Petrič, Kosovo, June 24, 2019
Photo: eparhija-prizren.com
The Serbian Orthodox Church is extremely concerned about the violation of the rights and freedoms of Orthodox Christians in Kosovo, as it has expressed many times, but the violations and violence against the faithful only continue.
30 Orthodox pilgrims were detained by Kosovo police last Monday as they were on their way to the Holy Trinity Church in the western Kosovo town of Petrič to celebrate the Day of the Holy Spirit, reports vimaorthodoxias.gr, which also notes that this was the area that Serbs were forced to leave in 1999 due to the violence of Kosovo extremists.
The Serbian faithful have nevertheless returned to the area every year to celebrate the Day of the Holy Spirit at the Holy Trinity Church, often experiencing violence and persecution.
“Last year we were attacked by Albanian extremists, but it did not stop us from visiting the land where we were born and raised. But these actions of the police cross all lines,” said one of the 30 pilgrims who was prevented from going to worship.
Kosovo police attempted to justify their prejudiced actions by saying they detained the pilgrims because they had not been officially informed that a service would be held at the church.
The Raška-Prizren Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church responded immediately, calling the detention of the pilgrims a violation of the religious freedom of Orthodox Christians. His Grace Bishop Theodosije (Shibalic) called on all responsible bodies to acknowledge that the Orthodox in the region are being persecuted.
“It is immoral that after 20 years such actions would be permitted in a state that guarantees freedom of religion,” the bishop said.
His Grace notes that given last year’s attack, and despite the police’s excuse, police protection was sought for the celebration this year, but they did not agree to secure the church, though they also did not inform anyone that they could not worship in front of the ruins of the church in Petrič. The church was completely destroyed by Albanians in 1999.
Although the priest and faithful informed the police that they only needed about 10 minutes to bless a Slava bread and grains, all rites were banned and the police photographed all participants and recorded their license plate numbers.
“The Raška-Prizren Diocese sharply protests against this gross violation of the freedom of movement and religious assembly on Church land. The police acted in a highly discriminatory manner and, in fact, prohibited religious assembly for no apparent reason,” the diocesan statement reads.
Bp. Theodosije also draws attention to the disappointing lack of international attention to such cases of persecution perpetrated by Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija, “which are becoming a model for institutionally supported ethnic cleansing.”
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