With the blessing of His Eminence Bishop Metodije Ostojić of Budimlje-Nikšić, organized by the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality of Kotor, yesterday the book by Uroš Tihomirov Joksimović “I was born to believe” was promoted in the Treasury of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The following spoke about the book: Archpriest Stavrophor Nemanja Krivokapić, Prof. Ljiljana Čolan, Archpriest Nikola Urdešić and the author. Texts from the book were read by a third-grade student at the Kotor Gymnasium, Elena Simović.

Fr. Nemanja Krivokapić said that we have not had a similar promotion before because Uroš's book not only talks about faith, "but is a promotion of faith itself, a living, true, and practically applied deepest faith in Christ the Savior."

“Here is a nice occasion for us to meet, gather, and talk. It is always useful and significant, especially during these days of fasting, when we usually pray more intensely, read more, think more about ourselves and our actions, our relationship with God, hear what others think, what they have to tell us, to learn, to be richer in new knowledge. That is why during fasting we have lectures, in which our fathers direct us to wise thoughts, encourage us to think about higher ideas and topics.

Tonight we have a book promotion. However, this is not an ordinary promotion. We have never had such a promotion before and this is a great blessing. Before us is a book that talks about faith. However, this is not a promotion of a book about faith, but a promotion of faith itself, a living, true, practically applied deepest faith in Christ the Savior.

Tonight we are talking about the book “I Was Born to Believe”, by Uroš Tihomir Joksimović, a boy who has cerebral palsy, but despite that he managed to write this work. When I think about this book and even more about its author, somehow my first association is with that gospel story told by the Lord Savior himself, the story of the talents. He gave talents to his servants, and it is God who gave them to all of us. He gave one to someone, two to someone, five to someone, and they were multiplied by two, four, ten… It is a story that reminds us that everything we have is given to us by God, and it is up to us how we will behave towards it and how we will multiply what He has given us.

We do not have an example that, if someone received one or two talents, they would multiply it by 10, and we have just such an example tonight when we talk about Uroš and this book of his. As an introduction to his book, he writes: “Everyone is born for something, but I was born to believe. They say that the Lord keeps everyone on earth until they do what they were born for. I am aware of these wise words and I will live until the moment I have faith in the Lord our Savior Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,” said Father Nemanja, emphasizing that the Lord may have given Uroš fewer talents considering the Cross he carries because of his illness, but He has given him tenfold the gift to know God, to feel Him in his soul, to love, and to give us that experience through this book and his personal struggle.

Uroš, as he emphasized, truly testifies to his living, unwavering faith in the risen Lord, his life is faith, he does not complain to God because he does not have something, but thanks him for what he has received.

“They call him a brave soldier of Christ and he truly is. He is a soldier of Christ who has accepted his life, the way he was given it and has fully fulfilled it. He lives life. He does not just live it but truly lives it to the fullest, creates, bears fruit… Uroš also had an exhibition of his paintings. He has fully fulfilled his life and will continue to fulfill it because he gives living fruit. Uroš is an example of the joy of living, hoping for that eternal life. At this time, many young people and people in general have problems with pessimistic thoughts, thinking about the meaning or meaninglessness of life, he shines with his life and gives a true example of the joy of living”, said, among other things, Fr. Nemanja, concluding that meeting and talking with Uroš is useful for everyone who has the opportunity and should be an incentive for us when we falter because of our weaknesses.

Prof. Ljiljana Čolan said that when she first heard about Uroš Joksimović and his book “Born to Believe,” she was at the Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in Škaljari.

“Immediately after the liturgy was celebrated, it was All Souls' Day, on February 22, 2025, Father Nemanja told me that Uroš had a desire to promote the book in our city. Nothing in life is accidental, so I experienced the fulfillment of this desire as the constant patronage of the Most Holy Theotokos over the Christian race, as Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović teaches us in the Ohrid Prologue. Whenever we prayerfully ask for that patronage, that cover, in times of trouble, She covers us with an outstretched omophorion on her hands and protects us, encourages us in our struggle, heals us from some illness, reveals some secret to us... The secret that was revealed to me on the pages of the book “Born to Believe” is difficult and beautiful. This is the recorded truth of the life of a young man who prayerfully seeks the meaning of his existence, strengthening himself with the body and blood of our Lord, going to meet him by making pilgrimages, visiting great shrines, meeting the soldiers of Christ who are guardians of the faith through the centuries, discovering with his soul how to learn by faith, how to dream and learn the paths that are rightly walked.

