Bishop Irinej of Backa presided at the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy on the feast of the Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, in the St. George’s Church in Novi Sad on July 26, 2020.
“God does not deny the freedom he has given us and never imposes Himself on anyone. That is why faith is needed. If we were enslaved and forced to accept the Lord, then there would be no faith, no deed, no participation along the way of our salvation. The Lord saves us by performing economia of Salvation, He is the One Who is the Savior, but not without us, and especially not against us,” the Bishop said.
“Even today we are in a festive mood, despite all the temptations of our time. Our souls and our hearts rejoice because of this grace and philanthropy that God generously pours out on all of us,” Bishop Irinej noted and added “You all know how much fear and how much danger and trouble there exists in our days due to the virus, but neither much greater danger and demonic force, nor Satan himself, and anything else can resist the Church of God or the Lord. Christ, who gives Himself to us in Holy Communion, certainly cannot be a danger to people, as we have heard some completely insane words from TV screens and from other media. One should be careful, one should protect oneself and one’s health, but one should know that only one, the first and the last one, is the Physician of our souls and bodies – that is Christ the Lord,” Bishop Irinej of Backa concluded.
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church
