Gudzic: It is not excluded that Pristina may form a Kosovo Orthodox Church

Historian Aleksandar Gudzic states that in the Kosovo public discourse, there is a dominant narrative about the existence of an imaginary Kosovo cultural heritage, portrayed as solely Kosovo's cultural legacy, in order to erase memories of Serbian presence in these areas from the minds of ordinary people.

Commenting on announcements from Pristina that they might declare another Orthodox church in Kosovo, this time in the village of Gornji Strmac, as Catholic, Gudzic assesses that it is not excluded that, in the future, Pristina may opt for some way of forming a Kosovo Orthodox Church.

"The dominant discourse in the Kosovo public in recent years, even decades, is the existence of an imaginary Kosovo cultural heritage, not Serbian, not Orthodox. This indicates that it was not enough for Albanian extremists to destroy Serbian churches and monasteries; it is necessary to promote a narrative that erases memories of Serbian presence in these areas from the minds of ordinary people. It is not excluded that, in the future, Pristina may opt for some way of forming a Kosovo Orthodox Church, similar to what is happening in Montenegro or what the Ustase did in the Independent State of Croatia in the past," Gudzic said.

He adds that this is something to expect.

"In Albanian scholarly discourse, there is even a dominant narrative in history that Serbs occupied the territory of today's Kosovo and Metohija in the 12th century and built their churches and monasteries on the foundations of Albanian churches and monasteries. A few years ago, an association of historians from Visoki Decani came up with the theory that Visoki Decani was actually built on the foundations of an Albanian temple. In Novo Brdo, then-Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj stated that it was the ancient Albanian city of Artana. They construct a narrative about some ancient historical Kosovo," Gudzic adds.

Gudzic warns that the Serbian community may face even greater problems of appropriation of Serbian cultural and spiritual heritage in the future.