On August 20, 2020, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia and the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, visited the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava in order to get informed of the progress of works on Cathedral interior.
The works on the interior of the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava should be completed in October, when the Cathedral is planned to be opened as a part of a great jubilee – 800 years of autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church. President Vucic pointed out that he was proud of the fact that the Serbian government had undertaken the greatest burden of the completion of construction of the St. Sava’s Cathedral, adding that the investments into the Cathedral works in the last three years exceeded the total sum invested during the previous 60 years.
Serbian Patriarch Irinej emphasized that the Cathedral of Saint Sava would be a magnificent shrine to the pride of the Serbian people, and of the whole Christian world. He expressed gratitude to all of those who had donated funds for the Cathedral, but also to the Serbian State, which had understood the importance and significance of Saint Sava for our history and the importance of building the Cathedral at the exact place where St. Sava’s relics had been burnt. “As much as Stefan Nemanja contributed to the creation of the State, Saint Sava did nothing less. While Nemanja was expanding the State’s borders, St. Sava was instilling the spirit and life into our Church. Such a feeling has imbued our entire history, and is still felt today”, the Serbian Patriarch said.