Eparchy of Raska and Prizren: Officials from Podujevo, with a fake priest, broke into the church in Rakinice

Nikola Džufka sa grupom albanaca ispred crkve Sv. Arhangela Mihaila u selu Rakitnica
Source: Eparhija raško-prizrenska

The Eparchy of Raska and Prizren announced that yesterday, on November 28, according to the information from the internet portal kosovapost.net, a group of individuals, together with a self-proclaimed and fake priest Nikolla Xhufka, a citizen of the Republic of Albania, broke into the church of St. Archangel Michael in the village of Rakinice, Municipality of Podujevo. They allegedly entered the church to perform a church ceremony. The statement indicates that this was a gross attack on the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church "with the aim of spreading ethnic and religious hatred and instability in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija".

According to the Eparchy, representatives of the Municipality of Podujevo, according to the claims of the mentioned portal, participated in the break-in and misuse of the Serbian Orthodox Church dating back to the 15th century.

They also state that the goal of this group, according to the portal, was to declare this church as the "Fan Noli Church", belonging to the self-proclaimed Albanian National Orthodox Church from Elbasan.

"This criminal act is just another in a series aimed at seizing the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Serbian Orthodox Church, i.e., the 'Albanization' or 'Kosovarization' of our spiritual and cultural heritage. The Eparchy of Raska and Prizren has been pointing out the process of cultural appropriation of our heritage for years. This latest case has confirmed our claims, this time in an undisputed and extremely alarming manner. Such acts and similar ones indicate an urgent need to protect our cultural and spiritual heritage, primarily from individuals and organizations associated with Kosovo institutions, or from individuals who operate with greater or lesser support from these institutions", the statement from the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren reads.

On this occasion, the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren of the Serbian Orthodox Church wants to inform the public of the following facts:

-Nikolla Xhufka is a citizen of the Republic of Albania from Elbasan and is not an ordained person; he falsely represents himself as an Orthodox priest. The canonical Orthodox Church of Albania extensively informed the public, conveying the statement of the Metropolitanate of Elbasan, which we present in English translation.

-Nikolla (Blazde) Xhufka is not an Orthodox cleric and, as such, is not recognized by any Christian church in any country. He claims to have been ordained by a certain man of Serbian-Romanian origin, who has no connection with the Orthodox Church and is not one of its clergy. This is simply a deception of public opinion.

-Nikolla represents only himself, having neither a church nor a community of believers, despite his grandiose statements he occasionally makes in the media.

-He improvised what he calls a "church" in the basement of his house, openly deceiving the public even in the media by claiming it is a "paleochristian catacomb church".

-He openly lies and deceives in the media by claiming to have completed religious studies, although he has done nothing of the sort. More precisely, he graduated from a vocational high school for food technology in Elbasan, even repeating the last year.

-He makes "patriotic" statements while simultaneously mocking and despising Albanian Orthodox clerics, endangering and mocking the seriousness of religious leaders and clergy of other faiths.

-The lack of theological education shows that his media statements about the Orthodox faith are inaccurate and misleading. This individual is not dependent on any church authority and is not accountable for his actions.

-His only interest is media promotion and attracting public attention, regardless of the damage it causes to the reputation of the sacred office and the Orthodox faith.

-His irresponsible statements in the media, under the guise of religious authority, provoke dissatisfaction, fueling hostility among religious communities, a lack of mutual respect, and as a result, interfaith hatred.

-We are following his media appearances with concern. Gathering preliminary information from the media about a person who does not belong to any religious community, has no authority, lacks appropriate education, and represents no one but himself would provide a sufficient reason why he does not deserve to be taken seriously.

-The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania is the only spiritual and official authority guaranteeing the preservation and promotion of dogmatic and church principles, led by its legitimate bodies in accordance with its statute and church canons. Any attempt, both in the past and now, to diminish the role and contribution of the Orthodox Church in Albania will fail with the grace and help of God.