Although His Grace Archbishop Maksim of the Western American Diocese was attending the Holy Assembly of Bishops in Belgrade, he sent his archpastoral blessing to the clergy and faithful gathered for the celebration. He blessed Fr. Vasilije (Gavrilovic) to serve the Divine Liturgy on his behalf and prayerfully conveyed his love and blessings to the parish community. The Divine Liturgy was concelebrated by four additional prists and a deacon: Fr. Nikola Todorovic from Herceg Novi, Fr. Jovan Katanic from Portland, Fr. Ayoub Owais, together with Deacon Kirill from the Pokrov Church and the local parish priest Fr. Zoran Aleksic.

In his sermon on the Gospel reading for the Sunday of the Blind Man, Fr. Vasilije emphasized three important spiritual principles. First, he reminded the faithful that the human person is greater than the law, and that the law itself is given to guide humanity toward love — a communion centered in Christ. Second, speaking about the healing of the blind man, he explained that the miracle signifies not only physical healing, but also the inner healing through which a person comes to perceive Christ Himself. In this way, the Gospel calls all Christians to heal the spiritual eyes of the soul so as to truly see Christ. Third, Fr. Vasilije reflected on the fact that human beings were created from the earth, and that Christ used mud made from the earth to heal the blind man. This, he explained, points to the transfiguration of human nature through Baptism, by which humanity is brought into a new existence, a new life, and unity in Christ. Just as the blind man received illumination and healing, so every Christian is illumined and blessed through Baptism, the Holy Eucharist, and the continual expectation of the Risen Lord.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Zoran thanked everyone for their presence and especially expressed gratitude to the clergy and faithful from Portland and the Church of Pokrov in Seattle, who canceled their regular Sunday Liturgy in order to join the parish in celebrating this joyous feast day together.

Following the Divine Liturgy, a solemn procession took place around the Church with banners, icons, and the Slava bread and koljivo. During the procession, a memorial service was offered for all founders, benefactors, stewards, and clergy of the parish who have reposed in the Lord, prayerfully remembering all those who dedicated their lives to the building and preservation of the parish community.
After the procession, Fr. Nikola blessed the Slava bread and congratulated this year’s kumovi, Zoran and Svetlana Glisic and their family. In his remarks, he reminded the faithful that the Divine Liturgy always calls us to the sanctification of our lives, and that this is the ultimate goal of our Christian struggle and life lived in communion and love.

This year’s Slava kumovi, Zoran and Svetlana Glisic, along with our KSS, lovingly prepared a rich festive luncheon for all those in attendance.

The celebration continued in a joyful atmosphere with music performed by the local band “Svirci,” who beautifully played traditional Serbian songs, adding warmth and festal joy to the gathering.

At the conclusion of the celebration, Srdjan and Silvija Jakovljevic accepted to be the kumovi for next year’s Slava celebration.

The entire gathering stood as a beautiful witness to faith, fellowship, gratitude, and love for God, the Church, and the sacred spiritual heritage of St. Sava.