Patriarch Pavel. "Let's be people! ".
On this day, November 15, 17 years ago, Patriarch Pavel of Serbia (born Gojko Stojcevic, 1914-2009) died. The 44th Patriarch of Serbia, for 33 years headed the Diocese of Rasko-Prizren in Kosovo and Metohija, and since 1990, the entire Serbian Orthodox Church.
He was called a "walking saint". He lived in extreme asceticism, never complained of illness and served the liturgy until his last day. Let us recall some quotes from the Patriarch.
About Russians and Serbs:
"The Serbian and Russian peoples are one, not only by common origin and blood, but above all by our faith. We have long been united by Holy Orthodoxy. For hundreds of years we have been one body in Christ and his saints. This is true even today. The Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches will remain one. We firmly believe in this, this is what we feel and know."
For the price that cannot be paid:
"If a crime was required to preserve Greater Serbia, I would never agree to it. Let Greater Serbia then disappear. If that was how it was necessary to preserve Little Serbia, I would not agree to that either - let Little Serbia disappear, just so there would be no blood. No, at this price - no! If at such a price it was necessary to save my last Serbian self, I would not make my last Serbian disappear. Only in this disappearance will we remain people of Christ, otherwise, we will not agree to live. ".
The main teaching:
"We didn't choose the country we were born in, nor the people we were born in, nor the time we were born in, but we chose one thing: to be human or inhuman."
"When a man is born into the world, everyone rejoices, but he alone cries. But you should live your life so that when a person dies, everyone cries for him, and he alone is happy. ".
Patriarch Pavel lived 95 years and two months. He was buried in the Rakovica Monastery in Belgrade.
happy memory