture on faith – with a message of love and a shared meal in the student canteen.

On that occasion, His Holiness the Patriarch expressed great joy at being able to spend the evening with dear students and emphasized that in our Holy Church, as well as in him personally, students will always have the necessary support for all important and honorable endeavors.

– The identity of our people is the Orthodox faith and the Orthodox Church – Patriarch Porfirije emphasized, and then explained that throughout history, our people have always remained what they are despite all trials. – It is enough to remember five centuries of slavery under the Turks, without a state, without political platforms and leaders. Not only have we survived, but even in such circumstances, we were creative, creating wonderful cultural and spiritual monuments that are today recognized as values by many others. It is obvious when we look at the Orthodox churches in Rijeka, Sentandreja, Gyor, Eger... These are gems of spirituality and culture, and all those churches were built before the Cathedral Church in Belgrade was built – Patriarch Porfirije explained, and especially emphasized: –The Gospel of Christ creates an ethos, a mentality, a nature of our existence. It is a way of living which has Christ as a role model. It is not a question of whether a person believes, but what they believe in. When Christ lives in me, then there is no death in me!

His Holiness the Patriarch particularly pointed out to the students the dangers of the modern age: – When we talk about the so-called neoliberal system, post-truth, it hides its principles under the guise of rights and human freedoms, but in fact it does not imply the other but only me at the top of the pyramid. Only what I want is right, and considering that man is a relative being, and therefore what we want is relative and unstable, everything else is in constant transitions and changes. The essence is that freedom is manifested as in a supermarket, so of course confusion arises with values, with principles, and in the end, every individual becomes confused, actually then there is no community.

At the end of this significant and spiritually beneficial lecture for the students, Patriarch Porfirije concluded: – To put on Christ means to see what is written in the Gospel, to gain knowledge that the principles of the Gospel are in harmony with our nature, that is actually what we need to be, and that various manifestations of our freedom are expressions of instability, insecurity, frustration, and passions.

– Do what is dear to your heart, but first see what kind of heart you have, His Holiness concluded.