New York, February 6, 2023
Photo: spc.rs
St. Sava’s Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in New York City suffered serious fire damaged on Pascha in 2016. Since then, the parish community has been worshiping at the Serbian Club and the church has been undergoing extensive restoration.
And yesterday, Sunday, February 5, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church celebrated the first Divine Liturgy at the cathedral in seven years, reports the Serbian Church’s press service.
As OrthoChristian previously reported, the Patriarch arrived in America on January 25, and visited Serbian communities in New York and the Midwest, including St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, and New Gračanica Monastery near Chicago.
Photo: spc.rs
The Patriarch ended his pastoral visit to America with the Liturgy at the NYC cathedral. He was concelebrated by His Grace Bishop Mitrophan of Canada and Serbian Orthodox priests and deacons.
Addressing the administration and faithful of the church, His Holiness called on them to remain faithful amidst their troubles, and even to increase their faith: “It’s important that … while the church is being rebuilt, that we, first of all, build that church spiritually, that we build it with prayer, that we pray to God to give us strength and to be able to truly rebuild what is external as well.”
“Most important is that we renew ourselves from within,” the Serbian primate exhorted.
“Of course, for all this we need—and we have, thank God—faith, faith in Christ, the awareness that everything depends on Him and that ultimately everything also happens by His providence, by the loving providence of God,” he continued.
“May the Lord grant that by the prayers of the Holy Father Sava and all the saints from our family and all the saints of the Orthodox Church, we too might walk the path of the Gospel, the path of love,” the Patriarch concluded.
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