Pat. Porfirije: Without Faith, Religion Becomes Ideology
"It is enough to have faith the size of a mustard seed," His Holiness said. "If we have even such a small faith, everything is possible, and everything around us becomes a miracle."
BELGRADE — On August 17, 2025, Pat. Porfirije of Serbia led the Holy Liturgy at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Belgrade, according to the website of the Serbian Church.
The Gospel reading (17:14–21) recounts how a father brought his son, possessed by evil forces that threw him into fire and water, to Christ. The Savior’s disciples tried to help but failed. Then the Lord rebuked their lack of faith, healed the boy, and explained that “this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting,” and that even faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to make the impossible possible. Pat. Porfirije declared,
We Orthodox Christians have the word of the Gospel as a mirror, measure, and criterion. Therefore, nothing outside the Gospel and Christ’s word can be more important to us. Everything is tested through Christ’s word—and everything gains meaning or becomes utterly meaningless in its light. In the context of Christ’s Gospel, we speak of a life that endures now and forever, through the ages. A life that not only has eternal meaning and existence beyond this world but, more precisely, after Christ’s Second Coming, is a life of abundance, fullness, and joy.
He drew attention to the Gospel image of the father whose son was possessed by demonic forces:
This possession by demonic forces affects the body, which is the Church’s experience through the centuries, but also something confirmed by science today. Experience shows that no bodily ailment lacks an inner—psychogenic, and often spiritual—root. Usually, the outward manifestation of a physical ailment indicates that something within us is amiss. And when all seemed lost, the father came seeking help where true help is found. He first approached the apostles, who prayed and did all they had done before in the Lord’s presence, but this time without success, without result.
Patriarch Porfirije explained that this Gospel story was left to guide us back to the right path, and Christ’s sharp words to the apostles, “O faithless generation…” apply to each of us:
Each of us must put a finger to our forehead and ask: to what extent do Christ’s words apply to me? Where there is faith, there is healing, there is a miracle. The problem is that for us, faith has often become an idea or ideology, and miracles—a decoration for our pious conversations. Recently, on Mount Athos, I spoke with an elder about faith and miracles. He said: in our time, miracles are waning because faith is waning. When I came to Mount Athos at the beginning of the 20th century, miracles were everywhere—in the village, in families, among relatives, everywhere and in every place. Miracles were not a literary embellishment of our conversations but the fruit of living faith, trust in Christ.
And so, the Lord asks the father pleading for his son’s healing: ‘Do you believe I can do this?’ And he, knowing himself, replies: "I believe, Lord, help my unbelief." That is, at least in this final moment, I want to believe. And it is enough to have faith the size of a mustard seed! It is a small seed, but it yields great fruit. It is an annual plant that grows into a large tree, where, as the Lord reminds us, birds come to nest. If we have even such a small faith, everything is possible, and everything around us becomes a miracle.
He stressed again:
With fasting and prayer, demonic forces are driven out. Lately, I often remind myself and you, brothers and sisters: let us not forget that demonic forces exist. The devil exists. And, of course, we won’t be aware of this because he won’t bother us when we are already running down his path and following in his footsteps. Why would he trouble us when we are already his? But when the seed of our faith begins to grow through fasting and prayer, when we start applying the Gospel’s teachings, then he rebels because he sees we have awakened, and he is no longer indifferent. When we stand on the Lord’s path, then we suddenly understand what living faith means, what fasting and prayer mean. Then everything around us becomes wondrous, becomes a miracle, and we live in constant awareness of God’s presence among us. That is the miracle—and it is the only normal thing. Miracles are not foreign to human nature. They are natural and normal.
