His Eminence the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Archbishop of Cetinje and Exarch of the Holy Throne of Peć, Mr. Joanikije prayerfully attended the prayer service for the beginning of the new school year in the Cetinje Monastery this morning. A prayer service was offered to the students of the Cetinje Theological School "St. Peter of Cetinje".

Archpriest Blagoje Rajković, rector of the seminary in Cetinje served the prayer ceremony with the participation of professors from this school.

The sermon was delivered by archpriest Nemanja Krivokapić, who said that prayers before the beginning of the school year are very important, because in them the priests pray to God to send the Holy Spirit to all of us, above all to the teachers:

"Venerable fathers, respected professors and dear students, we heard these wonderful prayers where we pray that the Lord opens the mouths and minds of (professors) to properly convey the knowledge they have already acquired, and that God opens the hearts and minds of you students to receive this knowledge properly and accept, not only to hear and understand, but to fulfill it in your lives. And that it will be useful to you in your spiritual life, first as students and then later as priests so that you can pass on that knowledge to your flock.

You know that studying in the seminary does not only mean sitting in the pews and listening to lectures, but also means constant and active participation in the life of the Church, primarily through worship services. Constant attendance at services, both in the morning and in the evening, will give a special quality to your knowledge acquisition, that what you understood theoretically is transferred in life. A special blessing acquired by students who study in Cetinje is that they are constantly under the protection and blessing of Saint Peter of Cetinje and Saint John the Baptist, whose relics rest here.

May God grant that with the prayers of these two saints, we will have a happy and successful new school year, and above all a blessed one, amen, God grant," concluded Father Nemanja.

Prayers for the beginning of the new school year were also served in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, the Church of St. George under Gorica, the Cathedral of St. John Vladimir, the Monastery of Dajbaba and many other churches and temples throughout the Metropolis of Montenegrin and the Serbian Orthodox Church.