Bishop Ilarion: If our message is not also directed toward the Albanians, we lose our Christian identity

“I try to be an exemplary citizen within the Kosovo system wherever that does not fundamentally endanger my identity. And I try to somehow contribute to improving the institutions there. Sometimes it’s painful, sometimes uncomfortable to carry a Kosovo ID card, but I believe it’s a compromise—a conscious decision we made—precisely so that we don't live in parallel worlds, but instead address both our community and the Albanians. If our message is not directed toward the Albanians, we lose our Christian identity. We become a kind of national club or an outpost of someone’s political agenda. But the Church is not an outpost of Belgrade's politics,” said Bishop Ilarion, the Bishop of Novo Brdo, in the KOntekst podcast.

“As the Serbian Orthodox Church, we strive to be open and constructive. We’ve even been accused of being too open to cooperation with the international community and with Kosovo institutions, because we feel it’s a necessity. On the other hand, Kosovo Albanians view us as a branch of Belgrade. We are now maneuvering between Scylla and Charybdis,” Bishop Ilarion observes.

In the podcast, he spoke about the endangerment of Serbian churches and monasteries, the increasingly difficult position of Serbs, arrests, and bans on entering Kosovo.

“There’s a sense of collapse and absurdity tied to everything related to political, worldly institutions in Kosovo. I won’t say nothing functions at all—there are positive examples—but the instability of worldly matters is very apparent. In that atmosphere, the triumph of Christ’s coming Kingdom is so visible, so noticeable, so wonderful, that it’s impossible not to experience it,” the bishop stated.

He says Serbs in Kosovo are ghettoized and live entirely separate lives from the Albanians.

“I don’t think that’s a sustainable solution. As long as we’re side by side, prejudice will grow, ignorance will grow, and fears will grow. We need to live with one another as much as possible, but in a way that does not threaten our identity, without making cheap, rotten compromises like the ones often proposed to us,” he said.

He believes the Church’s role is to send a message that will inspire people to do good deeds and that what is truly good—is good for both sides.

“I believe it is in the interest of Kosovo Albanians to preserve the few Serbs who remain. We are, in a way, a blessing for them—if they are ready to see and understand it—which could be of immense benefit for the development of their society. But unfortunately, people—Albanians and Serbs alike—tend to build their identity on negation. For many Kosovo Albanians, the goal is to push Serbs out of Kosovo and Metohija because they see Serbs as the root of all problems. We are the scapegoats in the minds of many in contemporary Kosovo society, and that’s a very negative thing. We need to persist, through dialogue both with foreigners and with Albanians, in promoting the idea that we truly need one another. Kosovo Albanians should be aware that the cultural identity of Kosovo and Metohija is primarily Serbian,” the bishop emphasized.

He spoke of Albanians who frequently visit Serbian monasteries—Zociste, Decani, the Patriarchate of Pec—and of opportunities he’s had to pray for them.

"Once, I was reading prayers for people brought by the same man. We read what is appropriate for a Muslim—usually psalms. I thought he was some kind of folk healer or herbalist, since people came to him for help. But then he said, ‘I’m a hodja. I read prayers in my place, but I also consider this God’s house.’ And there is testimony that Saint King Stefan helped many Albanians due to their sincerity in prayer. The Serbian Church’s openness to all people of goodwill is of essential importance. That’s what preserves the Church. I’m convinced that if the Church’s stance during the war had been different, we might not have managed to preserve our holy sites. What has preserved them is that the Serbian Orthodox Church kept its integrity under very difficult circumstances,” said Bishop Ilarion.

He speaks Albanian and several foreign languages, which is why he is often tasked with communication with internationals in Kosovo. He says that in discussions with some members of the international community, he has received information that only later became public. However, the Church has no political agenda but instead offers constructive solutions for Church and Serbian issues.

“We do not truly believe that Kosovo Albanians can build democratic institutions that will protect the Serbian Orthodox Church. Because even outsiders see this, they are of the view that constant external monitoring is needed to guide them, to maintain a constant presence. That is one of the fruits of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s efforts,” adds the Bishop of Novo Brdo.

He believes KFOR is the most important international institution in Kosovo and that the trust established between the Church and KFOR commanders is invaluable.

He also spoke of the joy he felt upon being appointed Vicar Bishop to Patriarch Porfirije, with the title of Bishop of Novo Brdo, which testifies to historical continuity. At the same time, he says he dislikes formalities and enjoys being addressed by believers in Kosovo as “brother,” “father,” or “friend.” He will spend the upcoming holidays and Easter at the Draganac Monastery.

“Kosovo and Metohija is my spiritual cradle, and I always love to return to it. Even that newly-composed song puts it beautifully: ‘Wherever I go, I return to you again.’ That’s truly my church and life motto. I have spent nearly every Easter and Christmas since I started going to church, since my first visit to Decani in 1992, in Kosovo and Metohija—first in Decani, later in Draganac. I always celebrated my patron saint, St. Nicholas, in the monastery,” he said.

It is well known that he arrived at Decani through theater, with his classmate Nenad Jezdic. He became a novice immediately after the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, just before the conflict in Kosovo in 1998–1999. He spoke of how the wartime atmosphere influenced him.

“It wasn’t decisive, but I think it helped me stay on this path, to continue toward the monastery. That was during the fall of Krajina—an awful tragedy. I had the impression, perhaps I’m being too harsh, that Belgrade was turning a blind eye to the columns of people passing along the highway, and it was as if everyone was just waiting for them to pass in their cars and tractors so life could go on as if nothing had happened. I remember theaters being full, people celebrating basketball victories—while a terrible thing was happening. That’s when I realized how selfish we were. I truly felt, for the first time, a sense of fullness and stability, of meaning, of deepest love and peace—in Decani,” the bishop recalled.

He says he’s learned much from the people who live in Kosovo. From the people of the Morava region, especially, he learned what suffering is and how sweet God and the Church can be. He says the Serbs in Kosovo Pomoravlje are his people, just as he is theirs.

“The suffering, steadfastness, and nobility that people cultivate in Kosovo and Metohija—I’ve witnessed it many times. There are unforgettable, magnificent scenes that reveal a spiritual current, some ancient nobility in ordinary villagers. During the war, Decani was open to all who needed help. More than 100 Albanians stayed there during the conflict, and the brotherhood of the monastery took care of them and essentially protected them. After our army and police left, we took in Serbs who found refuge in Decani, then Gorani, Roma... It is a great richness when one has the chance to meet so many people,” the KOntekst guest highlighted.

The author of the hymn for the Seminary in Prizren says he writes for his own soul. He’s not a poet, but he tries to live poetically.

“My frequent message to people is to be mindful of the toxicity of our modern language, discourse, and information—which is always spiced, biased, and colored by one politics or another. In that sense, I always try to say we need a certain distance, a reserve, toward what is served to us. It can be exhausting to think critically. We act based on prejudice. Everyone chooses their own media, their own political option, and accepts everything without question. But very often, all this information is processed—it reflects someone’s perception of an event. That’s why we need to put in the effort to see reality more clearly, to avoid the traps of consuming toxic content,” Bishop Ilarion concluded.

The full interview with Bishop Ilarion and Dragana Biberovic is available in the video segment.