On Saturday, on the eve of the Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt, March 28, 2026, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the small Church of Saint Sava in Vračar.
On this occasion, the Patriarch performed the rite of consecration of antimins for the churches of the Archdiocese of Belgrade-Karlovci. Concelebrating were Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Radivoje Panić; Protopresbyter Đorđe Stojisavljević, Chief of the Cabinet of the Patriarch; Protopresbyters Dragan Šovljanski, Predrag Prodić, Ivan Štrbački, and Branislav Kličković; Protodacons Dragan Radić and Radomir Vrućinić; and Deacons Vasilije Perić and Vladimir Jović.
The antimins (Greek: “instead of the table”) is a liturgical cloth depicting the Passion of Christ and His burial. It is placed on the Holy Table in the sanctuary of the church, and the Divine Liturgy is celebrated upon it. The antimins contains relics of saints or martyrs and bears the signature of the competent bishop.
The relics of the martyrs—whether placed beneath the altar or sewn into the antimins—symbolize the heavenly Church upon which the earthly Church rests. The priest receives the antimins from his bishop, whose signature guarantees not only the existence of the Eucharistic community, but also the communion between the bishop and the priest.
The antimins is kept on the Holy Altar, wrapped in a cloth called the iliton. It is unfolded during the Divine Liturgy for the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord.
Source: spc.rs