The insulting ban on Porfirije to visit the Patriarchate of Pec

The Christmas holidays are a common time to express good wishes, hope and faith that the future will be kinder to everyone than the year just ended. In many ways, these transition weeks from one year to another were no different. But in some ways they are exceptional.

Exactly such an event was the ban, and then the permission, for the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, to arrive at the headquarters of his patriarchate. How deeply insulting, malicious and counterproductive is the move by the temporary authorities in Pristina, with the clear idea of humiliating the first person of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and beyond that the entire SOC, what is even more worrying is the misunderstanding of this gesture by international officials, who in recent months strive to shape a different reality of Kosovo and Metohija.

And there was plenty of time for that, even on holidays.

In the first, scandalous explanation, it was stated that "SOC members have been actively involved in providing support to criminal groups that have been maintaining barricades in the north of Kosovo for more than 16 days" and the patriarch was asked to make a statement about it. Previously, the patriarch and his delegation were stopped at the administrative line, where they waited for 40 minutes.
The Serbian Orthodox Church assessed that this decision was 'unreasonable and absolutely unacceptable'.

Visoki Decani Monastery, i.e. its abbot Sava Janjic, assessed this move by Pristina as 'impertinence' and registered that the silence of international representatives in Kosovo is 'deeply disappointing and does not contribute to building trust'. 'Unfortunately, no Kosovo or international representative has condemned this decision of the Kosovo authorities, which is against Kosovo laws and based on unfounded accusations. This reflects a serious level of religious discrimination in Kosovo', according to the announcement of the Visoki Decani monastery.

"From the moment I set out on this path, I repeat: wherever I was outside of Kosovo and Metohija, I was in a foreign country. I am only in Kosovo and Metohija at my house. Today, the door of my home is locked for me and I pray to God to unlock the hearts of those who closed them and that the love of Christmas and the birth of the Savior touch the minds and consciences of all people,' said Patriarch Porfirije.

The Eastern American Bishop, Irinej, sent a letter to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken regarding the ban on entry to Kosovo and Metohija of the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, and he sent similar notes to many competent institutions in the US and the UN.

America is tired of a stone appearing at every step that will cause everyone to stumble, so Ambassador Christopher Hill "preventively" declared that the ban on entry to Kosovo of Patriarch Porfirije should not be repeated.

"Regarding the ban on the entry of the patriarch to Kosovo, it is absolutely crucial for the Serbs who live in Kosovo and who are believers, members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, to have the opportunity to meet with the patriarch. I sincerely hope that what happened the other day will never happen again," said Hill.

Ambassador Jeff Hovenier was on duty in Gracanica.

Two weeks later, the decision was different. The Patriarch was allowed to come to the Patriarchate of Pec, with a new distasteful explanation from Pristina, that this was done because of the request of one of the ministers in the temporary authorities in Kosovo and Metohija.

This scandal was also silenced by the special representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and the head of the UN Mission (UNMIK) in Kosovo, Karolina Zijade, who has the entire executive power in Kosovo and the responsibility for its implementation. The head of EULEX, Lars-Gunnar Vigemark, did the same. As far as is known, neither Miroslav Lajčak, Gabriel Escobar, Jens Pletner, Emanuel Bono, nor Manuel Saracin have publicly ruled. They did not do this to the representatives of the EU and the Council of Europe, whose membership Kosovo is applying for, and which have tons of norms and standards for respecting religious and civil liberties.

They, it seems, did not understand the potential and importance of the patriarch's words in his personal address after he was banned from entering Kosovo: 'Let us pray for all our people, peace in the world, and above all for mutual understanding, coexistence and peace between Albanians and Serbs, because it is a certain fact that only we can better understand each other through our efforts. For centuries, Serbs and Albanians have lived together in Kosovo and Metohija. Serbs have been in Kosovo for almost 15 centuries, and for five centuries they have lived together with Albanians. It teaches us that if there is good will, a way to a common life can be found and within which there is a place for everyone,' said the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Probably, these words would have had a stronger echo if they had been spoken in the Patriarchate of Pec, where they belonged. Probably, the patriarch's Christmas letter would have looked different if it had not been for these inappropriate moves.

European representatives are probably guided in their actions by a resolution of the European Parliament from March this year, which involved the Serbian Orthodox Church in the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is implied to be the cause of instability in the Western Balkans. However, things are different.

The attitude towards Patriarch Porfirije is disappointing not only because of the mundane and inhumane pretensions of endangering his dignity, but even more because of the misunderstanding of the potential that the SOC and Patriarch Porfirije have in achieving any agreement between Serbia and Pristina as well as Serbs and Albanians.

Wise statesmen, intelligent politicians and smart peacemakers have long known the potential of religious leaders and their denominations in peace negotiations. Thus, for example, Egyptian President Sadat, when he was starting peace negotiations with Israel, sent a letter to all religious leaders in the world with an invitation to support the reaching of an agreement between the two sides. In the end, he managed to make peace with Israel through the Camp David Accords.

And there are examples of how alienation from religious leaders leads to the opposite outcome. Let's take another one from the same area. At the presidential inauguration of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi in 2012, the grand imam of Al Azhar, Ahmed Al Tayeb, and the entire delegation were placed in the 12th row, although state protocol dictates that he be with the president-elect himself at this ceremony. It was a failed gesture of revenge for the distance Al Azhar kept from the Muslim Brotherhood.

This year, the Serbian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Porfirije demonstrated their ability to use their diplomatic capacities to successfully resolve disputes. In question is the May reconciliation between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which ended the decades-long dispute between the two. It opened up new opportunities for cooperation between Serbia and North Macedonia, but also drew attention to the possibilities of church diplomacy in solving crisis situations, such as, for example, Kosovo, where without the clear participation of the SOC, it cannot be resolved.

It was Patriarch Porfirije, as Metropolitan of Zagreb-Ljubljana, who worshiped in Zagreb this Christmas, another very sensitive and important center of regional relations.
In Kosovo and Metohija there are about 1,300 churches, monasteries and other buildings, localities and spatial units that make up the religious, national and state cultural-historical heritage of the Serbian people. The seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church is located in Kosovo and Metohija and it will certainly not change.

He encourages that even in Pristina there are sober people who see the failure and harmfulness of such moves, who assessed that the ban was a 'big mistake' and that 'there is no logic in denying the Serbian patriarch from going to the Patriarchate of Pec, which is the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church'.
Ahead of the announced January tours, the question remains for the patriarch whether he should respect those who evidently do not respect him, but expect his good services.

In addition, at the next session of the UN Security Council on Kosovo, the question of the entry of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church and other Serbian officials into Kosovo and Metohija should be raised. It should no longer remain in the hands of the temporary Kosovo authorities who use it as a toy to create crises and tensions and who have so far proven incompetent and inadequate to establish constructive relations with one, if not the most important subject of Serbian national identity in the southern province , but it should be returned to UNMIK, whose original responsibility is to ensure freedom of movement in Kosovo and Metohija. Only under those conditions, the SOC can assert itself as a factor in the dialogue in Kosovo and Metohija."

Written by: Dragan Bisenic, a journalist