Belgrade, September 28, 2023
Photo: spc.rs
The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church issued a statement concerning the escalating violence in Kosovo and Metohija and the continued attacks on Orthodox holy sites and the Serbian people.
The hierarchs call on the faithful to pray for residents of Kosovo and to do everything possible to live in peace. At the same time, the Church assures that it understands Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of Serbia, and that it will always help its children there however it can.
Read the Synod’s full statement:
With great sorrow in our hearts, we pray to the Savior to welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven all the Serbs and Albanians who perished on September 24, in Banjska, Kosovo. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray to the All-Holy Mother of God to offer them comfort.
We also call upon the faithful to pray to the Lord for all who have suffered, so that God may grant peace to everyone, for the sake of the future of both Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. We must understand the simple Gospel truth that we cannot pray to God for peace only for ourselves but must also pray for peace with those with whom we live, with our neighbors.
Regrettably, we observe that many from Pristina and around the world, and most tragically, even from Belgrade, from different ideological stances, are attempting by all means to portray the Serbian Orthodox Church as a participant, or even instigator, in conflicts and tragic events. The goal of those who, at all costs, want to draw the Church into tragic conflicts is to erase the Serbian Church along with its faithful from Kosovo and Metohija.
Therefore, we remind you of the uninterrupted presence of the Diocese of Raška and Prizren in Kosovo and Metohija for centuries, and above all, that the Serbian Orthodox Church, with its clergy, monastics, and faithful people, has persevered there through all times, under all conditions, despite the most terrifying persecutions, suffering, and martyrdom of monks, priests, and believers. This endurance has been solely because they were Orthodox Serbs, faithful to the Cross of Christ and the Kosovo Covenant.
We also remind that the Serbian Orthodox Church has always advocated, and continues to advocate, for misunderstandings in Kosovo and Metohija to be resolved peacefully and through dialogue, with the aim of peaceful coexistence of Serbs, Albanians, and all other peoples living in the area.
We offer our full prayerful and any other necessary support to Bishop Teodosije of Raška and Prizren, to brother priests, monks, and believers.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has repeatedly pointed out, especially to the great powers, the extremely dangerous policy of the authorities in Pristina, whose sole goal is the complete expulsion of the Serbian people and the creation of an ethnically Albanian Kosovo. Countless attacks have been carried out on our holy places, our people, and even on Serbian children for this purpose. In recent months, people have been arrested without any evidence or based on fabricated proofs; land owned by Serbs has been seized. In short, Kosovo and Metohija are today lawless lands where there is neither freedom nor a minimum of normal life for Serbs.
To our brothers and sisters in Kosovo and Metohija, we send a message of boundless love and paternal care. The Serbian Church will continue to generously aid you, our much-afflicted but unyielding, proud people in Kosovo and Metohija, offering comfort, warmth, and hope in these difficult days.
Finally, we emphasize that for the Serbian Orthodox Church, Kosovo and Metohija are an inseparable part of the state of Serbia. We support and encourage the continuation of peaceful dialogue with the aim of achieving peace and resolving vitally important issues for all who live in the province.
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