A Lecture Entitled “I, You, and He (Heb. 5:12)” Delivered in English

The regular cycle of English-language lectures within the NevskyTalks project continued on Sunday, March 29, 2026, with a lecture entitled I, You, and He (Heb. 5:12), held after the Divine Liturgy. The lecture took place on the premises of the Missionary Department. The lecturer was Deacon Dr. Đorđe Petrović, Professor of Dogmatic Theology, while the moderator was philologist David Đorđević, a permanent associate of the External Mission Section of the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovci. The Head of the Missionary Department, Presbyter Dr. Oliver Subotić, was also in attendance and took part in the subsequent discussion.

The eloquent lecturer recalled the verse from the Epistle to the Hebrews: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God…” As Dr. Petrović observed, this verse continually reminds us of the need to learn the basic foundations anew: the sign of the Cross, the meaning of the three joined fingers and the two fingers, and above all, Who was crucified on the Cross and why it had to be so.

Professor Petrović then emphasized that the very centre of our teaching is the pre-eternal Son of God, one of the Holy Trinity, who became one of us—the God-man. The lecture further encompassed passages from the Gospel, as well as segments of the Liturgy, which—especially in these most sacred days—affirm the unique reality of Christ the God-man, who reveals to us the nature of our God, who suffers in the flesh on the Cross for the sake of man and for the salvation of the world.

The lecture continued with an almost two-hour long discussion, addressing questions such as the relationship between the Old and the New Testament, as well as the theological dilemma concerning primacy in the Church in connection with the confession of the Apostle Peter. The conversation with the participants was lively, with numerous comments offered, as well as suggestions for potential new topics for future lectures.

The attendees came from various parts of the world (Mexico, the United States, Canada, Greece, and Iran), along with three participants from Serbia.

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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.