His Eminence Archbishop of Cetinje Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Mr. Last night, July 7, Joanikije served the evening service in the Savina Glavica monastery in Grblje and ordained the previous abbess of this holy family, nun Tekla (Zorić), to the rank of abbess.

Addressing the gathering, Metropolitan Ioannikije said that Saint Sava taught his, God-entrusted, Serbian people to every benefactor, every virtue, rule and law, and that it is especially important that he taught bishops, priests, abbots, abbesses, our monasticism, how one should live in accordance with the commandments of God, as one should acquire virtues in this temporary life.

"How to relate to this world and everything in it, to the beauty of this world, always presuming the beauty of the Kingdom of Heaven to everything earthly." Teaching us that everything that has earthly value is temporary, and that what we do for God's sake acquires eternal value," Bishop Joanikije taught the gathering.

Recalling that mother Thekla served God, the Holy Church and the holy places as a nun for many years, and that she has long been the elder of this holy family, the Metropolitan invoked God's mercy and grace to strengthen her in this holy and exalted service:

"To make an effort, with God's grace and God's grace, both for her own salvation and for the salvation of the sisters entrusted to her by the Lord and Saint Sava, and to serve this sanctuary as Saint Sava taught monks and nuns to live. First of all, to pray to God persistently, to observe fasting and prayer and meditation, to consecrate oneself constantly to the mysteries of God, to the mysteries of salvation, as well as to the mysteries of spiritual life. That they never give in to laziness and carelessness, but as they strive in prayer, study, reading, in asceticism and other efforts to acquire virtues, monks and nuns should also take care of the monastery."

His Eminence then pointed out that just as monks and nuns decorate their souls with virtues, they should also strive to decorate the holy monasteries and churches of God with spiritual beauty, fulfilling God's command that was given to our forefather Adam when the Lord placed him in the Garden of Eden to processes and stores it. These are our monks and nuns, as he noted, held for centuries and very often we had good and enlightened brotherhoods and sisterhoods, so we had Saints pleasing God at all times in our monasteries:

"Also, we had the opportunity to see that they made their families, church, lodges and port in the likeness of God's paradise, and our monasteries resembled, and in a visible sense, that garden of paradise in which man strives and dwells, and everything makes God because of. So that when believers come to our monasteries, as soon as they cross the monastery gate, they feel as if they are in another, better world. And they are immediately greeted by beauty, first of all the beauty of souls, and then the beauty of the temple, the beauty of worship, the beauty of pious behavior, the beauty of hospitality and other beauties with which monks and nuns adorn themselves."

The Lord will grant, emphasized the Archbishop of Cetinje, that we succeed in everything we set our mind to, but we should seek what is for the salvation of the soul and for the glory of God and for the glory of the holy temple and the Church of God:

"May God's blessing and the blessing of Saint Sava be with our new abbess, mother Tekla, and may God strengthen her in this holy service all the days of her life." To give it strength and power and wisdom, especially perseverance, because on this path you need to be persistent and enduring until the end, and that is actually humility. Because we cannot do anything with our own strength and power, but we can only do something if we rely on God's grace and mercy, on God's providence and if we ask God for strength and power, applying our efforts."

Referring to the monastic life, the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Mr. Joanikije pointed out that our monks and nuns, apart from taking care of their common life, of their monastic community, always took care of the faithful people, welcoming them with hospitality, gentleness and meekness, with understanding. Very often, this, along with simple hospitality and simple conversations, was enough for people who come to the monastery to worship, to return to the true path of God.

"To receive a great spiritual benefit and to relax, to return to their homes spiritually renewed and strengthened, because we all need that simplicity." People in the world complicate their lives a lot, and it would not be good if this were transferred to monasteries. Rather, let that focus, concentration, composure, which adorns good, spiritual monks and nuns, be our goal and live by using time, redeeming time, as the Holy Apostle Paul says, because every day that God has determined and assigned to us is , a great opportunity to do good deeds and to please God in all the days of our lives.

May the Lord, through the prayers of our Holy Father Sava, bless this holy family, especially our mother Tekla and her sisterhood and all those who come here to worship, all those who help, all benefactors, contributors, because this holy family is still being built. But it is being built in such a way that, first of all, the sisters work hard for their salvation, for their spiritual development, so God will allow everything else that they need to be built," said at the end His Eminence the Archbishop of Cetinje, the Metropolitan of Montenegro coastal Mr. Joannikius.

Vesna Devic

Photo: Željko Drašković