Serbian Patriarch: “The referendum on Kosovo took place in 1389”
Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfiriy said that Kosovo is part of the Serbian identity, and in the conflict with Constantinople he supports the Russian Orthodox Church.
The primate told RTS about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The newly elected Serbian Patriarch Porfiry stated that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and that “a referendum on Kosovo was held on Vidovdan in 1389 (on the day of the Battle of Kosovo, during which the flower of the Serbian aristocracy died in the battle with the Turks - ed.).”
“I don’t think there is any dilemma here, physically at the moment our state is not present in Kosovo in the full sense of the word, but in essence Kosovo is part of Serbia,” the primate said. “But despite the real political circumstances that are not in Serbia’s favor, the state is doing everything to maintain peace and do everything possible for the Serbian people in Kosovo. Kosovo is not only the cradle of our people, but also an ark filled with the relics of saints. Kosovo for us is not only a geopolitical issue, but also a theme of our identity.”
An icon depicting the battle of the Christ-loving Serbian army of Prince Lazar with the Ottomans on the Kosovo field.
The Patriarch stressed that it is necessary to talk about the common life of Serbs and Albanians, and that anything beyond this would be a rejection of “our existence.” At the same time, he is confident that “God is on Serbia’s side.”
When asked about the situation of the Serbs in Croatia, where he was metropolitan, the patriarch replied that it was necessary to improve the living conditions of the Serbs and do everything to achieve reconciliation. He stressed that everything needs to be talked about and that “pushing things under the rug” will not free Serbs and Croats from shackles, insults, trauma and revenge.
Porfiriy appreciated that the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, made a great gesture by establishing a Mixed Commission of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church to assess the role of Cardinal Aloysie Stepinac, considered the confessor of the Ustaše, during World War II. Previously, Catholics canonized Stepinac as a “blessed” who suffered from the communist regime after the war.
“Whether the Catholic Church canonizes Stepinac is not our question. But in dialogue with the help of historians from Serbia and Croatia, we tried to shed as much light as possible on the various aspects of his biography,” said the head of the SOC.
Aloysius Stepinac (far right) with the top of the Ustashe Independent Croatian State allied with Hitler.
Answering a question about the dispute between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Patriarch Porfiry noted that Bartholomew did not act in accordance with the traditions of the Church, and that the SOC is on the side of the Moscow Patriarchate.
At the same time, the Serbian primate added that “he is not a prophet,” but hopes that the Ecumenical Patriarch will not act in a similar way on the territory of Macedonia and Montenegro (local schismatics also dream of receiving their tomos on the canonical territory of the SOC), adding that Bartholomew’s actions in relation to Ukraine led to great upheaval.
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