His strongest motivator is the love he feels from his neighbors, and the love he gives to everyone he meets. Sister Sara is the center of that love and the first text in the book is dedicated to her.

Uroš is a good boy from Jugovina, a hamlet of the village of Buče near Berane. He speaks proudly about his ancestors, one of whom was also awarded the Miloš Obilić Medal. He speaks with pride about his family, grandfather Uroš, grandmother Rosandi, aunts Lenka and Senka, uncle Vitomir, parents Jelena and Tihomir. It is important to him to emphasize who he is from, whose he is, because his family members, both deceased and living, are soldiers of Christ and Saint Sava followers. His father told him that his great-grandmother taught her children from a young age to say the prayer “Our Father” and the hymn to Saint Sava before going to bed. Those words remained permanently imprinted in Uroš’s consciousness, and written down in this book have become a signpost for all who stop on the thorny path of life and wonder how to continue. Family is important, a small church. It gives us strength, it is a solid support for everyone, especially in moments when it seems to us that the world is collapsing, and we do not have the strength to stop it. In weakness, the Lord manifests himself. Uroš has realized this and he holds on to that realization,” said Prof. Ljiljana Čolan.

The promotion then read a text by Uroš’s uncle, Nikola Apostolović, “A Good Boy from Jugovina,” which talks about how proud the family is of the young writer.

Continuing her presentation, Prof. Čolan spoke about Uroš’s family, where he grew up and which cherishes Orthodox customs.

“His morning prayers in the church with his father have a special place in his heart. Reading about the holy places, watching programs about churches and monasteries, he wanted to visit them. Each visit is a great blessing, but also a great feat. Uroš wanted to immortalize his experiences, and in the part of the book entitled “Places of Worship” he collected records of visits to the Church of St. George in Oplenac, the Church of St. Sava in Vračar, the Russian Church in Belgrade, the monastery in Rakovica and the grave of Patriarch Paul, the Mileševa Monastery, Morača, Ostrog, the City of God Samograd in the territory of Berane, then the Šudikovo Monastery in the very Tifranska Gorge through which the Lim flows, then the women's monastery of Ćelije in the village of Kaludra near Berane, the Church of St. Archangel Michael at the foot of Jugovina, on Buč (the feast of the cross), the Church of the Saints Apostles Peter and Paul in Bijelo Polje, Savina Monastery... Wherever Uroš was, he left a part of his noble soul, and took with him the blessing of the saints in whose temples he prayed and thanked the Lord.

His conversations with Kiko (Uncle Vit) about Athos and the Holy Mountain, about Jerusalem, about the holy places in Kosovo burn in the boy's heart like an unextinguished lamp of Orthodoxy...

The meteors “between heaven and earth” amazed the boy with their location and their holiness. His account of a visit to the tomb of Patriarch Paul testifies to the strength of his personality.

Uroš met many guardians of the faith. He read about some, or heard about them, and met some personally.

All these encounters with wonderful saints and spiritual fathers, all these acquaintances are a gift from the Lord.

The experience of these encounters helped the young soldier of Christ to carry his cross courageously and with dignity.

“A strong man is one who recognizes the power of his faith and God, and who recognizes how much this power changes a person.”

In the second chapter of the book “Guardians of the Faith,” Uroš writes about those who wrote our spiritual history.

“He writes about the Slavic enlighteners, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, about the first Serbian Archbishop Saint Sava and the holy lineage of the Nemanjićs, about the Holy Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, about Despot Stefan Lazarević, about Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović, Father Justin Popović, Patriarch German, Patriarch Varnava Rosić, Father Thaddeus, Holy Father Paisios of Mount Athos, Saint Basil of Ostrog…”, said Čolan.

The records about the spiritual leaders of our time are special, she continues.

“Thus, Uroš writes about his meeting with Bishop Joanikij in Đurđevi Stupovi when he was only 10 years old. He remembers the Bishop’s words: “My Falcon! You are a great fighter throughout your life, a true soldier of Christ, God bless you.”

Bishop Methodius was remembered for his words: "My eye, an angel without wings."

Then, says Uroš, I realized "that Bishop Methodius has the same child's heart as I do."

The extent of this boy's heart is also revealed in the text about the blessedly deceased Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović, in which he speaks about the significance of the life and work of the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, about his and our vow: "My heart is ready to restore the destroyed and desecrated holy altars together with you..."

