PATRIARCH PORFIRIJE: BEING HUMAN IS BOTH A GIFT AND A TASK

BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 15 /SRNA/ - Being human is both a gift and a task, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije said after serving a memorial service for the late Patriarch Pavle at Rakovica Monastery near Belgrade.

"We are created in the image and likeness of God as human beings, and we have been given gifts. However, whether we ultimately allow God's grace to multiply these gifts and become truly good and genuine human beings depends on us and on the choices we make," Patriarch Porfirije said.

He also reminded that Patriarch Pavle urged people to be human, saying that we were not truly human outside of Christ.

"To be human means to be in Christ, to be in the God-Man. We are truly human only when we identify ourselves with the God-Man, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the calling and blessing of the late Patriarch Pavle; this is his prayer," His Holiness stressed.

Earlier, he celebrated the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy at Rakovica Monastery, stressing on the occasion that wherever there is true and genuine faith, obstacles and barriers to the work of the grace of the Holy Spirit are removed.

"Let us preserve our Orthodox faith through our lives, every day, by fulfilling God's commandments. For by fulfilling God's commandments through faith, our soul and heart are cleansed, and the prospect of an encounter with God is opened up," the Patriarch stressed.

He stressed the need not to reject or hate others, noting that there is no greater poison than hatred.

Hatred, he added, poisons the person consumed by it, the one driven by it, according to a statement published on the website of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

"Let us never lose hope, let us live by faith, and let love be the beginning and the end of our lives – love for God and for our neighbour," Patriarch Porfirije stressed.

After the memorial service, the Patriarch welcomed around 150 students from the Patriarch Pavle Grammar School, who arrived at the monastery in a procession from their school.