His Eminence the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Mr. Joanikije, June 23, on the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, after Vespers with kneeling prayers in the Church of the Holy Trinity in the Old Town of Budva, Joanikije and the clergy led a procession through the streets of Budva.

After the return of the procession in front of the Church of the Holy Trinity, which marks 220 years of its existence, archpriest Nikola Pejović, elder of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica, addressed the gathered faithful and congratulated them on the temple's glory.

"May this day of the Lord's truth be happy and God-blessed, the day of the Lord's joy, the day of the Lord's love, the day of the Holy Spirit who introduces us to every truth and every secret." With this holiday, the circle of great, dramatic events that we celebrated in the Church ended and with which came the seal of everything that the Lord has done for us and for the sake of our salvation. Without this day, without this miraculous event, without this event that comes out of that vicious circle of weeks from which man could not overcome transience with his human powers, mind, knowledge and ability, nor get out of that vicious circle, we also come out like an arrow from the Lord takes us up to heaven and shows that man is not just a body, but that man is a living soul that needs the Holy Spirit, who will lead him into that secret of eternal and imperishable life," said Father Nikola.

He went on to point out that this holiday reveals to us what power spoke to the Old Testament prophets about what would happen with the Lord, for our sake and for our salvation, through His divine and human personality: birth and life, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Also, through this holiday, it is revealed to us how a girl who does not know of a husband can become pregnant and by what power the Lord resurrects the dead, heals the sick, teaches and teaches his disciples a science that they have never heard before.

"In this holiday, the secret of His suffering is revealed to us, and therefore the secret of Divine love, which has become a measure of love, a measure of readiness for sacrifice and suffering." In this holiday, the secret of Christ's resurrection and His glorious ascension is revealed to us," said the proto.

Archpriest Nikola Pejović explained that without this holiday - the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, everything that happened with the Lord would not have any special connection with us and that we would remember those events like many others from the history of the human race. But with this event, we become participants in all those events:

"Through this event, the Church of Christ was born and armed with all the power of God, and the Church of Christ became a pillar and fortress of truth." And those people who followed the Lord, who were gathered around Him, who listened to His word, suddenly became the body of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ. On that foundation and on that strength and power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will establish a Church that even the gates of hell could not, cannot and will not be able to overcome. That's why the joy of this day is great, because we mortal, perishable people have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that the human spirit that is in us can be deified and ascended and sit at the right hand of God and the Father. It is the measure of a man's life, nothing less and nothing more than that. And that is why this day and this holiday, and this liturgy and the glory of this city and temple are all great joy for us, because this temple is also a testimony of that eternal truth, truth and faith in God in the three persons revealed: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit , and in the God-man Christ, to whom be glory and praise for all and for all. Happy and blessed holiday!”

After the procession on the plateau between the churches, as part of the Trinity celebrations, the Spiritual Academy was held.

Vesna Devic

Photo: Željko Drašković