Belgrade, May 25, 2026
Photo: spc.rs
Hundreds of thousands of faithful gathered in the Serbian capital on May 21, for what organizers described as the largest prayer gathering in Belgrade’s history, as the city hosted the sacred Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos for its annual Ascension Thursday procession.
The relic, one of Christianity’s most venerated objects, arrived at Belgrade’s Church of the Ascension the previous day from the Athonite monastery of Vatopedi, personally accompanied by Abbot Ephraim, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Throughout the previous night, thousands of Belgrade residents waited for hours in line outside the Church of the Ascension and surrounding streets to venerate the belt. On Ascension Thursday morning, an even larger crowd assembled for the traditional procession through the capital’s streets.
Upon reaching St. Sava Cathedral, the bells rang out to greet the procession. As the faithful continued streaming across Slavija Square, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije served a moleben before the relic displayed under the cathedral’s vaulted ceiling.
Photo: spc.rs
In his address, the Patriarch connected the feast of the Ascension with the presence of the sacred belt among the Serbian people. “Today is the feast day of the city of Belgrade,” he said. “But today Belgrade is the prayerful heart and spiritual center of our entire people wherever they may be. All Serbs are gathered here today and all are spiritually present with us in celebration.”
The Patriarch noted that six centuries ago, Prince St. Lazar gifted the belt and a portion of the True Cross to Vatopedi Monastery, where Sts. Sava and Simeon the Myrrh-streaming had been monastics. “And behold, that Belt has come here among us today,” he said. “We have carried it through the streets of the city of Belgrade, not simply to walk those streets, but because the Lord, when we carry a holy relic through the streets of the cities where we live, wants to show—and we witness this and proclaim it to the world—that faith is not only something enclosed within a church.”
The Patriarch called on the faithful to “grow in virtue, in goodness, not to be proud, not to have our hearts filled with hatred and intolerance,” and to place Christ at the center of their lives.
The procession was led by Pat. Porfirije along with Abbots Ephraim of Vatopedi and Methodij of Hilandar, with numerous Serbian bishops and clergy participating. Government ministers and military officials also attended. The St. Sava Cathedral Choir under Dr. Katarina Stanković and the Rastko Children’s Choir under Milena Antonović provided the liturgical music.
Follow OrthoChristian on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe and Gab!
