Patriarch Porfirije: Human rights and freedoms must also apply to Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija

The Serbian Patriarch Porfirije today called on "all competent authorities" to ensure universal human rights and freedoms for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, as enjoyed by Albanians and all other people in the world.

In the Christmas Message of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije pointed out that since the middle of this year and in our promised homeland, in Kosovo and Metohija, the centuries-old neighborhood had been issuing ultimatums, provoking, carrying out terror and continuously threatening the remaining, unprotected Serbs with persecution and cruelty, with ominous silence or, it seems, the tacit support of certain powerful states.

"We remind all competent authorities that the universal human rights and freedoms enjoyed by Albanians and all people in the world should also apply to Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Personal safety, security of property and freedom of movement belong to everyone equally and as such must be inviolable", said the patriarch.

He also pointed out that the fratricidal and devastating wars, which were still spreading death across the planet today, showed that true peace was not simply the absence of armed conflict, but the fruit of self-sacrifice.

"In the days of Christmas joy, peace and family warmth, those among whom the fire of war is burning are in our prayers, and first of all the brothers and sisters of the same faith from Ukraine and Russia. We look with sadness at war conflicts and victims, in which various subjects participate, publicly or secretly. The consequences of the tragic fratricidal Russian-Ukrainian conflict, fueled daily from outside, are terrible, and the conflagration of war, as never before, threatens the whole world", said the Serbian patriarch.

We pray that love, understanding and Christmas goodwill and peace that surpasses any mind will reign in us, but also in everyone with whom we share the space and time of life and in all the peoples of the world, the Christmas message of the Serbian Orthodox Church says.

"We are telling all our fellow tribesmen, brothers and sisters, Orthodox Serbs, wherever they live, that the Church is always with them and calls them to be alert for listening and practicing the Gospel, and through that, ready to silently announce the good news of peace and love to every person and to the whole world", Patriarch Porfirije said.

Congratulating Christmas and the New Year 2023, the patriarch wished true good and joy in the Epistle, along with the Christmas greeting: "Peace of God! Christ is born!"