Patriarch of Serbia Paul about St. Seraphim and life in Christ

We must follow the path of Christ. Everything you need to pray is set out in the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father” - everything is said here in a small way. All petitions with which a person can turn to God. This is the prayer you need to pray to God. His Holiness Patriarch Pavel of Serbia in 2003, during his visit to the Nizhny Novgorod diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, gave an interview to priest Igor Pchelintsev for the newspaper “Nizhny Novgorod Diocesan Gazette”, and spoke about the veneration of St. Seraphim in Serbia. Your Holiness! Please tell us what is the veneration of St. Seraphim of Sarov on Serbian soil? There is a very, very strong veneration of St. Seraphim, as well as all Russian saints. We compare Rev. Seraphim with our great saint - St. Sava of Serbia (13th century) - as well as St. Savva the Venerable Seraphim acquired great holiness from God, spending his life in feats of fasting and prayer. Just like St. Savva the Monk Seraphim prayed for his people and his land and lived a life that is an example for all of us. Orthodoxy, which relates and unites these saints, is the knowledge of the science of the Gospel. And not just knowledge, but also life according to this science. We can say and write whatever we want, but if we do not live according to the Gospel, then everything will be in vain. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). There must be agreement between evangelical science and the life of a Christian. This is how our saints lived and prayed. We ask Rev. Seraphim about peace in our hearts. His Holiness, are there churches in Serbia consecrated in the name of St. Seraphim? There are two such churches. They were built between the first and second world wars. But everywhere - in all churches and in Orthodox homes there are icons of the saint. Throughout the country, prayer services and akathists are served by St. Seraphim - akathists may not be served as often as in Russia (most often we serve akathists to the Mother of God and the Sweetest Jesus). Books about St. Seraphim of Sarov are being published. What do you think is the spiritual situation in Serbia now after the war and after the change of power in the state? The Serbian Church, like any Orthodox Church, does not take any political action. She honors the will of the people when the will and wishes of the people agree with the will of God. Of course, the Church stands for a change of power, the change of one government by another, only in a democratic, peaceful way. Your Holiness, how can a person living in the modern world, among vanity and chaos, be saved? How to pray, what measure of spiritual life to choose? What measure of rule should I choose? You need to start with very little and gradually, as your spiritual life grows, choose more. The commandments are not difficult to fulfill. Why are they difficult for us? Because we do not have the habit of living according to the commandments. What is easier - smoking or not smoking? It's easier not to smoke than to smoke. What's easier: being sober or drunk? It's easier to live sober. What is easier - to live in peace with your neighbor or to sue him or to quarrel constantly? It's easier to live in peace. Free yourself from unnecessary habits. Live in peace. How often should a modern person receive Holy Communion? The first Christians took communion every day, and a little later they took communion every Sunday and on holidays, although in those days there were fewer holidays than now. And the first Christians were called saints - and they were saints! They needed this holiness for strength of spirit in the era of persecution. Now freedom has come for Christians - a historical analogy can be drawn - after the time of Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine and his mother Queen Helena (IV century), when freedom to profess Christianity was granted, many people began to join the Church insincerely, and through this insincerity the decline of Christianity gradually began. People stopped receiving Holy Communion. St. John Chrysostom asks the question: “Is it necessary to take communion often or not very often?”, because at that time there were already people who did not take communion at all. And he answers it: “You need to receive communion neither very often nor very rarely. If you are worthy, then you are always worthy, and if you are unworthy of communion, then you are never worthy...” Therefore, you need to test yourself. The Gospel tells us: “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (John 6:53–56) The Apostle Paul adds to this: “For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, without considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many are dying.” (1 Cor. 11:29–30) How can you determine whether you are worthy or not? There is a confessor for this in the Orthodox Church. Otherwise, everyone would consider themselves different (His Holiness Patriarch Pavel jokes). The devil often teaches a person to do this or that bad, saying that everyone does and does this. You should never listen to the devil - neither when he advises a person to evil, nor when he persuades a person to imaginary virtue, especially to feats beyond the mind and beyond the strength of a particular person. Dear and Holy Master! I ask you to convey your holy blessing to all Nizhny Novgorod residents, parishioners of our Cathedral in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky, to all readers of the newspaper “Nizhegorodsey Diocesan Gazette” in connection with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov as a saint. THE BLESSING OF THE LORD BE ON YOU! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Priest Igor Pchelintsev spoke with His Holiness the Patriarch.