A large number of citizens from Belgrade gathered in front of the church to pay their respects to the man from Split who, under as yet undetermined circumstances, died in the Serbian capital, reports tportal.hr.
According to the preliminary results of the autopsy, Periš drowned in the Sava on a fateful night, and his body was found only on Wednesday, almost five months later, in the Danube near Ada Huja.
Nenad Periš, the father of Matej Periš, was the first to arrive at the church.The Holy Eucharistic Mass at today’s farewell from Belgrade in the church of St. Anthony of Padua was led by the Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hocevar, and in a farewell speech, he was joined by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Patriarch Porphyry.
On behalf of the Diocese, a bouquet of 27 white roses was placed on the coffin, symbolizing the years of Matej Periš.
”All of us will, sooner or later, follow the path that Matej took from this world, but that path is not determined by us, this path is God’s will”, said the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
“I thank Belgrade for its great heart, regardless of the fact that my son’s life ended there. The heart given to me by the people of Belgrade in these 139 days helped me to feel the human care that I needed in these moments”, said Nenad Periš.
He also thanked the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia, emphasizing that he had ”human and professional contact” with the police officers.
”I would like to say thank you to every cop. I would also like to thank the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, which has also done an amazing job. Thanks also to the BiH Ministry of the Interior. Thanks to all the journalists, and cameramen. I think you have shown that you are human and that in such difficult situations you know the difference between news and pain”, he continued.
”Thank you to every man in Belgrade, regardless of whether he is a believer or not. It has come to an end, I am going home with my son, and I am turning a new page that will be printed in Belgrade. After this, I think I will be a much better man. I think that God’s call has a deeper meaning ‘, said Periš.
He pointed out that no public farewell from Matej would be organized in Split, and that the funeral would be held among family and friends.
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