Крсна слава као мисиолошка одредница у савременом свештенослужењу
Slava as a Missionary Reference in Modern Pastoral Practice

Summary/Abstract: The title of this paper clearly points at our research goals, which is defining the place and the role of slava (Serbian traditional custom of annual celebration of family patron saint) in new missionary strategies and in modern-day parish practice of Serbian Orthodox Church. An important fact, which should be mentioned in the beginning of our research, is that the process of return to faith, starting at the end of the past century, began as renovation of slava custom. That, which was forcefully repressed by communist ideology since the middle of 20th century, suddenly became the primary feature of the Orthodox faith of our people. For some, slava was perceived as a defining characteristic of both faith and nationality, which, if nationalistic prejudice dominates person’s worldview, inevitably becomes theological problem. Most Serbian families celebrate slava, each in its own way, but it is still unclear how much did this custom contribute to the development of Eucharistic mentality in our Church. Therefore, primary pastoral goal should be the transformation of religious mentality, from the state of passive observers of traditional customs to the state of active participants in Liturgy and Eucharistic life. Meanwhile, COVID-19 pandemic disturbed many aspects of religious life, including the practice of slava, but it has also unraveled many of its serious problems. For example, in the cases of families which insist on the attendance of many guests at slava, there were strong reactions against social distancing. Each call for celebration with limited number of guests was, for them, betrayal of faith, although many of them were always not particularly interested in Church’s Eucharistic worship. These facts represent great challenges for contemporary pastoral practice, but it is also clear that slava might be a good basis for many missionary activities. Its primary goal should be the integration of all the faithful into the life of Liturgy, i.e. into Church’s Eucharistic community.

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