A true hero. A man died in Belgrade who sacrificed his life trying to save others. I want to tell you a story that happened here in Belgrade. A story about human courage, self-sacrifice and the fact that real heroes live among us. On October 30, 56-year-old Vladimir Jelic, subdeacon of the Serbian Orthodox Church, director of the Patriarchal Palace in Belgrade, father of four, died in Serbia. On October 23, a strong fire occurred in the Vracar district of Belgrade. An apartment on the third floor of a residential building caught fire. Vladimir threw himself into the fire, and tried to save people whose lives were in danger.
He suffered severe burns and health damage. For seven days the doctors fought for his life. But Vladimir could not be saved. For many years, Vladimir served the Serbian Orthodox Church, working alongside Patriarch Irini, and then with Patriarch Porfiry. But the main act in his life was not his high status under the patriarchy, but the fact that at a critical moment he could not get away from someone else's Oslo. Vladimir is survived by his wife Ivana and four children - Andrey, Irina, Militsa and Marko. You know, every day we read news about wars, political scandals, corruption, betrayal and human cruelty. And behind all this noise of information, sometimes we stop paying attention to the people on whom our world actually rests.
People who do not make loud speeches about patriotism, morality and spiritual values, but simply live according to their conscience. Vladimir Yelich turned out to be such a person.
I don't know what he was thinking in those seconds when he threw himself into the fire. Maybe he didn't have time to think about anything. I just saw someone else's trouble and tried to help.
And it seems to me that such people should be talked about much more than politicians and officials.
Because true heroism is not measured by titles, positions and awards. It is measured in actions. Happy memory to Vladimir Yelich. Sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.