His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije presided over the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy on January 9, 2025, on the feast of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, on the occasion of the Baptism of the Republic of Srpska, in the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in Banja Luka.
- Brothers and sisters, we are joyful and blessed that we have gathered today for the Holy Liturgy and that we still celebrate in spiritual joy the miraculous Birth of the Son of God from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. We celebrate the Son of God who became man for our sake and for the sake of our salvation. What a great mystery and unimaginable love of God that God becomes one of us, that what is incomparably more than us, that we cannot comprehend with our minds and that we cannot approach, becomes ours and that what is incomparably less than God God takes into His arms and makes it His own. In Christ Jesus, in our Lord, an unbreakable union has been established once and for all between us humans and God – His Holiness Patriarch Porfiry spoke and emphasized:
– It is necessary, brothers and sisters, that we humans also open our hearts and our souls, that we too show love for Him. Throughout history, we know that there were those who remained closed-hearted, there were those who persecuted and rejected Him, but again, even in such moments, the Lord was with such people. However, there were, thank God, many who recognized the love of God, who opened their souls to Him and became not only His, but also His witnesses. Thank God, we, the Orthodox Serbian people, have known for centuries who we are and what we are, we know this through Christ and His love. We are sealed by Him, we are marked by Him, without Him we would not be what we are, without Him it is a big question whether we would even exist.
The Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church especially emphasized: – In our name and for us, in the Orthodox Church of Christ we were introduced completely and once for all by our forefather and the greatest saint of our race, Saint Sava. This year we celebrate the 850th anniversary of his birth. Therefore, we are marked by Christ, we are marked by the Orthodox faith and the Orthodox Church. Our name and surname is Orthodox Christian and is the Orthodox Church.
– The Gospel of Christ with His commandments is the measure and infallible standard of all rules that come to us from outside. Whether something is worth anything, whether any rule or any law has any meaning, we measure it and measure it with the infallible measure called the Gospel, the measure that is our Lord Jesus Christ himself – His Holiness the Patriarch repeated and concluded:
– For centuries, we Orthodox Serbs have lived and that is why we are what we are. That is why we are a people of love, because we strive with our whole being to love God, each other and each other as ourselves, so that by loving God and loving each other we may transform ourselves, our being and our existence into love and then become capable of loving every person, to understand what the word of Christ means: All things, therefore, that you would have men do to you, do so to them (Mt 7:12) and that we may never do to others what we would not want them to do to us. That is the love of God and that is what has been the way of life and existence of our people throughout the centuries.
You can read the sermon of the Serbian Patriarch, Mr. Porfirije, in full HERE - https://spc.rs/patrijarh-porfirije-u-banja-luci-u-miru-hristovom-cuvamo-plamen-jevandjelja-njegovog/

The Patriarch was concelebrated by His Eminence Metropolitans Jefrem of Banja Luka and Dimitrije of Zahumlje-Herzegovina and Ston-Primorski Kotar, His Eminence Bishop Sava of Marčana and the clergy of the Cathedral Church, with the prayerful participation of numerous faithful people.
The Holy Liturgy was attended by: Ms. Željka Cvijanović, Serbian member and Chairperson of the Presidency of BiH; Mr. Nenad Stevandić, President of the National Assembly; Mr. Radovan Višković, Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska; Mr. Aleksandar Vulin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Serbia and Senator of the Republika Srpska; Mr. Petar Đokić, Minister of Energy and Mining; Mr. Radan Ostojić, President of the Veterans' Organization of Srpska; Mr. Goran Selak, President of the Socialist Party of Srpska, as well as members of the Third Infantry Regiment of the Republika Srpska.
Source: SPC