In the crypt of the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection in Podgorica was held on Friday, 19 April, the presentation of the four-volume edition "The Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers" by Bishop Jovan Purić. The following spoke about the books: Metropolitan of Montenegrin and Littoral, Mr. Joanikije ; archpriest-stavrophor Gojko Perović; archpriest Nikola Pejović, as well as the organizer - Bishop Jovan Purić.
"When we talk about the pre-Gloric faith, we are talking about the faith of revelation, about God who revealed himself and appeared as a Trinity. And that news was brought by the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is why He is the central figure of our life, faith, salvation, the beginning and the end. The fact that God revealed himself, he showed and revealed not only himself as a perfect God and as a perfect man, but he also revealed the truth about man, and that truth written in the Holy Scriptures, witnessed by the lives of the holy apostles and holy fathers, is preserved in the Church of Christ . As Saint Irenaeus of Lyons says: "She was, she is and she will be until the end of the world and the ages - a pillar and fortress of truth". - said in the opening letter of Proto Nikola Pejović.
He expressed his great joy that this very evening in the crypt, Bishop Jovan Purić presented a very valuable four-volume edition in the crowded crypt of the temple, which testifies that he left a deep mark in Montenegro with his pastoral and archpastoral service:
"To that word of God incarnate, to that word written in the Holy Scriptures, witnessed by the holy fathers, especially tonight we have a reason to return, to remind ourselves of it and express great spiritual joy. Bishop Dr. Jovan Purić is with us, very well known and very dear to us, and your presence tonight shows that with his pastoral and archpastoral service in Montenegro, he left a deep mark in what is most important, and that is in meeting and love".
 
After archpriest Nikola Pejović, elder of the Cathedral, the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Mr. Ioannikije, who said that Bishop Jovan grew up to be an excellent theologian of our time, a prolific theological writer, but also a good preacher and pastor of the Church who followed in the sanctified footsteps of Saint Sava and Saint Bishop Nicholas and father Justin and his teachers Metropolitan Amfilohi and Bishop Athanasius:
"Tonight, we have a really precious work. Bishop Jovan did what the Church had done before, but he did it in a new way, with a new approach, relying on the daily readings of the Holy Scriptures in the church, above all on the readings from the Apostles and from the Gospel at divine services". - said Bishop.
Metropolitan Joanikije then emphasized that Bishop Jovan Purić's theological works are the result of his enlightenment with God's grace and wisdom, light, truth and justice, and a life abundantly rich in continuous exploits and work:
"Father Jovan simply became a great spiritual treasure, full of spiritual experience and excellent education. He was educated through theology schools, but not only through schools, but he worked a lot on himself outside of school, outside of official academic education, worked a lot, wrote, created, constantly prayed to God, grew up and continues to age; because man advances on God's path all the days of his life, supported by God's grace, enlightened by God's wisdom, light, truth and justice, and as the fruits of such a life and constant feat and work, we have his theological works".
Archpriest-Stavrofor Gojko Perović, archpriest vicar of Podgorica-Danilovgrad, former rector of the Cetinje seminary, reflected on the deep mark that Bishop Jovan left as a professor at the Cetinje seminary:
"As a professor at the Cetinje seminary, then Hieromonk Jovan Purić, he left a deep mark as a lecturer in numerous generations. And apart from being a lecturer, teacher and class leader, we have already heard that he was also an exceptional singer, professor of dogmatics, Holy Scripture and liturgy. Those are the four disciplines in which he really contributed the most to the education of students - seminarians, and today, on all four sides of the world, bishops, hieromonks, priests, religious teachers and who knows where, the students of the seminary have not reached because of the pastoral work of the current Bishop Jovan Purić".
"What I want to emphasize tonight is that in front of you is a theologian, a seminary professor, who was of exceptional importance for us young professors, who was a much-needed connection between the people that Metropolitan Ioannikije spoke about, namely the students of Ava Justin, people who in the 1970s and 1980s became respected pastors of the Serbian Orthodox Church and a large number of us who came from secular schools, primary and secondary schools and had no connection mainly with the liturgical life of the Church, except that they were mostly people who came from from pious families and that they were baptized". - reminded Archpriest Gojko.

At the end, Bishop Jovan addressed all those present, saying that this four-volume edition is a great achievement, referring to the influence of his teachers and role models of spiritual life, Father Justin, Metropolitan Amfilohi, Bishop Athanasius, characterizing their personalities in the historical context of inimitability and unfathomable greatness:
"This is a response to the gift of God, but also to the gift of our teachers (Father Justin, Metropolitan Amfilohi, Bishop Athanasius) where we were truly honored to have such teachers who are historical figures and are born once in 300-400 years. We cannot measure ourselves or our contemporaries against them".
He reminded that Metropolitan Amfilohije with his personality expressed the deepest secret of the connection of truth, goodness and beauty, and that one of the monographs - publications of Bishop Jovan bore that name, dedicating it to the blessed Metropolitan Amfilohije:
We dedicated the monograph "Wreath, Truth, Kindness and Beauty" to Metropolitan Amfilochius, who in some way expressed the deepest secret of connection, truth, kindness and beauty with his personality. Just listening to him, following him for 20 years as a deacon and priest, and especially trusting me as such a young hieromonk to be the guardian of Saint Basil's life, I have always considered that Saint Basil is the abbot of Ostrog Monastery and in the second place Metropolitan Amfilohije in my consciousness, that I am only a guard there to help him".
In the continuation of his address, the Bishop recalled how Metropolitan Amfilohije united everyone with his love and personality, people of different characters and temperaments, pointing out that the Ostrog monastery was his greatest school, especially the obedience according to which he did everything in the church and which benefited him a lot and all what followed later in his life:
"What was magnificent for me was how Metropolitan Amfilohije brought us all together with his spirit and how he united us all from different faculties, different types of personalities, temperaments, and characters. Ostro University is the largest university after all the academies. It is no small thing to have the honor of ordaining 70 priests in your archpastoral service and to be in such a Diocese (of Niš) after such a Patriarch (Irenaeus) and to be a successor. And the most important thing: everything I did, I tried to obey the Church. To obey the elders, to obey their teachers and may it be blessed. If the Most Holy Mother of God had not obeyed and said to Archangel Gabriel: "Let it be according to your word," would the incarnation have occurred? This period was the most blessed for me, because if it wasn't for this in the previous period, everything I wrote down would have remained in notebooks and would never have been published".
"Merely meeting and coming to this sanctuary is a great experience for me. At the very end, I thank God, the saints in heaven, thank the Most Reverend Metropolitan and you who initiated this evening. Because I don't think there will be any special promotion of these books, because it is a work that has just begun, people still need to join and continue to work on it, so thank God that we met. Have a happy and blessed holiday performing". - His Holiness Bishop Jovan Purić wished at the end.
Boris Music
Photo: Željko Drašković

METROPOLIA OF MONTENEGRO-PRIMORS