NevskyTalks Lecture Held: “Tell Those Who Have Been Invited: ‘See, I Have Prepared My Dinner’ (Matthew 22:4)”

As part of the NevskyTalks project, the Section for External Mission of the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovci organized another in its series of regular lectures in English, intended primarily for foreign nationals residing in Serbia who have an interest in Orthodox Christianity.

The lecturer was Deacon Dr Đorđe Petrović, Professor of Dogmatic Theology at St Sava Theological Seminary in Belgrade. The lecture was held on Saturday, 26 September 2026, on the premises of the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovci.

The discussion focused on the interpretation of the Gospel parable in which the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a king who prepared a wedding feast (Matthew 22:1–14). Father Đorđe reflected on how the guests who had initially been invited rejected the king’s invitation, which had been conveyed to them by his servants, and how some of them subsequently attacked the servants. Particular attention was devoted to the question of how we ourselves can invite others to the banquet and how we can inspire people to take an interest in the Divine Liturgy and the life of Christ’s Church.

The lecture was attended by participants from several foreign countries who regularly attend NevskyTalks lectures.

Following the lecture, a lively discussion ensued, during which all the participants contributed their reflections on this New Testament parable. They asked questions and explored various aspects of the parable in light of their personal experiences.

Such gatherings are of particular significance for the missionary work of the Church and for fostering connections among people from diverse backgrounds.

Sign up with your e-mail address to our list and receive regular updates about the happenings at Missionary department AEM.

Protopresbyter-Staurophorus Vajo Jović

Protopresbyter-Staurophorus Vajo Jović was born in 1956 in Ugljevik, Srpska.

Priest in Zagreb and Secretary of the Diocesan Board of the Metropolis of Zagreb and Ljubljana since 1979.
From Zagreb, he served the missionary parish in Maribor.
Parish priest at the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky in Belgrade since 1991.
Since 2000, Elder of the same church and Director of the Orthodox Missionary School until his retirement in 2023.

Forty-two years of priestly service are characterized by intensive missionary work.

Recipient of the Order of St. Sava, third degree.

Protopresbyter-Staurophor Radivoj Panić

Protopresbyter-Staurophor Radivoj Panić is the coordinator of the Parish Mission Department of the Missionary Department of the Archbishopric of Belgrade-Karlovci. He was born on April 1, 1961 in Novi Sad. He completed the seminary in Sremski Karlovci in 1981.

From 1986 to 1991, he was engaged as a librarian at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Belgrade.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1992. He began his pastoral ministry as a parish priest in Kosova Polje, where he served from 1992 to 2001. After that, from 2001 to 2009, he was the parish priest at the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, and since 2009 he has served as the parish priest at the Church of St. Sava. He completed his theological studies in 2008, at a time when he was already serving as a parish priest.

He is particularly involved in organizing pilgrimages to Kosovo and Metohija, as well as in humanitarian work. He collaborates with the organization “Our Serbs” from Chicago, through which he actively participates in providing assistance to the Serbian people in Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija, as well as in supporting domestic organizations operating in these areas.

Father Radivoj Panić is considered one of the most respected priests of the Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovac.