Patriarch Porfirije: "Fasting leads to communion with God"
Serbian Primate emphasized the spiritual significance of prayer, forgiveness, and inner conversion at the beginning of Great Lent.
On Forgiveness Sunday, February 22, 2026, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Belgrade Church of Saint Sava, thereby initiating Great Lent. In his address, he described the upcoming period as a spiritual path of preparation for the most important feast of faith, the Resurrection of Christ. This was reported by Orthodox Times. In his sermon, Patriarch Porfirije emphasized that true fasting always goes hand in hand with prayer, repentance, and the ability to forgive. Only those who forgive their neighbors can themselves hope for God's mercy. Without reconciliation and inner peace, the heart remains closed and unreceptive to divine grace.
Porfirije also made it clear that fasting should not be reduced to external prescriptions or mere abstinence from food. Rather, it is about inner purification, the struggle against harmful thoughts and passions, as well as the development of love, mercy, and compassion, with the goal of deepening the connection to God and fellow human beings.
Previously, the UOJ reported that
