Thousands queuing since midnight for last chance to venerate Belt of the Holy Mother of God in Belgrade

Thousands of believers have been queuing for hours since midnight for the last chance to venerate the Cincture of the Theotokos (the Belt of the Holy Mother of God) in Belgrade.

This extraordinary relic was brought to the Serbian capital for the Orthodox Christian holiday and Belgrade patron saint day Spasovdan (Serbian popularcname for the holiday of Vaznesenje - Ascension, May 21 in the Julian calendar) and then remained in Serbia's greatest Orthodox Christian shrine for the faithful to venerate until today.

And today still, thousands of believers stand in a massive line in front of the Temple of St. Sava in Belgrade to worship the Cincture of the Theotokos, which will be in Belgrade until the relic's ceremonial return to the Vatoped Monastery on Mount Athos on Saturday morning, after holy liturgy has been served in the Serbian capital.

Waiting in the long line does not seem to bother the faithful, even tough it has been reported that some chose to queue for 15 hours to get a chance to venerate the relic in person. For example, the people who were currently justvabout to enter the shrine arounf noon on Friday told our reporters that they joined the group waiting to access the Temple around midnight the night before.

The column in Belgrade is long, with no end in sight, and the surrounding streets have been completely blocked off for public security purposes.

The people in the queues that we encountered in front of the Temple of St. Sava this morning give off a specific air of gentleness, and by talking to those waiting, we learned that they arrived from all parts of our country.

Among those gathered, there are also people who traveled an even greater distance for an opportunity that does not happen very often at all.

Due to the large number of people, one of the approaches to the Temple of St. Sava is closed to traffic.

Namely, the police closed the street in order to provide as much security as possible to the believers who today took their place in the line to get the opportunity to venerate.

SPC warned about these things and asked believers to RESPECT them

When the Cincture of the Theotokos, one of the greatest Christian relics, was brought to the faithful, organized by the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), the Church and the clergy made several important requests, appeals and guidelines to the faithful.

The aim of these requests was to avoid superstitious behavior, to maintain order, and to approach the relic with the right spiritual attitude.

The first is a plea for patience, peace and dignity, the second concerns the ribbons.

Although there are still no official figures, it is believed that hundreds of thousands of believers have venerated the Cincture of the Theotokos in Belgrade since May 20, and Serbian Patriarch Porfirije noted that more important than the mere number, is that our people have confirmed our centuries-old devotion to the spirit of St. Sava, the Holy Prince Lazar, and the Kosovo Covenant, which are tantamount to the New Testament being alive, in the lives of Orthodox Serb Christians.

The relic will remain un Belgrade until Saturday, June 6, when after the head of the SPC leads the holy liturgy, the Cincture of the Theotokos will be returned to the holy and great Vatoped Monastery on Mount Athos.

It was originally announced that the relic would be in Serbia until May 29, but the deadline was extended twice due to the great interest of the faithful people who waited for hours to venerate it at Serbia's most important Orthodox Temple.

The Cincture of the Theotokos (the Belt of the Holy Mother of God) was brought to Belgrade six centuries after the Serbian medieval ruler, the Holy Prince Lazar, presented it as a gift to the Vatoped monastery.

(Telegraf.rs)