Joanikije: Montenegrins and Herzegovinians fought together, because they are one Serbian people, one faith, one hope

The central celebration of the 150th anniversary of the "Nevesinje Rifle" is taking place today in Nevesinje, and is being attended by the highest officials of Republika Srpska (RS) and Serbia, as well as the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandić.

Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Porfirije served the liturgy this morning in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Nevesinje, and in his sermon he emphasized that the Serbian people "must preserve the Orthodox faith and live with it, because only then will they have joy and peace."

Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral said that the "Nevesinj Rifle" "awakened hope in the liberation and restoration of the Nemanjić state" among the Serbian people.

In his address to the faithful after the liturgy, Metropolitan Joanikije pointed out that the people of Herzegovina and Montenegro were together in this uprising, emphasizing that "Herzegovina, like Šumadija and Montenegro, was the bearer of the idea of ​​freedom."

"Montenegrins and Herzegovinians fought together, because they are one Serbian people, one faith, one hope," said Joanikije.

The celebration of the "Nevesinj Rifle" continued with a ceremonial academy, attended by the President of the Republic of Serbia Milorad Dodik, the Prime Ministers of the Republic of Serbia and Serbia Radovan Višković and Serbia Đuro Macut with ministers, advisor to the President of Serbia and leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Miloš Vučević, the President of the Parliament of Montenegro Andija Mandić, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije, Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Joanikije, mayors of eastern Herzegovina municipalities, as well as numerous guests and guests from the region.

The "Nevesinj Rifle" was an uprising of Serbs in Herzegovina raised in the vicinity of Nevesinj in the spring of 1875 against Ottoman rule, which soon spread to neighboring Bosnia, primarily to Krajina and Posavina, which is why it is also called the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Uprising.