The greatest Serb of the 20th century, St. Nicholas of Serbia (Velimirović, 1880–1956) is certainly the most brilliant and large-scale personality in the modern history of the Balkans. Long before his official canonization (May 2003), prayerfully revered throughout the Orthodox world, even during his earthly life he was honored by the Lord with the most precious gifts of the Holy Spirit, generously poured out on the worthy shepherd of the flock of Christ in the revelation to the flock and all people that even in these difficult times even in cruel times, the Lord shows us His mercy and sends us consolation in the person of strong-spirited men of the same flesh and blood as us. The Holy Master has always believed that true love for the Lord and service to Him are unthinkable without a sincere appeal to God-given values national existence, and believed in the special mission of the Slavs, as well as in the fact that the example of the Orthodox Slavs would inspire and restore fallen and desecrated Europe, once the beloved daughter of the Savior. Following St. Seraphim, he predicted the future greatness of the Orthodox Kingdom, in which there would be a place for both the “kingdom of Holy Rus'” and the “kingdom of the Balkan peoples.” Source: php?tu003d5706513