Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia have celebrated the Patron Saint Day for St. Andrew in the Serbian Orthodox Church in London – Saint Sava.
The church service on 13 December included the cutting of the Slava bread. The ceremony was presided over by Reverends Goran Spaic and Dragan Lazic, both of whom are priests from the Serbian Orthodox Church in London.
His Royal Highness issued the following statement: “Slava is one of the most important Serbian customs and one of the most important days in the year for each Serbian Orthodox family. Although due to obligations abroad we were not at home and we were not able, as in previous years, to cut the Slava bread in the Blue Salon of the Royal Palace and be at the Royal Chapel of St. Andrew the First-Called, together with His Holiness the Patriarch, my wife, Crown Princess Katherine and I today, respecting our tradition, celebrated our Patron Saint’s Day in London.”
The Crown Prince continued: “Celebrating Slava is an opportunity to gather family and friends. We pray to Saint Andrew the First-Called the First Apostle of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, to give us the strength to overcome these challenging times, to ask the Lord for blessings for all the people of the world and to give us the strength to continue the tradition of our ancestors and pass on the legacy to future generations. We are sending our prayers for the well-being and progress of our homeland, our people and our family. I am very grateful to dear fathers Goran and Dragan for being with us today.”
St. Andrew, also known as Andrew the Apostle, is the patron saint of the Royal House of the Karađorđević dynasty. He was one of Jesus’s disciples and the brother of another disciple and saint, Peter. In Orthodox beliefs, Andrew is referred to as the First-Called as he was the first apostle called by Jesus.
