Minister Prof. Draga Mastilović PhD attended a sermon given by Serbian Patriarch Porfirije in the amphitheatre of the Faculty of Law at the University of Banja Luka on the occasion of the Celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.

The Serbian Patriarch came to Banja Luka at the invitation of students of the University of Banja Luka, and his visit was organised as part of the marking of Student Day of UNIBL. This was an opportunity for young people to hear words of wisdom, support and encouragement from His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch.

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije stated that the education and enlightenment of the Serbian people bear the seal of Saint Sava, which is nothing other than the seal of Christ and the Gospel.

The Patriarch emphasised that education and enlightenment have undergone various changes throughout history. In some periods, they clearly bore the Saint Sava, Gospel-based, Orthodox Christian character, while in others, under the idea of so-called progress, they departed from those foundations, often bringing devastating consequences.

"Our Serbian Orthodox people are inconceivable without the education of Saint Sava, without Christ and His Gospel. What has shaped us throughout history and made us who we are today is precisely that Saint Sava seal, which has kept us rooted in our being, in what is called identity, and because of this we are able to integrate, without complexes, frustration or fear, into any other context," the Patriarch said.

He noted that there are many examples and great figures from the history of the Serbian people and education who were prominent among Serbs, but also in other and different contexts, remaining what they were while at the same time becoming part of other educational and scientific environments.

According to Patriarch Porfirije, education is the centre of society, but in order to be authentic, correct, healthy and normal, it must also be imbued with virtue, that is, ethics.

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