Patriarch Porfirije: "We know this is not true"

Patriarch Porfirije: "We know this is not true"

In an interview with Svetigora, which was done during the patriarch's visit to Montenegro on September 4, and was published today, he stated that the Church in itself cannot be politicly affiliated, supporting one option against another.

"The church brings people together, it is an organism that not only has a place for everything, but by its nature is an organism that embraces every person, and especially the one who has something against it. So, we have nothing to answer about, we know that it is not true”, he said.

He assessed that there are various factors, both domestic and foreign, which see the Church as an enemy for the system of values according to which modern man lives, "which is outside of God and against God".

He added that the value system imposed on us by this modern world cannot tolerate the gospel value system.

"We need to simplify things and crucify ourselves with Christ, looking at His resurrection, we pray to God for every soul. We cannot agree that we are on one side and they are on the other, for us, we are all on the same side. And we cannot agree that we have enemies, no matter how they treat us", he said. He assessed that there are countless people, even in Montenegro, who unknowingly, who knows how seduced, precisely in the absence of these philanthropic, universal Christian, evangelical values ​​- go astray.

"And the more you open one's heart, the more you show one love, the more it bothers one, but we cannot give up. Sooner or later love covers everything, as the apostle Paul says: the love of Christ is beyond reason," he said.

He pointed out that everyone can be what they want, and to declare the list how they feel, but he also emphasized that he must accept and respect others and have that freedom.

"I appeal to Orthodox Christians to behave like that, let them be what they are, let them declare themselves as they think they should declare themselves, but let them accept the other in his freedom. Only then are we Christ's," he said.

He added that the feat of love through the procession showed and proved that we cannot agree to have someone take our soul.

"We will never resort to violence against anyone who wants to take our soul, but simply by prayer, fasting, forgiveness, a kind word and strong arguments, we will try to show, and finally prove, that no one can take our soul and that we will never agree”, he said.

He added that at the same time in our Church - the Church of Christ - there is room for black and white and yellow, for all possible options, and all views of the world, only if the value system of those views of the world is not contrary to the Gospel.

Patriarch also said that for him, coming to Montenegro is above all a great blessing and a gift from God because he can meet Serbs and Montenegrins and Muslims, Croats, Jews and others, and that in that diversity, he actually sees the presence of God's blessing on that holy land.

He assessed that the people of Montenegro are the people of Christ and added that the mission of the blessed Metropolitan Amfilohije was that in Christ everyone can be one and that we are called to be brothers, and that Metropolitan Joanikije continues it. He described the late Metropolitan Amfilohije as one of the apostles of our time, who crucified himself with the people and built himself into the being of the people on a stone foundation called Christ.

He estimated that from that cornerstone, from that seed of faith, which was sown by Amfilohije, a spiritual tree with countless fruits sprouted on the territory of Montenegro.

He expressed his impression that the faith, if the faith can be compared at all with each other, is at this moment more alive and stronger among the people in Montenegro than in some other areas.

"Faith is alive and active here, and that wheel cannot be turned back. It can only win new hearts, and new hearts of new people. I am sure that Montenegro will be spiritually strong, strong and fully spiritually renewed in the times to come”, he said.

Speaking about the acquaintance with Metropolitan Joanikije since his student days, he said that he had already met a man on whom he could completely rely.

He described Joanikije as extremely honest and fair, as given by God for the position of Metropolitan.