The hierarchal vicar of Kotor-Tivat, parish priest of Kotor, archpriest – stavrophor Nemanja Krivokapić, today, June 21, on the third Sunday after Pentecost, served the Holy Liturgy with the clergy in the Church of St. Nicholas in the Old Town of Kotor.

“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We have heard the Holy Gospel that the Church proposes to us for today, which reminds us that our faith, our Orthodox faith, is a faith of revelation. And what does the faith of revelation mean? It means that we are not left to ourselves, to think about the meaning of our lives and about how and what we should do. These are the first and fundamental topics that have always puzzled every person throughout history, as well as all cultures, wherever man has lived, in whatever time he has lived. What is the meaning of our life, why are we here on earth, what should we do while we are here on earth, is there an afterlife and how can we deserve it? Many philosophers have dealt with these very topics, trying to penetrate their thinking, their mind… For a long time they had nothing left when they did not know about Christianity and had to find the answers to these questions themselves. questions, but most often they did not find them. Also, other various religions tried to give their believers some answers, but it was not complete", said Fr. Nemanja.

We Christians, he points out, have a privilege, because we know the true and complete truth. C

"And how do we know that? Because God revealed this truth to us. That is why our faith is a faith of revelation. God did not leave us to think for ourselves, but told us directly and most precisely why we are here on earth and what our goal is. Through the Old Testament, too, but above all with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, God Himself here on earth, we were told most directly and most precisely what we should do. This Holy Gospel also reminds us of this, which ends with the sentence - "Seek first the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the rest will be added to you." Therefore, the meaning of our life is to gain the Kingdom of God. If the meaning were this transient life, no matter how long it lasts, there would truly be a lot of injustice and ambiguity in this world. Why is someone sick, someone healthy, why does someone live a long time, and Why does someone die young? Why is someone rich, someone poor? All of this and many other questions would be unexplained and unanswered if the meaning of our existence were truly this short life: Let us live it for 100 years, and it will pass again. But, fortunately, the meaning of our existence is not this life, this fleeting life, but what is to come. What would be the meaning of the martyr's death of the martyrs who gave their lives for the faith?

If young people are suffering, what good is that faith to you, what kind of faith is it if you will no longer live? Precisely, through that death, they gained eternal life, life with God. They gained it through a martyr's life, and all of us through life in the Church and through the Church, as the Church and the Lord Jesus Christ, through their truths and the teaching that He revealed to us, manifest to us. The Kingdom of God, which comes after, means life after this life, which is eternal. That is what we strive for and what we should concentrate on. I am not saying that we should not think about anything in this world. Every serious householder will of course try to provide money, to feed the family, to provide for the children, to worry because the house is leaking, whether they will fix something... Every responsible person will of course think about these things, but not to make it our preoccupation and to think only about that. Because, when that too will pass, we will leave too. We can have ten houses, but one day we will die and we cannot take them with us up there. So, first of all, let us think about what it means to gain eternal life and where our place will be in the Kingdom of God. This is gained through a Christian life, a life according to the moral principles that the Lord Jesus Christ himself leaves us, which the Church prescribes for us through the Ten Commandments of God and other commandments of a moral and virtuous life. It is equally important that through the holy mysteries, through life in the Church, we are baptized, anointed, which is the beginning of our life in the Church, and then to receive communion, to unite with the Lord himself through the communion that the Lord himself left us. Let us do this and of course prepare ourselves for meeting the Lord through fasting, prayer and a virtuous life. This is what today's Gospel calls us to and reminds us of what to think about, what to strive for, and what to direct our thoughts and our lives to. May the Lord God grant that, by truly thinking about this, we too may be saved and merit the Kingdom of God, amen," said Fr. Nemanja.