Doli, Montenegro, December 8, 2022
Photo: eparhija.me
Montenegro will soon have a church dedicated to the great 20th-century elder St. Paisios the Athonite.
On Monday, December 5, His Grace Bishop Metodije of Budimlja and Nikšić of the Montenegrin Metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist in Doli.
After the Liturgy, Bp. Metodije, together with the clergy and faithful, consecrated the foundation of the future Church of St. Paisios, reports the Metropolis of Montenegro.
Photo: eparhija.me The bishop told how initially, the idea was to build the church in honor of St. Mardarije of Libertyville, a Serbian holy hierarch who served in America.
However, they then decided to follow the Apostolic tradition and cast lots, for the Lord to determine which saint would be honored, and He chose St. Paisios.
“Perhaps St. Mardarije is closer to us by blood, but St. Paisios is no less close to us, because we have a spiritual kinship with him, because he was the spiritual father of our Metropolitan Amfilohije of blessed memory,” Bp. Metodije said.
“He, as our contemporary, has much closer defined and explained the mysteries of the Gospel, the mysteries of the faith, the true Christian and ascetic life,” His Grace summed up.
OrthoChristian has also reported on churches of St. Paisios in Cyprus, Crete, Russia, Belarus, Syria, on Mt. Athos, throughout Greece.
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