With the prayerful participation of several thousand faithful gathered under the arches of the votive temple of the Serbian people in Vračar, His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije served on November 1st, All Souls' Day, the annual memorial service for the victims of the tragic accident at the Novi Sad Railway Station, as well as for all Orthodox Christians who have died over the centuries.
At the end of the memorial service, His Holiness the Patriarch Porfirije sent a fatherly message in which he emphasized:
– Today we have raised prayers that the Lord may grant the kingdom of heaven to Nemanja, Anđela, Sara, Valentina, Đorđe, Milica, Miloš, Stefan, Sanja, Goranka, Vukašin, Mileva, Đura, Vasko, Anja and Vukašin, and to their relatives, all their loved ones and friends, may the Lord grant comfort and hope for resurrection and eternal life. Again, may the Lord grant peace to all of us, the spiritual children of Saint Sava. May He grant peace first to each of us, and then peace among us and the realization that we need each other. May He grant us the feeling that we are one, because only in this way will we preserve and carry the blessing of Saint Sava on ourselves. Above all, may the Lord grant us the realization, strength and determination to each of us to be better, as much as possible better than ourselves, so that then together we will all be better.
– We can only be better when everyone personally makes an effort in accordance with the law of God and His love for the good, when they try to be better. We can never expect any of us individually to be better, and that this comes from outside. May the Lord rest the souls of the victims whose names we have mentioned and may he grant eternal life to each of them, Nemanja, Anđela, Sara, Valentina, Đorđe, Milica, Miloš, Stefan, Sanja, Goranka, Vukašin, Mileva, Đura, Vasko, Anja, and Vukašin – eternal memory, may God forgive their souls – said the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije.
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church