The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, on Thursday evening issued a message offering his best wishes for Christmas and New Year to members of the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia and Slovenia.

Addressing the head of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference, Msgr Zelimir Puljic, Patriarch Porfirije said, among other things, that “we celebrate Christmas for a second time in the conditions of a pandemic but with an unwavering belief that there are no challenges, big or small, that can stop the eruption of the love of God that always heals the weak and makes up for shortcomings.”

“Without that faith we are nothing, and inspired by it we cry out joyfully, together with the Holy Apostle Paul: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’,” Porfirije said in his message, wishing that Christmas might fill with joy the souls and hearts of all Christians.