"Let us lend a hand to each other, because we are necessary to each other," said the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) in his Christmas message. Patriarch of Porphyry warning that internal political tensions in Serbia have led to deep divisions and calling for overcoming them.
"Internal political tensions have led to a deep division of society and mistrust between people, and differences of opinion are increasingly turning into irrational hatred," said Patriarch Porfirije, stating that the situation in Serbia, "which our entire nation is looking at" is complex and difficult.
SPC advertised in 2025 several times regarding student protests and divisions in the country, and in January of the previous year, in one of the announcements signed by Dušan Stokanović, an official of the Patriarchate it is stated that students in Serbia they live in parallel universes and it is up to them to decide if they want to live in the world he told them about Patriarch of Porphyry, or in the one in which all the values of Saint Sava and all the Serbian identity marks are mocked.
During the past year, the leaders of the Serbian Orthodox Church have announced several times on this issue, mostly criticizing the students, bishop David called them Ustashas., while a smaller part of the diocese stood by them.
SPC: Students are antichrists, and Vučić is the president of Svetosava
About divisions
Patriarch Porphyry now called for overcoming divisions: "Let us embrace each other, let us extend our hand to each other, let us understand that, in a word, we are necessary for each other."
"Because, the Christian faith does not teach us to wait for better times in times of crisis, but to become living signs of the future Kingdom of God - people who already live differently, who do not heal fear with fear, nor hate with hate," said Porfirius.
Speaking about the situation in Serbia, he stated that "the loss of national and cultural identity is particularly worrying, which calls into question the continuity of the historical and spiritual self-concept of our people, and it cannot be explained solely by external influences."
"Alongside this comes economic insecurity and a demographic decline: Serbia is facing an extremely negative natural increase and, consequently, one of the fastest depopulation in the world, as well as an increasingly pronounced aging of the population," stated Patriarch Porfirije.
He also stated that "we live in a time of deepening religious, ethnic and cultural divisions, in a world where geopolitical tensions are constantly growing and where wars are becoming an increasingly common means of resolving economic and political conflicts."
"The change in the global order and the struggle of great powers for supremacy give rise to instability, security crises and fear of an uncertain future," said Patriarch Porphyry, in his Christmas message.
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