On the eve of the Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles, on 23 May 2026, while an endless line of faithful in prayerful silence streamed toward the Honorable Cincture of the Mother of God, a wondrous divine service began in the Church of Saint Sava in Vračar.
 
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije, on the eves of Sundays and great feasts the clergy of the capital celebrate all-night vigils in many churches — solemn services originating in the early Church, when the first Christians spent entire nights in prayer over the graves of the martyrs, in the catacombs, glorifying the Risen Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ with hymns of praise.
 
Last night as well, while the prayerful chanting of the renowned Tropos Choir from Athens and the Belgrade Byzantine Choir echoed beneath the vaults of the memorial church of the Serbian people, moved by the very presence of the Mother of God through her Honorable Cincture, in blessed spiritual peace, amid the glow of candles and the clinking of censers, those present had the impression that Vračar Hill, with the Church of Saint Sava, had taken on the contours of Mount Athos and its ancient monastic communities. The divine service, which began at 8 p.m., concluded at 2 a.m.
 
Concelebrating with Their Graces Bishops Justin of Paris, Dositej of Lipljan, and Nikon of Jenopolje; the Very Reverend Archimandrites Ephraim and Methodios, Hegumens of the holy imperial lavras of Vatopedi and Hilandar; the Athonite monastics and the clergy of Belgrade; the service was presided over by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije, whose homily we present in full:
 
– In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! We thank the Lord and His Most Holy Mother for gathering us here tonight to be one — first of all to be one with our Lord, to be in unbreakable communion with Him, and then, being one with Him, to be one among ourselves, to be one Church, a Church in which there are different gifts. Every human being is an icon of God, yet each also bears a unique seal, and likewise every people of God has its own particular seal. Nevertheless, regardless of the fact that each is unique, we are once again called to be one in Christ.
 
Of course, we cannot achieve this by any human mechanisms or human powers. There is no ideology, no politics, nothing of this world, however perfect it may appear, that can make us one. And yet, in the passage from the Gospel according to John, we heard that the Lord prays for His Church to be one and united, that is, that there be no divisions in it, no separations, no heresies, but that, although each has his own unique seal and although we are different, we are all called to be one and can indeed be one.
 
We can be one through one faith — pure Orthodox faith. We can be one through hope in the Lord. Yet above all and before all else, we are called to be one through love, and through cruciform love: vertically, through love toward the Lord, without which it is impossible to realize love horizontally, that is, love toward other people.
 
Whoever says that he loves anyone — even if he loves them more than anything in the world — but does not love God is, at the very least, deluded, and often lies both to others and to himself. We can love other people only when we have a common Father, and there is only one common Father: our Lord Jesus Christ, and He calls us to be one.
 
That is why we are gathered here tonight as one Church. We have had our brothers from Greece, from Mount Athos — the Hegumen of Vatopedi Ephraim, with his brotherhood — who, by the providence of God, brought with him the Cincture of the Most Holy Theotokos to strengthen us, to encourage us, to give us courage on the path of repentance, to inspire us to ascetic feat, to mutual forgiveness, and to the realization that we are necessary to one another.
 
Here also is the Hegumen of Hilandar, Metodije, who likewise came from Greece, Serbian by origin, but there are brothers and sisters here from Romania, from Russia, from Republika Srpska, and perhaps from other places as well, for it is not often that we have the opportunity — especially our sisters, that is, women — to venerate the Cincture of the Most Holy Theotokos, even though the monks and the Most Holy Theotokos, who is the Hegumenia of Mount Athos, constantly pray for the entire world. Thus, this is a unique opportunity for many of our sisters from other lands and peoples to come and venerate the Most Holy Theotokos, and through her, to venerate her Son.
 
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we need nothing more. Everything we need God has given us. He has given us fullness; He has given us Himself and all that is His. Is there anything more beautiful than being gathered together in prayer, at Divine Liturgy? I am certain that, although we have grown weary — since the prayer service was somewhat longer than we are accustomed to — it is a blessed and joyful weariness, and that everyone is filled with peace, joy, beauty, and humility.
 
We can achieve this only by gathering in the house of God and by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, while of course also investing effort, labor, and ascetic struggle, again with God’s help. The Most Holy Theotokos is with us today. And when we know that She is with us, then we know that we are in a safe embrace. No one understands our pain, our sufferings, and our trials as the Most Holy Theotokos does. And no one hears our sighs and prayers as quickly as She does. Therefore, let us pray to Her and imitate Her. She demonstrated what the Lord Himself says — that He is meek and humble of heart. She showed humility as the foundation and cornerstone of her life. And humility is nothing other than completely entrusting one’s life and everything one has into the hands of God, that is, placing one’s trust in God.
 
Because She trusted in God, She was able to say: Lord, let everything be according to Thy will. Of course, as a human being She may also have had Her own thoughts, desires, and ideas, but despite this, She completely humbled Her egoism and Her own will, surrendering Herself entirely so that everything might be according to God’s will. That is the path, brothers and sisters: to do what we can, to pray to God, to fast, to confess, not to waste time in our lives. We must do all this, but not expect things to happen according to our own will. Let the will of God be done — this is what the Theotokos has left to each of us, and she, together with all the saints, prays that all may be one and does everything so that all may be one: that we may be one in love, one Church, one in faith, one in forgiveness, one in repentance, continually one with the Lord, with Him being first and foremost in our lives, and knowing that when this is so, everything else will fall into its proper place.
 
Let us not deceive ourselves: there are many who will revile us, persecute us, and speak falsely against us. And whatever we have experienced thus far, let us know that what follows will be even harder if we wish to walk the path of the Lord. But it is not ours to judge and condemn. Ours is, as much as we can, to pray to the Lord to help us forgive. And not only that, but to pray for such people, that the Lord may touch their hearts. For they too are our brothers and sisters, regardless of where they come from, who they are, or what they are.
 
Therefore, let us rejoice, brothers and sisters! May you be blessed! May the Lord grant every good thing. Amen!