Popova Šapka, North Macedonia and Rakinicë, Kosovo, November 30, 2023
St. Naum Monastery at Popova Šapka, North Macedonia. Photo: tge.mk
Orthodox sites in North Macedonia and Kosovo were the scene of Albanian provocations this week.
Security camera footage at St. Naum the Wonderworker Monastery on the Popova Šapka peak in North Macedonia shows two masked men removing the Macedonian Orthodox Church flag from the flagpole and replacing it with an Albanian flag on Tuesday afternoon.
Photo: alfa.mk
The Diocese of Tetovo and Gostivar issued the following statement that day:
The Tetovo-Gostivar Diocese of the MOC-OA strongly condemns the vandalistic act of removing the Church flag from the monastic property at Popova Šapka. The act was reported to the Tetovo Department of Internal Affairs by the parish priest. The Diocese expects the perpetrators to be brought to justice as soon as possible. We appeal to citizens not to succumb to the frequent provocations and to be dedicated to peace and good interreligious relations.
According to Macedonian media reports, the suspected perpetrator was detained several hours after the incident.
At the Church of St. Michael in Rakinicë, Kosovo. Photo: eparhija-prizren.com
On the same day, a group of people “along with the self-proclaimed and fraudulent priest Nikolla Xhufka, a citizen of the Republic of Albania,” broke into the Archangel Michael Church in the Kosovo village of Rakinicë “to purportedly perform a religious ceremony,” reports the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raška and Prizren.
“This act represents a blatant assault on the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), aimed at fostering ethnic and religious hatred and instability in Kosovo,” the diocese responds.
The group also published a picture of themselves in front of the church with an Albanian flag:
Photo: eparhija-prizren.com
“The Raška-Prizren Diocese has been highlighting the process of cultural appropriation of our heritage for years. This latest incident confirms our claims, this time in an undeniable and extremely worrying manner.”
The diocesan report also includes a statement from the canonical Albanian Orthodox Church’s Metropolis of Elbasan about the fraudster Nikolla Xhufka.
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