Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God arrives in Serbia; Vučić and Porfirije welcomed it; "Great honor and hope"

The Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God will, at the end of tomorrow’s procession, be brought into the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, where it will remain until May 29.

It is planned that tomorrow, at the end of the procession, 300,000 “cloth ribbons” sanctified over the Belt at the Vatopedi Monastery will be distributed to citizens.

Address by the Patriarch

As Patriarch Porfirije said, this is the belt that the Virgin Mary “wore around her waist while carrying the Savior Jesus Christ, and since then this belt carries within it healing, blessed power.”

The Belt, like many other holy relics, has had a turbulent journey through history, the Patriarch noted, and during its path it was also in Serbia during the reign of Prince Lazar.

“The Belt connects Vatopedi with the Serbian people, because it is the monastery where Saint Sava stayed. It is a holy and saving work for our people and our Serbian Orthodox Church. Therefore, feeling gratitude toward that monastery, Prince Lazar granted that the Belt be kept there, so that our people would be connected with the monastery and with Mount Athos, so that we too may be citizens of Mount Athos. It reminds us who we are in Saint Sava. To the abbot of Vatopedi Monastery — thank you for blessing this visit and for bringing this Belt,” said Patriarch Porfirije.

Then Archimandrite Ephraim, abbot of Vatopedi Monastery, addressed the gathering.

“The sacred Vatopedi Monastery is the place of your first archbishop, Saint Sava, and Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming. That is why people have always gone to Mount Athos with great love, but never forgot their people,” said Archimandrite Ephraim.

“I come to a country that is deprived of rights and that, despite injustice, survives and lives on. I believe that by receiving this Belt, the Serbian people also receive great comfort. I bear witness that the Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God performs great miracles. May the Most Holy Mother of God be with you.”

Vučić: “A great honor for us”

“I learned today that the Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God was welcomed there in the same way in 2011, and that President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Patriarch were personally present, and that it was also in Cyprus, Greece, and nowhere else. This is a great honor and hope for us that this Belt, as Archimandrite Ephraim said, will mean we are less exposed to attacks by great powers,” said Aleksandar Vučić.

He said this Spasovdan will be special because of the Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God.

“If anyone deserved the greatest glory in heaven, it was her. Rejoice, Serbian Orthodox world. Thank you once again, thank you to Vatopedi Monastery, thank you to our monks on Mount Athos. Long live Serbia,” he concluded.

About the Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God

The Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God has been kept for centuries at Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos and is very rarely taken outside the monastery walls.

It is also said to be her personal item, kept in Vatopedi Monastery, divided into three parts, and represents a unique relic preserved from the earthly life of the Mother of God.

According to tradition, the belt made of camel hair was woven by the Virgin Mary herself, and upon her Assumption into heaven, she handed it to the Apostle Thomas.

The custody of the Holy Belt was taken over by two pious women from Jerusalem, and the Virgin Mary, shortly before her Dormition, instructed the Evangelist John to give these women her two garments.

The duty of guarding her garments was passed down through generations, each time to a pious, innocent girl from their family lineage.

During the time of Emperor Arcadius, son of Theodosius the Great, the Holy Belt was brought to the glorious capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, in order to protect the capital and its inhabitants from every enemy attack, misfortune, and demonic snare.

Later, the Holy Belt was transferred to the city of Zile in Cappadocia, and subsequently returned to Constantinople.

Around 1150, the Holy Belt was kept in the Great Palace in Constantinople, in the Church of the Archangel Michael. It was most likely divided, and its parts were transferred to other churches.

In the 12th century, specifically during the reign of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, the feast of the Holy Belt was officially established on August 31.

The Holy Belt came into Serbian hands when Saint Prince Lazar, around 1330, defeated the Bulgarian army. Ten years later, he gifted it to Vatopedi Monastery, where the Belt has been preserved in the altar of the katholikon—the main church of the monastery.

During the period of Ottoman rule, the monastery brotherhood would carry the Holy Belt in processions to Crete, Macedonia, Thrace, and Asia Minor for the blessing and strengthening of the enslaved Greek people, and also for the protection against contagious diseases.

There are hundreds of testimonies of healings or successful childbirths of those who approached the Miraculous Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God with faith and prayer.

Out of extraordinary reverence and love of the monks of Mount Athos for the Most Holy Mother of God, a tradition was established from ancient times: pilgrims, upon request, are given pieces of ribbon sanctified on the Belt itself, to bring blessing, spiritual strengthening, and reinforcement of soul and faith.