Patriarch of Serbia meets participants of Serbia’s Advanced Security and Defense Studies Program

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije met on June 29, 2026, with professors and participants of the 15th class of the Advanced Security and Defense Studies program at the Saint Sava Memorial Center in Vračar, Belgrade.

The program is conducted by the National Defense School “Vojvoda Radomir Putnik,” which operates within the University of Defense. The participants included officials serving in institutions of the Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska, members of the Serbian Armed Forces, representatives of the Ministry of Defense, and officials from various international institutions.

Welcoming the delegation, led by Colonels Zoran Jekić and Srđan Zgonjanin and Lieutenant Colonel Dejan Petrović, Patriarch Porfirije congratulated the participants on successfully completing their studies and emphasized the importance of their vocation in a time marked by numerous challenges, including security concerns.

The Patriarch stressed that spiritual security is even more important than external security, noting that it is rooted in faith and a strong sense of identity.

“If we are not spiritually secure, we cannot be certain that we will not lose everything else,” he said. “Had our people not…