‘Pray for Kosovo’s Salvation’, Urge Serbian Bishops

After days of heightened tensions between Belgrade and Pristina, Serbian religious leaders in Kosovo and Montenegro have called on believers to fast and pray for the "salvation of Kosovo".

Filip Rudic BIRN Belgrade

Bishop Teodosije holding a service for killed Serb civilians. Photo: Armenija Zajmi Besevic/Beta

Three prominent Serbian Orthodox bishops have called on believers to pray and fast for Kosovo, and for services for Kosovo to be held every evening until August 10 in churches across Montenegro and Kosovo itself.

The call was issued on Saturday by the leading Serbian bishop in Montenegro, Amfilohije, and the bishop of Budimlija-Niksic, Joanikije.

“The bishops of our church call on the clergy, monks and believers to fast for five days... and gather for prayer in as great a number as possible,” said the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral.

Bishop Teodosije of Raska-Prizren, whose diocese includes the territory of Kosovo, issued the same call on Friday, saying that Kosovo cannot be taken from Serbs “unless we give up on it ourselves”.

“For our believers, Kosovo and Metohija is synonymous with everything our holy ancestors left us,” Teodosije said in a message to clergy and believers.

Many of the most important Serbian Orthodox religious sites are located in Kosovo.

The bishops’ appeals come after several days of heightened tensions between Belgrade and Pristina, as the August 4 deadline for drafting the statute of an Association of Serb Municipalities approached.

The establishment of the association, which is intended to represent Serbs’ interests in Kosovo, was agreed by Belgrade and Pristina during talks in Brussels. The current status of the draft statute is unclear.

This impending deadline was also accompanied by tensions between the Serbian authorities and the influential Serbian Orthodox Church, whose members expressed fears amid rumours of potential violent incidents being prepared in Kosovo.

On Saturday, the Serbian National Security Council me to address the possibility of Pristina authorities capturing the Gazivode hydropower plant, which is currently controlled by Serbs in northern Kosovo. In the end however, no incident occurred.

After the Security Council meeting, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met Patriarch Irinej, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Conservative Serbian Orthodox bishops in recent months sharpened their rhetoric against Vucic for his willingness to negotiate a compromise with Kosovo, whose 2008 declaration of independence is not recognised by Serbia.

Kosovo and Serbia are negotiating the normalisation of relations, which is necessary for both countries’ ascension to the European Union, under EU patronage in Brussels.