His Eminence Bishop Paisij of Diokli celebrated today, June 17, on the feast day of the Holy Martyr John of Montenegro, the Holy Liturgy in the church of St. Peter of Cetinje in Prčanj, with the concelebration of the clergy of the Kotor-Tivat regency and Hierodeacon Lazar from the Cetinje Monastery, and the participation of the faithful.

The Choir of the Serbian Singing Society "Jedinstvo" (1839) Kotor answered the Liturgy.

In the homily after the Evangelization, Bishop Paisije, comparing the Gospel images of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, from which even the angels of God were horrified, and the images of the five foolish girls to whom the Lord says at the door: "I really don't know you", said that the latter is still more terrible, and emphasized that of the many divisions into which the world is divided, only one is immutable - the division into those who are inside and those who are outside the Kingdom of God.

"If any of us were to put ourselves in the place of these girls, of course he would be overwhelmed by the most terrible horror, how they were eternally deprived of life and how they were eternally deprived of the Kingdom and salvation. There are many divisions in this world: both racial and national and many others, and each of them is relative to a greater or lesser extent, there is only one absolute division that is always valid and never changes, and that is that of those people who pass by, live the life of the great Friday also resurrects those who come before the closed door, beg and cry for it to be opened, but remain eternally outside the Kingdom of God. And because of this, this image of Good Friday is less terrible, because Good Friday in itself is not the end, but its end is the glorious resurrection."

Bishop Paisius of Dioclia emphasized that the Holy Martyr Joanikije of Montenegro and all those who suffered together with him, and whom our Holy Church celebrates today, followed the path of Christ.

"And truly as terrible as this image of Good Friday is, their life is also terrible, because they left their native land and were tortured and eventually killed by that of their brothers. They did not leave their land because they wanted to avoid this path of Christ's suffering. On the contrary, they wanted to save their brothers from bleeding their hands with their brothers' blood. However, those who had a strong intention to do so did it and in the end it happened again. this division into those who passed through the thorny path and whom Christ welcomed and of whom Christ says as we have heard in the Gospel: Fear not little flock, for it was the will of your Father that you inherit the Kingdom. That is why we celebrate the priest-martyr Ioannicus and those who suffered with him and we pray that they will strengthen us on this path we are on and on which we will certainly and without a doubt expect the sufferings that we must suffer, so that we too would hear these words of Christ and how we should made us worthy to be His little flock", Bishop Paisje concluded.

O. B.

Metropolis of Montenegrin and Littoral