Due to the suffering and loss of lives of our young people in the city municipalities of Vračar and Mladenovac, and due to the pain and sorrow of the entire nation for the innocent victims, this year’s Patronal Feast Day of the capital city of Belgrade – the Ascension of the Lord, and the traditional Savior’s Day procession, will be marked by the words of the Saint Bishop Nikolaj of Žiča and Ohrid: Through prayer, let us beseech for blessed peace among people!

At the forefront of the procession, which will traverse the city streets from the church of the Ascension to the Saint Sava Cathedral on 25 May at 7:00 PM, will be the reliquary containing the relics of Saint Bishop Nikolaj. These relics will be brought from the Lelić Monastery near Valjevo, exceptionally, for the comfort of the faithful during these difficult days and for spiritual fortification.

On the previous day, 24 May 2023, the holy relics of Bishop Nikolaj will be transferred to the Cathedral church in Valjevo, from where, after a supplication service, they will ceremoniously depart, in the presence of His Grace Bishop Isihije of Valjevo, towards the church of the Ascension in Belgrade. They will be received there in the evening hours, before the festive vigil.

In the church of the Ascension, the relics will be present on the actual day of the Feast, and in the evening, during the solemn Savior’s Day procession, they will be transferred to the church of Saint Sava, where His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije will serve a supplication service and deliver a sermon to the gathered people.

With faith and prayer, let us walk the streets of Belgrade alongside Saint Bishop Nikolaj, seeking the healing of soul and body, the consecration of streets and squares, and peace among people!