Serbian Patriarch Porfirije consecrated a newly built church dedicated to the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste in the village of Dražanj, near Grocka, outside Belgrade, and urged the faithful not to define faith as a life free of hardship.

Speaking after the consecration and Divine Liturgy, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church compared a church to the heart of the human body. Without a church, he said, people and communities may achieve material success and prosperity, but their lives risk being reduced to mere material existence.

“The church is a place where we meet God,” Patriarch Porfirije said, stressing that the Christian community also helps people overcome selfishness and build stronger relationships with one another.

A central theme of his homily was trust in God. Patriarch Porfirije recalled the Gospel account of the Apostle Peter, who, after an unsuccessful night of fishing, cast his nets again at Christ’s command and received a great catch. The story, he said, demonstrates that people should make use of their knowledge and abilities while recognizing that their lives do not depend solely on their own efforts.

He urged believers to “cast the net of their mind and their being into the depths of the soul,” where, he said, a person can encounter God and His love.

The patriarch also emphasized that faith does not mean an absence of difficulties. He pointed to the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, in whose honor the new church was consecrated, as an example. In the Christian understanding, he said, faith is demonstrated above all by remaining faithful to Christ in times of trial.

Patriarch Porfirije encouraged the faithful to begin and end every undertaking with prayer rather than turning to God only when problems arise. Speaking about family life, he called on parents to set an example for their children and urged spouses to see one another as people whose value is greater than their own individual “I.”

The new church was built on the site of a previous church in Dražanj. Patriarch Porfirije noted that its construction was made possible through the combined efforts of local residents, including their work, prayers and financial contributions.

He also recalled the historical role of church-building among Serbs living outside their traditional homeland. As an example, he cited the Great Migration of the Serbs led by Patriarch Arsenije III Čarnojević, when Serbian settlers built churches in their new communities despite poverty and difficult living conditions.

During the celebrations, Patriarch Porfirije elevated the church’s parish priest, Milomir Jelić, to the rank of archpriest. Zoran Milić, Raško Martinković and Lazar Ivković were awarded the Order of Saint King Milutin for their contributions to the construction of the church.