Largest Procession in History of Belgrade Held with Relics of St. Nikolai (Velimirović)

Pravoslavie ^ | 5/26/23

[marshmallow]

More than 100,000 Orthodox faithful came out for the annual procession on the feast of the Ascension in Belgrade yesterday.

According to the Serbian Orthodox Church, this is the largest procession in the history of the capital city.

The feast of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated as the patronal feast of the city of Belgrade, and this year the celebration was augmented with the relics of St. Nikolai (Velimirović), the great 20th-century theologian and Holy Hierarch, which were brought from Lelić, 60 miles southwest of Belgrade, especially for the occasion.

This year’s procession, led by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije and a host of hierarchs, was also held in memory of the victims of the two shootings in Serbia earlier this month, who were prayerfully commemorated.

[Honorary Serb]

BUMP!!!!

[CatHerd]

Thanks for posting this. Impressive!

Belgrade is a great city. I loved it and wished I could spend more time there.

[CatHerd]

Oops! I meant to post my thanks to you.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

St. Nikolai had a very interesting and dramatic life, given what was going on in mid-twentieth century Europe. After WW2, he came to the United States and died at St. Tikhon Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1956. He was originally buried alongside the chapel at St. Sava monastery in Libertyville, Illinois. His remains were removed to his hometown in Serbia some years ago after the fall of the communist regime. His marker is still at the Libertyville cemetery. My father-in-law, who was a Serb from Bosnia-Herzegovina, knew St. Nikolai, and is buried a short distance from the saint’s former resting place.

[G Larry]

You may have a different perspective if you'd been there in April 1991, just before the war started in June.

The color photos I took looked like WWII black and white pics. Rail and airline schedules were unpredictable, food was bad, McD's had just opened, beer was undrinkable.....

[dfwgator]

It was pretty much like that throughout Central Europe.

A lot has changed. Especially cities like Warsaw.

[CatHerd]

I was there in mid to latter 1990s. Coming from the warring and war-torn lands to the west, Belgrade seemed vibrant and downright jolly. The communist trolley busses were a hoot. I thought the food was great at that restaurant not far from the main train station. Long tables with lots of grilled chicken and ćevapčići, Apatinsko pivo and lots of lively conversation with the locals. Good Turkish coffee, too.

[Honorary Serb]

I love ćevapčići and Serbian beer!!!!

[CatHerd]

Me too. And Šopska salata! What is your fave Serbian beer? Mine was Apatinsko, but there may be better ones.

(Sigh) I miss the old Balkans Gang. We used to have such fun here on FR. Those were the days.

[Honorary Serb]

Jelen. But I only get Serbian beer at Serbian festivals and picnics, so I don’t know the full range of Serbian beers.

Here at home, I always advise people to drink their local beers, especially the full-bodied ones. Then they can avoid the urine-like beers that come with a side of “gay” propaganda!!!!

[CatHerd]

Ah, I remember Jelen now! It was good. Apatinsko was more available where I was, and way better than the Croat beer Osječko pivo (awful stuff — although their Karlovačko pivo was pretty good). Apatinsko and Jelen were both made by the same brewery in Apatin, Serbia. Apatinsko was their Pilsner, Jelen their lager.

I wonder whether the giant beer conglomerates have taken over all the old former Y beers by now, though. Maybe I don’t even want to know :(

[dfwgator]

I know Tyskie, my Polish beer of choice was sold to Asahi from Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2017, thankfully.

[CatHerd]

I remember Polish beer being good, but don’t recall the brand. Czech beer was great! Happy for that your Tyskie escaped the clutches of InBev. And I can’t imagine Poles drinking gay beer.

Okay, I looked and the Apatin brewery in Serbia is now owned by Heineken and the Karlovac brewery in Karlovac in Croatia is now owned by Coors-Molson. They also own the brewery in Zagreb that makes Ožujsko. Apparently nobody wanted the brewery in Osijek that makes Osječko — ha, no surprise there!