Relics of Venerable Abba Justin transferred to the Monastery church
Church of Serbia – June 2014
On Saturday, June 14th 2014, the relics of Venerable Abba Justin the New of Celije were transferred to the church of the Celije Monastery. His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, officiated the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy with the concelebration of twenty bishops from all Local Orthodox Churches, a great number of priests and deacons.Venerable Abba Justin the New of Celije is truly respected by the Serbian people and by the whole Orthodoxy, which is proved by the event of the transfer of his honorable relics into the new church of the Monastery of Celije.
About ten thousand believers arrived to this shrine from all parts of the country, but also from Mount Athos, Greece, Russia, Georgia, Romania, Cyprus, Switzerland, Germany, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska and the United States.
Even before his canonization, which took place four years ago, Abba Justin – spiritual elder, a man of fervent prayer, professor of Dogmatic theology, philosopher of Orthodoxy, thinker, adviser and benefactor – was respected and admired by all those who sought truth and love; although he was persecuted by Communist authorities, who held him in detention and isolation within the Celije monastery near Valjevo for thirty years, he was prayerfully inseparably linked with the Living and True God and all the Saints in the Church of God, because he was a man of the God-Man Christ – in a word, he was comprehensive.
He wrote many theological and philosophical books which were published in 33 volumes, among which the most famous are: The Life of Saints, Dogmatics of the Orthodox Church and interpretations of some New Testament books.
Together with Philosopher Branislav Petronijevic Abba Justin founded the Philosophical Society of Serbia; he was a great friend of drama writer Branislav Nusic, and had many friends among intellectuals, professors from ex-Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania, Germany, France…
He was a spiritual elder of the most significant theologians of our Local Orthodox Church, of whom some have become bishops.
The church in which the relics of Venerable Abba Justin Popovic will rest was erected according to his will and his designs, and it was constructed mostly owing to the funds obtained by the sale of his books, which have been printed in more than dozen languages.
