Serbian Patriarch Porfirije: Preservation of Kosovo and Metohija within the borders of Serbia is an obligation and an imperative

The Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and the archbishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) expressed today their belief that the leadership of Serbia, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, would not and could not agree to any conditions aimed at establishing Kosovo's independence, the Serbia Orthodox Church announced.

"The spiritual leader of the Orthodox Serbs and the bishops, present, once again reiterated the well-known, clear, and unequivocal position of the Serbian Church that Kosovo and Metohija were an integral and inalienable part of Serbia and that its preservation within the borders of Serbia was a constitutional obligation and imperative both for the Church and for our state," the announcement states.

The Serbia Orthodox Church reminds that on today's feast day of St. John the Baptist, Vucic visited Serbian Patriarch Porfirije in the Patriarchal Court and participated in the prayerful act of consecration of the Slava cake.

The President of Serbia congratulated the patriarch on the celebration of his patron saint and then informed him and the present bishops that during the day he had important and very serious meetings about Kosovo.

The announcement states that the Serbia Orthodox Church will always support the leadership of Serbia in its efforts to preserve Kosovo as an inalienable part of Serbia, as well as for coexistence in peace and mutual understanding in accordance with international law of all citizens living in that territory.