Diocese of Raska and Prizren: Xhufka's claims about the Serbian Orthodox Church are false; Institutions should investigate his statements

The Diocese of Raska and Prizren has issued a statement in response to an interview given to KosovaPress by Nikola Xhufka, an Albanian citizen who presents himself as an Orthodox bishop, saying that he made a series of demonstrably false claims about the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), as well as statements which, in the Diocese's assessment, may constitute the criminal offense of inciting national, racial, religious, or ethnic hatred, discord, and intolerance.

The Diocese stated that, if Kosovo's institutions genuinely respect their constitutional and legal obligations to provide equal protection to all religious communities, "these statements cannot be left without investigation."

"Nor can they continue to allow a foreign citizen, who has been sowing religious and ethnic division ever since his first appearance in Kosovo and Metohija, to do so without any legal consequences," the statement reads.

The Diocese emphasizes that Xhufka is not, and has never been, a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, or any other canonical Orthodox Church.

"The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, the only canonical Orthodox jurisdiction in his country, publicly stated as early as November 2022 that his claims regarding his alleged ordination were intended to mislead the public. He represents no one but himself," the Diocese said.

Responding to Xhufka's claim that the Serbian Orthodox Church had lost a court case against his organization and that he had proven before the court that the medieval church in Rakitnica does not belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Diocese described the assertion as "entirely false."

"The Serbian Orthodox Church has never initiated, nor has it ever been a party to, any civil proceedings involving Mr. Xhufka, his organization, or any person associated with him. There is no court judgment whatsoever in which the Church has lost any case in his favor," the statement says.

The Diocese further states that criminal proceedings are currently being conducted against Xhufka for what it describes as repeated unlawful intrusions into the Church of St. Archangel Michael in Rakitnica, near Podujevo, and for spreading hatred.

"The case is not before a court of appeal, as falsely claimed in the interview, but is still at the very beginning of first-instance criminal proceedings, in which Mr. Xhufka is not the successful party but the defendant," the Diocese emphasized.

The statement also notes that two additional criminal complaints filed against Xhufka—in November 2023 and May 2025, respectively, for what the Diocese describes as serious criminal offenses—have not, to date, resulted in an indictment or the initiation of court proceedings.

The Diocese maintains that ownership of the medieval church in Rakitnica "has never been disputed."

"That church is a shrine of the Serbian Orthodox Church and a protected cultural heritage site," the statement says.

The Diocese further argues that Xhufka's statements about the "return" of churches and monasteries allegedly appropriated by the Serbian Orthodox Church constitute a continuation of what it describes as "pseudo-historical narratives" directed against the Church.

"This is not a dispute over property rights. Once again, it is about placing a target on the Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful in a social environment where nationalist sentiments are being reignited, this time through demonstrable falsifications and falsehoods," the statement reads.
The Diocese also points out that Xhufka's remarks were accompanied by a call for the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church to be declared persona non grata in Kosovo.

"Statements of this kind, made by an individual presenting himself as a religious leader, are not anonymous hate speech posted from an internet account. They constitute clearly identifiable acts bearing the characteristics of a criminal offense committed by a known individual, which Kosovo's institutions are obliged to prosecute ex officio," the Diocese stated.

Addressing the treatment of the Serbian Orthodox Church by Kosovo's institutions, the Diocese recalled that Hieromonk Fotije Kostovski, Abbot of the Devine Vode Monastery and a citizen of North Macedonia, was expelled from Kosovo in 2023, while, according to the Diocese, Xhufka's activities continue to be tolerated.

"The only explanation we can find for such tolerance is the fact that this violence is directed against the Serbian Orthodox Church. By tolerating such conduct, a message is sent—not only to Mr. Xhufka but also to any other potential perpetrator—that any form of violence against the Serbian Orthodox Church will go unpunished," the statement says.

In the concluding part of the statement, the Diocese also referred to Xhufka's announcement that the organization he intends to register would admit only Kosovo Albanians as members.

"An organization that conditions membership on ethnic affiliation and that, wherever it appears—as was the case during the break-in at the church in Rakitnica—places Albanian flags over the altar alongside icons is not a genuine religious organization. It is certainly not Christian, and even less Orthodox," the Diocese stated.

The Diocese called on Kosovo's police and judicial authorities to begin enforcing the law and protecting the Serbian Orthodox Church, while also urging Kosovo media outlets to seek the Church's position before publishing information concerning it.

"We call upon our faithful people not to place their trust in the false claims of a man who has repeatedly revealed his true nature and who, in this interview, has fully exposed both his intentions toward the Serbian Orthodox Church and his attitude toward the Serbian people," the statement concludes.