HOLY LITURGY SERVED MARKING 300 YEARS OF CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS IN JAGODNJAK

JAGODNJAK, DECEMBER 19 /SRNA/ – His Grace Bishop Heruvim of Osijek, Polje and Baranja today served the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy at the Church of St. Nicholas in Jagodnjak, Baranja, marking the 300th anniversary of the church, SRNA’s reporter said.

In his sermon, Bishop Heruvim emphasized that there is no greater philosophy in earthly life than to love and to do good deeds, recalling the life and works of St. Nicholas, for whom faith in God was the foundation of life and filled his entire being.

"Today we are marking a significant jubilee – 300 years of this church, 300 years of light and prayer. For all these years, preaching has been carried out from this place, strengthening the faith of our people in these areas," Bishop Heruvim said.

According to him, this best testifies to the perseverance of the Serbian community in these regions.

"Imagine the depth of love of our ancestors, who over all these years endeavored to build and preserve this church as a place where we would gather and safeguard what is most sacred, that is unity and togetherness," Bishop Heruvim stressed.

Recalling the great deeds of their forebears, Bishop Heruvim underlined that today’s generations must remain steadfast on their path and preserve what is sacred, the Church, culture, and tradition.

This is the path laid down by St. Sava and our ancestors, through their prayers and their command that we never abandon what is ours, but preserve and renew it.

If they were able to build in the most difficult of times, it is not true that we cannot, in our own time, restore what they built,” he said.

Archpriest Stavrophoros Slobodan Majkić, parish priest of Jagodnjak, told SRNA that the day brought special joy to the residents of Jagodnjak.

"We are celebrating 300 years of this church, which endured hardships and suffering together with our people. On this occasion, the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy was served by Bishop Heruvim, with whom we will pray together to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker," Majkić said.

Majkić expressed satisfaction that the church has once again shone in its beauty, just as it did when it was first built.

"Perhaps now, after being almost completely restored, it shines even more. All that remains is to complete some interior works," Majkić noted.

He emphasized that June 17 of this year was a particularly important date for the church, when an icon of St. Nicholas of Myra the Wonderworker, containing particles of his holy relics, arrived at the church.

"This is something that especially marks this jubilee, because in this way St. Nicholas is with us. As our Holy Church teaches, wherever even the smallest particle of a saint’s relics is present, there the saint is present in his entirety," Majkić said.

The Church of St. Nicholas in Jagodnjak near Osijek was built in 1725 on the site of an earlier church dedicated to the same saint.

During the 19th century, minor modifications were made to the church.

Restoration works began in 2015, at a time when this parish had the smallest Orthodox population in the past hundred years.

The church has been completely restored on the exterior, while work remains to be completed on the floors and walls, as well as the restoration of the altar, which will be the most demanding task.