Met. Jovan Šumadija: Let Us Guard the Faith So That the Faith May Guard Us

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RANILOVIC, Serbia — During the festive liturgy marking the patronal feast of the Church of the Holy Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas, Metropolitan Jovan delivered a powerful homily centered on the essential call to preserve the Orthodox faith as our greatest inheritance and safeguard.

Drawing upon the example of the apostles who followed Christ without hesitation, Metropolitan Jovan emphasized that it was not human knowledge, nor signs and miracles, that first drew them to the Lord, but faith and trust—a trust so firm they were willing to leave everything behind. "Faith is what gathers us, sustains us, and leads us to salvation," he said. "If we guard the faith, the faith will guard us."

In his homily, the Metropolitan warned against a superficial or fleeting belief. True faith, he said, is not learned through argument or inherited by tradition alone—it is lived, walked, and cultivated through love, humility, and prayer. Faith must become the foundation of daily life, not simply a refuge in moments of trouble.

"Our faith kept us through centuries of oppression and struggle," he reminded the faithful. "It sustained us under the Ottoman yoke and preserved us even through the atheistic years of communism. Without it, we would not be here today."

Metropolitan Jovan underscored that faith is not individualistic. Christians are called to mutual responsibility within the Body of Christ—the Church. "We cannot seek our own salvation while being indifferent to the salvation of others," he said. "In the Church, we are one family, responsible for one another."

He urged the faithful to nurture the flame of faith in their hearts, to care for it through participation in the Holy Liturgy, through prayer, and through the life of love and repentance. "Faith that is not protected will wither," he warned. "But faith that is treasured will protect us, strengthen us, and unite us to Christ."

The feast concluded with the blessing of the festal bread and a communal meal, a joyful expression of the unity and love that the Orthodox faith cultivates among its people.

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