In the Church of St. Nicholas in the Old Town of Kotor, today on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, the Holy Liturgy was celebrated, presided over by Archpriest Nenad Kalem.
In his address to the faithful, he said that Christ, through the encounter with the Samaritan woman, points us to one another, to the community, that is, to the Church of God, of which He is the head.
"Dear brothers and sisters, in the glow of Christ's resurrection, still illuminated by Easter joy, we listen to the Gospel story of Christ's conversation with the Samaritan woman at a spring in Samaria. Namely, in order to better understand this story, we must know that the Samaritans were originally Jews, but they mixed with the Gentiles through marriage ties, so that they formed a new ethnic whole and group. They observed both Jewish and pagan and polytheistic customs, and the Jews therefore despised them, constantly arguing with them about religious regulations and provisions. However, Christ does not accept a conversation in interethnic religious intolerance, because He did not come to continue the old story, but to unobtrusively offer the world the truth. Therefore, He carefully begins the conversation with the woman by saying: "If you knew the gift of God who it is that speaks to you give me to drink, you would ask Him and He would give you living water. So, it is not a matter of physical thirst, but of the thirst of a godly soul for the living God. The psalmist David best described this to us in the Psalms, exclaiming: “As the deer longs for water springs, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God.” The Samaritan woman asked for that water, not knowing that the living water is Christ the Lord Himself, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is poured out abundantly on all who thirst for the truth,” said Fr. Nenad.
Christ revealed this to her, continuing on, proving that as God, everything she had done as a sinner was known to Him.
“And when she understood who He was talking to, she forgot her physical thirst and, all radiant, ran straight to the village to proclaim the truth to her fellow citizens. So, her soul found the source of life, she found Christ himself and was nourished by Him and thus solved the enigma of the meaning of her life and all worldly worries were pushed into the background”, said Fr. Nenad.
He continues by saying that from this conversation with the Samaritan woman, the Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us that the meaning of human life on earth is to find the truth and be nourished by it.
“Unfortunately, many today are looking for meaning in nonsense, losing their souls, getting lost in unimportant things. That is why this encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman is of exceptional importance for us, because Christ teaches us that the greatest gift of man is the encounter with another being, with another person who leads to the encounter with God. He points us to one another, to the community, and that community is the Church of God, of which Christ is the head. Here we are at the Holy Liturgy in the Blessed Sacrament Eucharist, we receive God himself in Holy Communion,” said Fr. Nenad.
He emphasizes that in the Temple of God there is a source of living water from which we will never thirst and we will never die, if we approach with faith in the resurrection and eternal life.
“Christ confirms to us again and again here that salvation is possible if we follow him, no matter what nation we belong to. May the Lord illuminate us with the divine light of resurrection and fill our thirsty souls with the water of eternal life, from which we will never thirst. May we turn to Him in love and glorify Him, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever, amen,” said Fr. Nenad.
Today, on the fifth Sunday after Easter – the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, our Holy Church prayerfully remembers the Burning of the Relics of Saint Sava at Vračar and celebrates the Holy Apostle Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem.

(Photo - archive of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kotor)