The Holy Archbishop’s Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) after the summer recess should hold a session on 30 August, however, it remains unclear whether the Synod would deal with attacks of the state officials against Raska-Prizren Eparchy Bishop Teodosije and Abbot of Visoki Decani Monastery, Father Sava Janjic, Danas daily reports today.

The reasons behind attacks against the two SOC dignitaries was their clear opposition, in line with the Holly Archbishop’s Synod stance from May this year, to the announcements of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the division of Kosovo and delineation with Kosovo Albanians.

Danas did not manage to obtain a response from the Serbian Orthodox Church Spokesperson and member of the Synod, Bishop of Backa Irinej as to whether the Church would undertake any steps regarding the accusations voiced by the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, his Secretary General Nikola Selakovic, Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric and Srpska Lista representatives.

Although the Patriarch Irinej on Sunday said “that Serbian people and its holly shrines can not be left to the mercy of those who until yesterday demolished them and tried to eradicate them,” and that the occupation of Kosovo is better than hasty and swift resolutions, “the war” of state officials against those who do not support division of Kosovo or delineation with Albanians, is not even in sight, Danas daily further said. The attacks are getting more and more personal, while for days, Archimandrite Sava Janjic and Rada Trajkovic from European Serb Movement are at the centre of a media lynch.

Abbot of Visoki Decani, Father Sava Janjic told Danas daily he does not feel personally endangered by direct accusations of the state officials and certain Belgrade-based media, although “for days they are swooping against one monk with all their tabloid-intelligence machinery of lies and deceptions.”

Abbot Sava Janjic told Danas daily the life in monastery goes normally, there are services held and visitors coming. He added that placing such a political weight on one monk, in regime-controlled media in fact indicates, that what he tells hurts someone very much and that it is in fact the truth. Abbot Janjic opined that this intelligence-media campaign of a public hunt and destruction of someone’s biographies were created at the National Security Council session, in order to prepare the ground for a referendum and divert public’s attention from the essence of what those attacked publicly are saying, Danas daily wrote.

“The goal of the Belgrade-Tirana negotiations with Prišina’s involvement, which are being led more actively since 2016, although the idea is older, is for Kosovo to merge with Albania and by the handover to Greater Albania, bypass the difficult issue of the recognition of Kosovo and the Security Council (…),” Abbot Janjic said.

“Kosovo would inherit the seat in the UN, UNESCO status of Albania, with which Belgrade already has bilateral relations established. The remaining Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, monasteries, cultural heritage, would only be “a collateral damage”” Abbot Janjic warned.

Meanwhile, Rada Trajkovic thinks that Srpska Lista statements, accusing without any argument, that she works “against the state and takes part in the creation of an independent Kosovo,” as well as recent statements by the Serbian President, alleging where Trajkovic stays while in Belgrade “are directly jeopardizing her security.” Trajkovic thinks her response to all these should be a criminal lawsuit,” Danas daily reported.