On 22 March 2026, on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent – dedicated to Saint John Climacus, the ascetic who authored The Ladder of Divine Ascent, a work in which he set forth his spiritual experiences, i.e. the experiences of the tradition of the Orthodox Church concerning man’s spiritual ascent on the path of salvation – His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije served the Holy Liturgy in the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in New Belgrade.
 
— God is love and He desires that all approach Him, that all draw near to Him: those who have faith, those who have weak faith, and even those who have no faith. For everyone who is burdened, who has any kind of problem or trial, the path of God’s love is open. He rejects no one. Yet in order for those who approach the Lord to recognize Him as the Physician of our souls and bodies, the Lord Himself said then – and continues to say through the centuries, and says to us today, and so it will be until His Second Coming, the coming of Christ: It is necessary that you have faith. Of course, this is why the Lord says to the unfortunate father of the sick son in today’s Gospel account: If you can believe, there will be healing; knowing that his faith is weak, that he scarcely has it, knowing that the faith of each of us is weak — said His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, whose homily in Serbian may be read in its entirety HERE.
 
During the Divine Liturgy, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije ordained Mr. Vladimir Jović, a graduate theologian and an official of the Office of the Serbian Patriarch, to the rank of deacon.
 
Concelebrating with the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church were Their Graces Vicar Bishops: Stefan of Remesiana – Head of the Representation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Moscow, and Petar of Toplica – Dean of the Church of Saint Demetrius in New Belgrade; Protopresbyter-Stavrophors Rajko Nedić and Grigorije Sapsaj; Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Jovan Milanović – Rector of the Theological Seminary in Sremski Karlovci; Protopresbyter Đorđe Stojisavljević – Head of the Office of the Serbian Patriarch; Protopresbyters Vojislav Kostić and Aleksandar Bajić; Priests Vladimir Perić from the Diocese of Šabac, Marko Kojić, Stefan Vasiljević, Ivan Faranov, and Srboljub Ostojić; Protodeacons Dragan Radić and Radomir Vrućinić; Deacons Nikola Kostić, Vasilije Perić, Predrag Marinković, Marko Simić, and Hierodeacon Sergije (Jurišić) – professor at the Theological Seminary in Sremski Karlovci.