Bishop Methodius: The Podgorica Assembly Marked the Pinnacle of Unification for All Serbian Lands
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The Podgorica Assembly of 1918 was the culmination and representation of the entire Serbian people in all regions where they resided, remarked Bishop Methodius of Budimlja and Nikšić after the service at the Đurđevi Pillars in Berane, according to reports from Portal CDM.
He noted that “the Serbian people, through their two kingdoms, sought to unite with other segments of their nation across various territories.”
– Our desire was to connect with other Slavic nations and to foster feelings of intimacy, closeness, and unity. We sacrificed the utmost that a people could offer—two crowns and two kingdoms—to achieve that unity. The Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Montenegro relinquished their sovereignty and distinctiveness to become part of a larger community of our people, as stated by Bishop Methodius.
He emphasized that this illustrates “the notion that unity cannot be realized without our individual sacrifices.”
– People can never unite if there’s no willingness to give, to share freely without holding back within the community; it requires effort to maintain that unity so that the community can thrive, endure, and last. This is the message of today’s Gospel: to repent and unite with God so that we may achieve everlasting and wise relationships, as Bishop Methodius concluded regarding the community centered on Christ.