Soko Grad, Serbia, March 16, 2026
Photo: srbijadanas.net
The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrated the feast of the great St. Nikolai (Velimirović) and the 70th anniversary of his repose at the monastery named in his honor in Soko Grad on Sunday, March 15.
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Their Eminences Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia and Jovan of Šumadija and Their Graces Bishop Isihije of Valjevo, Bishop Jerotej of Šabac, together with clergy from several dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church, in the prayerful presence of a large gathering of faithful, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Photo: spc.rs
In his homily, Met. Hrizostom noted that St. Nikolai reposed 70 years ago “in distant Pennsylvania,” and that although he was physically far from Serbia, “he never ceased to be with us in his prayers, his tears, his pain, in his spiritual sufferings which he endured on account of everything that was happening to the Serbian people in the time of atheism and communism.”
The Metropolitan added that St. Nikolai had been “a symbol of holiness, preaching, wisdom, and theology” throughout his life, a man who united the entire Serbian people—not only in the Žiča and Ohrid dioceses where he served as bishop, but across the whole Serbian Orthodox Church, and for this reason became “a bishop for all the people.”
Photo: spc.rs
Bp. Jerotej, offering words of thanks at the close of the Liturgy, recalled the role of the late Bishop Lavrentije of Šabac in the founding of Soko Grad Monastery, which is dedicated to St. Nikolai. He noted that Bp. Lavrentije had devoted his life to St. Nikolai, collecting the saint’s works in Europe and Australia and publishing them “under difficult conditions, when this was forbidden here.” He also recalled that Bp. Lavrentije had brought St. Nikolai’s relics to Serbia—“the greatest blessing to our people”—just as Sts. Arsenije of Srem and King Vladislav had once brought the relics of St. Sava from Bulgaria.
St. Nikolai is among the most beloved saints who served in America, where he spent the final decade of his life. He reposed at St. Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, in March 1956, and was buried at the Monastery of St. Sava in Libertyville, Illinois. His remains were transferred to his native Lelić on May 12, 1991.
OrthoChristian recently reported that a museum is being constructed in St. Nikolai's honor in Lelić.
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