The Orthodox Church of Albania on Nikolla Xhufka: It is about a fraud and a person who is not a priest

The spokesperson of the Orthodox Church of Albania, Toma Dima, told Kosovo Online that there was an agreement between the state and the church, that there was only one Autocephalous Church of Albania, and that this was a guarantee against individuals who misused its symbols. He added that when it comes to Nikolla Xhufka, who had entered the Serbian Orthodox Church in the vicinity of Podujevo, "it is about a fraud and a person who is not a priest".

"According to the agreement between the Albanian state and the church, there is only one church in Albania, the Autocephalous Church of Albania, and that is a guarantee against individuals who misuse its symbols. Regarding this person, everything has been clarified through the statement of the Metropolis of Elbasan from a year ago, the declaration of the Religious Council of Elbasan, as well as various statements of the Orthodox Church of Albania, addressed to the media", he said.

Speaking about the self-proclaimed priest who broke into the Church of St. Archangel Michael in the village of Rakitnice, Municipality of Podujevo, Nikolla Xhufka, he said that it was about a person who was not a priest.

"In this case, we are dealing with a fraud and a person who is not a priest. This is the basic fact. Neither the state nor any other institution, nor the religious communities of Albania recognize him. Nobody acknowledges this man. He is only recognized by a few people outside the Orthodox Church who are trying to use him for various purposes, perhaps even financially supporting him. That's the essence of the matter", he said.

The Eparchy of Raska and Prizren announced that on November 28th, a group of individuals, accompanied by the self-proclaimed and false priest Nikolla Xhufka, a citizen of the Republic of Albania, forcibly entered the Church of St. Archangel Michael in the village of Rakitnice, Municipality of Podujevo, purportedly to perform a church ritual.

The statement indicates that this incident constitutes a blatant attack on the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church "with the aim of spreading ethnic and religious hatred and instability in the area of Kosovo and Metohija".

"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 process of cultural appropriation of our heritage has been pointed out by the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren for years. This latest case has confirmed our claims, this time in an undeniable and extremely alarming manner. Such acts indicate an urgent need to protect our cultural and spiritual heritage, primarily from individuals and organizations associated with Kosovo institutions or individuals operating with greater or lesser support from these institutions", the statement from the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren reads.