Written by: Deacon Aleksandar Panić, permanent associate of the Kinonia portal
The Lord said: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen” (Mt. 28:19–20).
With these words from the Gospel according to Matthew, our Lord Jesus Christ leaves His testament in this world, giving Himself and restoring to humankind what was lost through the Fall; yet He also sends forth His disciples into mission. The apostolic preaching—that is, the teaching of Christ—has spread, in accordance with historical circumstances and providential moments, as was useful and blessed, throughout the centuries and millennia. Despite all trials, from physical persecutions and abuses to more subtle psychological and philosophical attempts to diminish the Word of God, the Gospel continues to seek its way into the hearts of new generations of God’s children. The new age brings with it new conditions, new realities, and new challenges. We are called, in grappling with these, to proclaim the Word of God in the most effective manner possible—that is, by employing the most accessible methods.
Thanks to His Holiness, the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, the Missionary Department of the Archdiocese of Belgrade–Karlovci has commenced its work. In order to undertake this endeavor systematically, the Section for Electronic Mission has launched the Kinonia portal, which, over the past year, has been enriched by theological reflections and texts authored by hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, esteemed professors from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology and other faculties, venerable archimandrites and abbots, clergy, doctors, scholars, psychologists, journalists, and, more broadly, our beloved brothers and sisters. In this way, Kinonia—our fellowship—grows day by day. Alongside written contributions, the portal also features recorded lectures, current events, recommendations, and other valuable resources.
What Holy Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović and Venerable Father Justin of Ćelije teach us, together with the other saints, through their pastoral ministry, is that Christ is always young and always contemporary. It is therefore essential that we strive to discern what is most needed for us today from His universal message, which is given once for all and forever. Following the example of these two great pillars of our recent past, indeed of our entire people, the preaching of the Gospel must be carried out always, in the simplest way, in the most accessible places, and with great love and care.
The legacy that lies within us, a heritage that comes first from God and that, by divine providence, was shaped in our people’s memory and heart, was initially formed by St. Sava. Eight centuries later, after many saints glorified in the Lord, this same heritage was sealed by St. Nikolaj Velimirović and Venerable Father Justin of Ćelije. This legacy obliges us not to remain silent but, humbly—like “mosquitoes buzzing a few words,” as Father Justin once said—to utter something for the glory of God: a reminder, a word of assistance, of relief, or perhaps a framework for new reflections that trouble us all.
By following and participating in the work of the portal, it has been my great honour to be able to address you on this occasion and to share my modest impression: namely, that the tradition and legacy left to us by our holy forebears are like a ray from a lighthouse in the dark night—a glimmer of light that we are bound, not by our own merit but by the moment entrusted to us, to transmit further in this age and through the means most accessible to the widest number of people. We have heard much about the significance of media engagement and we know that both the media space and the internet are vast and indispensable parts of our everyday lives. Whether something is good or evil is determined by the way in which it is used. The need to sanctify and enrich the digital space for its users is precisely the need to make it useful for what is good. St. Nikolaj said that “rich is the one who is enriched by God and who bears God within himself, and educated is the one who possesses integrity.” Therefore, to the glory of God, we must use what has been made accessible and given to us for its original purpose: communion with God.
As the holy Apostle Paul beautifully writes in his Epistle to the Romans, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). A large part of the growth of our faith depends on the teaching that is given to us and through which we may mature. St. Nikolaj once remarked that oratory is an art, but not every artist is a great one. Father Justin stated that Bishop Nikolaj was “the greatest Serb after St. Sava,” the one who blazed the path upon which our people still walk more than eight centuries later. Yet both of them devoted their attention not only to profound theological themes but also to the smallest of matters—such as St. Nikolaj’s Missionary Letters or Father Justin’s Lives of the Saints. Both possessed sharp rhetoric, yet both poured forth rivers of kindness and love. They embodied the true example of freedom that inherently carries responsibility. There is immense responsibility in words, as it is also in personal example. Whatever their immediate subject matter, their writings were always Christ-like, modelled on the one true image that should be our exemplar.
As we have gathered around the theme of the anniversary of our portal, I would also like to add this: The Kinonia portal, true to its very name, is a fellowship of persons—individuals with diverse charisms, filled with faith and love for God and neighbour. Through diverse text genres and various fields of interest, yet bound by a common theme, the portal glorifies the one good Creator and our Father in heaven. This may also be understood within the framework of practical theology, since not all contributors to Kinonia are theologians, but—as I must emphasize once more—theological reflection is the common ground of all. In this way, the work of all contributors manifests itself as ministries of the Church, wherein each person, with his or her particular service, is a member of the Body whose head is Christ.
St. Nikolaj observed that just as “harmony encompasses all voices; wisdom encompasses all knowledge; while a single stone may merely suggest the existence of a building, so a single discipline can only point to wisdom.” On the other hand, Father Justin wrote that “every thing in this world is a frame into which God has set one of His thoughts; all things together constitute the splendid mosaic of God’s thoughts. Moving from one thing to another, we move from one divine thought to another; and moving from one human being to another, we move from one icon of God to another. For while God has framed His thoughts in the things of this world, in human beings He has framed His very image.” Bearing this in mind, I would say that the ethos of St. Nikolaj and St. Justin—their spirit and tradition—permeates the vision and original purpose of the Kinonia portal. In the digital sphere, it provides diverse content with one and the same goal: namely, the true and only goal that exists in the lives of the faithful Orthodox, the pursuit of the living water which quenches all thirst and leads to eternal life.