Diocese of Raska-Prizren issued a statement with f=great concern over the information that announced the beginning of construction work on the site of an old Serbian medieval church, St. Nicholas, which was the cathedral church for the Serbian Orthodox bishops of Novo Brdo and Gracanica, and which is located near the Novo Brdo fortress.
Journalist Djordje Vlajic assesses the appearance of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Assembly as "some kind of demanding the complicity of the Church in the work that he does with Kosovo".
The Alliance for Serbia (SzS) states today that the possibility of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's participation in the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Assembly is an abuse of the Church by Vucic and the SPC Patriarch Irinej, adding that this is a play that is allegedly anesthetizing SPC before the decision on Kosovo.
SzS says that today's confirmation of the possibility of Vucic's participation in the Assembly, sees as the damage of the SPC and its believers.
President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed on Sunday he would address the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Holy Synod on Monday, thanking Patriarch Irinej for inviting him to join the meeting.
This is a great honour and an opportunity to speak the truth, and to respond to untruths, said Vucic.
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church said that he does not belong to any political side and urged unity for the sake of the survival of the Serb nation.
“I do not belong to any political side. I would like and I pray that there will be no divisions among us but a single policy, a single view and one path – the good of our people,” Patriarch Irinej said in an Easter interview to TV Hram which has been published on Good Friday.
Abbot of the Visoki Decani monastery Sava Janjic told the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) TV Hram that due to some political solutions mentioned, it may happen that the Serbian people disappear from Kosovo, citing the idea of demarcation.
"Today we are facing a particularly great temptation, because with certain solutions that are sought on a political plan, it can happen that our people completely leave this region, or more than ever before in history," said Abbot Sava.
Patriarch Irinej says he supports the idea to add "Patriarchate of Pec" to the official name of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).
However, he said he would not move to Kosovo, i.e., to the town of Pec.
The media reported at the beginning of the week that the Serbian Orthodox Church is preparing major changes in May to the way its leader is elected, and to its internal organization and name.
The members of the Kosovo Assembly adopted in principle a proposal for a Law on Religious Freedom, which for the first time clearly and legally guarantees that the Serbian Orthodox Church will remain in Kosovo in its full form, report the Serbian media.
Representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church were prevented to access the Temple of Christ the Saviour in Pristina, says the statement of the Diocese of Raška and Prizren.
Office for Kosovo and Metohija says concerning this case that behind the "unauthorized locking" of the Temple of Christ the Saviour in Pristina hides an attempt to "completely delete all traces of the existence of the Serbian people in this city."
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) met on Wednesday in Belgrade.
They discussed "current social topics and agreed that coordination was necessary in joint activities aimed at protecting national interests."