On July 26th, 2024, the feast day of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, the 30th anniversary of the Serbian Orthodox Youth Assembly of Montenegro was held at the Monastery of the Holy Archangels on Miholjska Prevlaka near Tivat. The Holy Hierarchical Liturgy was led by His Eminence, Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral, assisted by His Grace, Bishop Jovan of Pakrac and Slavonija, the newly-elected Bishop of Dioclea Archimandrite Pajsije, and around twenty priests and hieromonks from different dioceses of our local Church, with the prayerful participation of many priests, monks and nuns. The assembly gathered a large number of young people, mostly from Serbia and Montenegro.
The Divine Liturgy was followed by a programme, during which Presbyter Dr. Oliver Subotić, the Director of the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovci, at the invitation of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, and with the blessing of His Holiness, the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, gave an address on the role of young people in the mission of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Father Oliver began his concise address with a thought from Saint Justin Popović of Ćelije, who said that no one has ever asked the Lord a more pertinent question, than the rich young man from the Gospel parable. The question was: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The director pointed out that such a question is natural for the young people to ask, since the cares of this world have not yet managed to overpower the seed of God’s Word in their hearts. He also said that the rich young man did not respond to God’s call, and then pointed to the audience the Serbian Rich Young Man who wholeheartedly did just that: to Rastko Nemanjić , who later became Saint Sava.
Fr. Oliver emphasised the importance of the role of priests and monks when it comes to working with young people, reminding the audience that the fire in Rastko Nemanjić’s heart for monasticism and Mount Athos was kindled by a mysterious Russian monk from Mount Athos. Pointing out that God calls young people in different ways – some may be called to priesthood, others to monasticism, still others will become doctors, teachers… the speaker emphasised that in every profession to which young people are called, they ought to bear witness to Christ. Related to this, he reminded the audience of the tragic fact that today a large number of Serbs live abroad, and that in a decade from now, there will most probably be more of our compatriots living in the diaspora than in their homeland. At the same time, Father Oliver stated that this situation should be used as a missionary opportunity, since it is precisely these young people who are in a position to spread Orthodoxy within the diaspora, where they have chosen to settle.
In conclusion, the Director of the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovci stated that we need to recognise the challenges of our time, as well as the historical moment in which we have been called, following the example of the greatest mission strategist among the Serbs, Saint Sava, the Equal to the Apostles. In connection with this, he informed the young audience that the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovci has, with the blessing of Patriarch Porfirije, started a Mission Programme in Chinese, in response to the fact that around a hundred thousand Chinese people live in Serbia, to whom we bear a missionary responsibility. He also invited the young audience members to join in the activities of the Missionary Department of AEM, in order to jointly, with God’s help, do our best to prove ourselves worthy of our God-given missionary calling, in this day and age.
You can watch the full address in the following video.
We would like to thank the lawyer and writer Predrag Savić, as well as the members of the Orthodox youth, Relja Savić and Nina Subotić.
Most of the photographs were taken from the Svetigora website.
Cover photo: Pexels
