As in previous years, the Karic family celebrated St. John the Baptist in the villa „Jelena” with many guests, friends, and employees of the BK Group, Karic Foundation, “Alfa BK University” and the party members of the Serbian Power Movement (PSS).

Traditional feast day cake cutting ceremony was performed by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Lord Iriney, this year too.

By congratulating the feast day, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church said that all members of one of the most united Serbian families are in a spiritual bond and wherever they are they feel they belong to the Karic family, and our history recognizes many similar cases.

“Unfortunately, the number of such families has decreased, so has the state and the nation of Serbia and that is not good at all. We pray to the Lord and St. John the great prophet, the Baptist of our Lord, the patron saint of the Karic family, as well as many other Serbian families. Let the Lord bless the Karic family, our nation and all the people of goodwill, to live worthily Christian lives and carry the Word of the Lord to the most precious parts of our beings that is our hearts and souls. Let the Word of God be not only spoken, let the Word and Faith be the way of life. “, His Holiness said.

Numerous guests were welcomed by Bogoljub and Dragomir Karic and members of their family.

Bogoljub Karic pointed out that if you want and love enough, it is not hard to preserve the spirit of tradition and family communion, related to the name of the Karic family.

“The most important is love and that is a message I want to send to everyone. We have to do everything in our power and always to have in mind that tradition is something that needs to be respected and preserved. We have to be very tolerant and that is very important because if we are tolerant enough we can make it all. Serbian, as well as many other families, have forgotten their tradition due to the communist regime after World War II, but the last decades show that many are finding out and returning to their roots. Families have turned back to their patron saint, recognizing the values of their heritage and tradition respectfully. Karic family has been doing everything to give and be an example to others for almost half a century, if I may say. That is, mostly, why we suffer many blows from our enemies, but everything is all right as long as we believe in God and respect our roots”, said Bogoljub Karic at the feast day celebration.

Dragomir Karic said that tradition preserves people but also revealed what restores his faith and strength to move forward.

“Thanks to the tradition and traditional values, the Orthodox faith, the family, the town of Peja in Kosovo where we were born, the Patriarchal monastery of Peja the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( a UNESCO World Heritage Site), we find it easy to continue our tradition. It is difficult to turn young people back to our cradle our Serbian Orthodox faith. When I look at our guests tonight,  people who respect and value the tradition and the Karic family, I keep my faith and have the strength  to continue together with my brothers, our sister Olivera, our mother Angelina, children, great-grandchildren. Generations that have no respect for their elders, first of all, parents, have no future. To respect and follow the tradition is not an easy task, it is a renunciation of many things, but it is good and advanced, first of all, it shows the right attitude towards the family and parents, the church and all people of any other religion, because God is one”, said Dragomir Karic.

Enjoying the pleasant atmosphere and fine dining in the warm setting of the villa “Jelena”, the guests at the feast did not hide their satisfaction and happiness to be with the Karic family, who has always cherished the communion and commitment.

“Success in Serbia means family problems and when family members do not speak to one another, it counts as a success in life and business, careers,…  The Karic family is the only one that has succeeded in preserving family values ​​and in being there for one another. New generations of Karic family members are coming, with their children, who may achieve greater success than their elders.” said Milomir Maric.

Well known pianist and professor Nikola Rackov pointed out that nowadays, it is very difficult to preserve the spirit of tradition, but the Karic family has managed to keep all the members together for years.

“The Karics are able to maintain their image, charisma, tradition and attachment to our cultural and spiritual resources. They are extremely good at it because they have always been a homogeneous and numerous family, which I have always admired. One fact is very important that is – they have always succeeded in keeping their „ heads above the water“. They managed to overcome every situation and every problem to keep the family and their patron saint feast alive. At this moment, it is essential to preserve the saint patron feast day so rooted in Serbian tradition and the Karics can do it in the best way possible. It is necessary to preserve what Karics are doing and transplant it to the Serbian nation because this is where communication starts, communication that Serbs mostly lack of and act to follow the roots that this family cherishes “, said Professor Rackov.

Among the many guests at this joyous event for the Karic family in the villa “Jelena”  were numerous foreign ambassadors who curiously followed the ceremony of feast day cake cutting.

A number of celebrities also enjoyed the gala dinner and the festive atmosphere.