Many of the deceased are alive in Uroš's memory, he reads books about them. Thus, the book "The Farewell of the Prophets to the Land of the Living," a gift from Bishop Dimitrij, is a special memory of Bishop Atanasij Jevtić. Along with this book, Uroš also highlights the book "Grandfather."

It is important for him to emphasize how much these two spiritual fathers, Bishop Amfilohije and Bishop Atanasije, did for the defense of the holy places. The memory of the liturgy is also the memory of them and of all those who defended the “honorable cross and golden freedom”.

The farewell to Archpriest Dragan Ristić, whom Uroš knew personally, speaks of the maturity of the young man in facing the death of a neighbor.

The importance of spiritual fatherhood is highlighted in the text about Father Miloš Cicmil, who is Uroš's religious teacher, talks to him about faith, creativity, history... The book also highlights the figure of monk Mihail, affectionately called Uncle, who introduced Uroš to every corner of Đurđevi Stupovi," said Čolan.

She reminds us that there are other clergymen mentioned in this book and that each of them left a special mark on the life of Uroš Joksimović and that every reader will hear about their deeds and actions through Uroš's testimony: "They all encouraged the boy to persevere in his fight."

In the third part of the book, "My Soul Teaches Through Faith," Čolan continues, "the personal confession of a man is given to whom illness, as a visit from God, enabled him to learn more and more deeply about the structure of the world and life”.

“Since Uroš’s baptism, since his first acquaintance with the Lord, a guardian angel watches over the soul of a young man who respects the holy mysteries, studies the history of both the Church and his people, sympathizes with people, prays and believes in the help of the Lord in all life’s troubles. Uroš reminds us of the suffering places in Kosovo and Metohija, in Jasenovac, and also speaks of the Storm pogrom of Serbs from Croatia…

The suffering of Jesus Christ because of people and for people is an eternal warning. Our sufferings compared to his are immeasurable.

Resurrection is our only hope.

“My Jesus,

Fragrant May rose,

The sting of your thorn injects life,

Recovers, heals,

Gives a new meaning to everything,

Opens the door

of Paradise to me,” Čolan read the words of the monk Arsenij: “Addicted to heavenly love.”

What he cannot experience in reality, Uroš dreams and writes about in the fourth part of the book “Visions and Knowledge.”

“Most often, these are dreams that take him to holy places, to drink pure water from life-giving springs. God grant that Uroš will visit all those places and write about them.

May the protection of the Most Holy Theotokos protect him, and may conversations with the Mother of God strengthen him!” said Prof. Ljiljana Čolan, reading at the end Uroš’s conversation with the Theotokos.

Archpriest Nikola Urdešić said that he learned about Uroš six years ago through his uncle Vito.

“Vito is a wonderful man. He is actually an older Uroš. He reminds me of him and I am glad to meet Uroš in person here in Kotor, my hometown, but I was born here in another sense,” said Fr. Nikola, noting that Rizica reminds him a lot of Fr. Mom and his advice.

We have gathered tonight, he continued, to talk about a serious treasure trove of life lessons from one man.

“A man, of course, because Uroš is no longer a child when he was able to create such a work. Perhaps he himself shortened his childishness a little, but after a book like this he is a serious man, a great one, through whom many generations will learn a spiritual lesson from the elders of Mount Athos, which goes like this: “To those who know how to wait, everything comes in time,” said, among other things, Father Nikola, emphasizing that Uroš is an example of how to wait.

Speaking at the end of the promotion, the author of the book, Uroš Joksimović, emphasized that for his efforts, God himself rewarded him with the blessing of the Bishop of Budamiljan and Nikšić, Mr. Methodius.

“This book was also published with his blessing. This is also the blessing of Saint Sava, who founded the Diocese of Budamiljan in 1219, which he later expanded to Nikšić. It is also a blessing from Saint Basil of Ostrog, where the Bishop is currently serving… I see that this book has sparked some new hopes for me, some new perspectives that are strengthening my faith even more and more,” said Uroš Joksimović, among other things.

The book begins with a text dedicated to Sister Sara: “Church clergy say that people give love to a person throughout their entire life, but that the greatest love is that of a sister and brother, and I am a living example of those wise words.”

A VIDEO RECORDING FROM LAST NIGHT’S PROMOTION IS AVAILABLE AT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_maHUBYxImc