Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Patriarch Irinej told Vecernje Novosti daily today that the Church does not support frozen conflict in Kosovo, but however, it is neither for “recognizing the fait accompli achieved by injustice, aggression, violence and crimes.”
Patriarch Irinej also underlined that when it comes to Kosovo “one should not go for hasty and provisional solutions.”
“We cannot and must not give away what is ours for centuries, and what never in the history belonged to the Albanian state, regardless it is being taken away now and is under foreign occupation. It is united stance of our Holy Archbishops Synod and a vast majority of our believers,” Patriarch Irinej underlined.
Patriarch Irinej added, he still thinks that the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic fights like a lion for Kosovo and Metohija, under unseen unfavourable circumstances, and that he sees, a century-long unchanged attitude of the Church of his people and his own state, as a help, and not as making already difficult situation even more difficult.
“It brings hope and consolation that he repeated several times he would never impose his will and his eventual solutions, but would rather respect freely expressed peoples’ will (…),” Patriarch Irinej said.
He added, the Church by its nature, does not make state or political decisions, but has the right, and even more a duty, to point out to eternal measures and eternal values.
“This relates primarily to serving to the justice, freedom, peace and life for all and everybody, and least but not the last, to his own people, and believers,” Patriarch Irinej noted.
He added, the main problem of Serbia are not its century-long neighbours Albanians, but “developed Europe” and the West in general, since they do not deal with resolving the crisis and overcoming the conflict, but rather deal with their eternal interests.
“I would not say, the EU is burning out from the desire to have us present there, partly because of our friendship with Russia, and partly due to their internal reasons and that is why they constantly set new conditions, they ask us to accept their solution for Kosovo and Metohija, and keep postponing and postponing,” Patriarch Irinej emphasised.
