
Patriarch Irinej, the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) leader, said Sunday that the Serb people never lost their identity because they rooted it firmly in the Church without which they would not exist today.
“For the largest part of its history, the Serb people was never unified within borders of one state but they never lost its identity, because they rooted it firmly in the Church. It is the same today, wherever it is present among the Serb people, the Church forms a foundation of their identity,” the Church elder said in a ceremony marking the eighth-century long independence of the SPC.
The central ceremony will include an archepiscopal liturgy in Zica monastery, followed by the Patriarch’s journey to Kosovo and Metohija region where he will pay a visit to the Pec Patriarchy, an ancient seat of the church elders.
The celebration will also include a solemn academy in Belgrade and an exhibition titled ‘Eight centuries of art under auspices of the SPC’ in the SPC Museum in Serbia’s capital.