Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Joanikije, called on believers in his Easter message to "increase our prayers for peace in the world," expressing concern that "the law of the stronger is being emphasized more and more loudly, that force is being glorified, and justice and truth are being despised."
He said, among other things, that any human progress that does not have "a vision of eternal life and the eternal meaning of the existence of man and the world" inevitably causes us to "develop a false sense of our own progress and well-being, even though we have not essentially changed for the better."
We are transmitting his message in full:
"Shine, shine, New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has shone upon you! We celebrate with the greatest joy, dear brothers and sisters, the life-giving and glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All the works of God, starting from the creation of the world and man and everything that the Lord spoke, did and performed miracles, culminate in the Resurrection of Christ. In it they receive their full and eternal meaning. The Resurrection reveals the mystery of Christ's personality and His boundless love for humanity. Everything that is human, everything except sin, is immortalized and perpetuated by this saving event.
On this Feast of Feasts, in holy worship, on the waves of God's mercy, let us praise Our Redeemer and Savior because He has made us participants and communicants of His Resurrection and His eternal glory.
Our God, the Creator of heaven and earth, having no need to save Himself, not being subject to suffering, decay, and death, because of His boundless love for man, He took on human nature and entered this world, the vale of tears, to voluntarily accept the sufferings of baptism and death, for the sake of our salvation. Death, unable to hold the Almighty of creation, is defeated by Him, and Christ's Resurrection becomes victory over death for each of those who, by their strength and power, conform themselves to Christ, follow in His blessed footsteps, and do His will.
The light of the Resurrection brought about a turning point and a saving upheaval in the entire history of the world and man. It shone at a single historical moment, and its light does not diminish, but eternally warms us, both us and our ancestors who were and remained faithful to the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. The risen God-man brings a new meaning to everything and reveals to us that man is not a being destined for death, as some philosophers said, but a being destined for the community of love and eternal life.
Encouraged, strengthened, redeemed and truly reborn by Christ's suffering and Resurrection, we gain a new perspective on life. Not the kind offered to us by the famous and powerful of this world, promising more, better, stronger, and greater, but the perspective of eternal life. Any human progress that does not have a vision of eternal life and the eternal meaning of the existence of man and the world, inevitably "seduces us to the Goleš mountain" and makes us develop a false sense of our own progress and well-being even though we have not essentially changed for the better. Therefore, in the last few centuries, in the era of technological and every other progress, we see that the improvement of human life has not kept pace with these achievements.
It could be said that technological progress has made it possible for us to be much more efficient in hurting each other. The powerful rulers have perfected their control over their subjects, over their lives and consciences. The unreasonable production of weapons of mass destruction has brought this world to the danger of self-destruction. All this does not mean that human efforts to develop science and penetrate the secrets of the material world are in themselves bad and useless. This only shows that human nature requires something disproportionately greater for its healing. What is truly higher, better, stronger and more valuable than everything transient, to which we consciously or unconsciously strive, is revealed to us by the Resurrection of Christ, which we are currently celebrating. The Lord revealed through his life and teachings that true good is achieved not by dominating others, but by serving and sacrificing for his neighbor. Whoever wants to be great among you, let him be your servant. Because the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many (Mt. 20, 26-28).
The Lord came into this world “so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). Living in Christ means living in the joy of the Resurrection. This Easter joy is suppressed only by sin, which constricts the human soul, confining it to death and hell. Let us not grieve with our sins the Holy Spirit with whom we were sealed in holy Baptism when we made a vow to God that we would courageously fight against evil and sin. Otherwise, sin will grow into destructive vices and passions, and even into addictions that are spreading like an epidemic today. All these demonic phenomena ruin the human being, destroy marriages, families, godparenthoods and friendships, and poison the entire society.
Let us learn, dear brothers and sisters, and let us teach our children, that doing good and cultivating the ideal of virtue is not something outdated and outmoded. Believing people, who grow in virtue, inspired by the Holy Spirit, know that the light of goodness, truth, honesty, justice, purity, and love never becomes outdated or loses its value.
In these bright festive days, looking at the horrors of war and the shedding of human blood, the suffering of innocents, especially children, women and the elderly, we should multiply our prayers for peace in the world. We are concerned that the law of the stronger is being emphasized more and more loudly, that force is being glorified, and justice and truth are being despised. We Orthodox Christians gladly join in the reasonable, for now rare and silent, calls for an end to wars, for dialogue and possible reconciliation between conflicting peoples. Let us therefore raise our warm prayers to the Risen Lord, who receives the tears of sorrow from all who are in trouble, to grant peace to those at war, comfort to all who suffer, and to renew all things with a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3) of the Resurrection.
We see that, unfortunately, there is still no peace or security for our long-suffering Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, which has been crucified for centuries. Despite all the resolutions and agreements, despite the presence of peacemakers who are supposed to ensure security for everyone, the persecution of our compatriots from their centuries-old homes continues, and the innocent are being arrested and intimidated daily. Enduring daily pressures and injustices, Serbs heroically survive in Kosovo and Metohija, faithful to their Church, the Nemanjić shrines, the hearths and graves of their ancestors. Admiring their courage, we rejoice that our faithful people from Montenegro are increasingly visiting their suffering brothers on the holy Serbian land and that every Sunday and holiday they pray to God together with them in the famous Serbian foundations of the Peć Patriarchate, Visoki Dečani, Gračanica and other shrines.
This bright Feast infuses our hearts with the power of God's love to overcome our weaknesses and love one another. We celebrate solemnly and conciliarly, churchly and nationally the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, embracing one another in the community of eternal Divine love. We joyfully sing: we forgive everyone and everything through the Resurrection of Christ. The rapturous soul of the Church of God testifies that the Resurrection is the day that the Lord created and calls everyone to rejoice and be glad in it (Ps 117:24). It has the light of the first biblical day and the glory of the future unsettling day and the Kingdom of Heaven in which is our eternal joy. We fervently worship the Resurrection of the Lord, for through His Cross joy came to the whole world. Therefore, with the entire Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we boldly confess and joyfully sing: today is salvation for the world, for Christ is Risen as Almighty (Easter Matins).
With these festive thoughts and prayerful wishes, we wholeheartedly congratulate the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ to the entire God-loving clergy, venerable monasticism and faithful people of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, and to all people of good will, with the most joyful greeting: "Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen."
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