Priest Arsic visited the Church of St. Archangel Michael in Rakinice; a padlock and chains on the doors

After the news of the break-in at the Church of St. Archangel Michael in Rakinice near Podujevo, the responsible parish priest Stanisa Arsic visited the holy site accompanied by the Kosovo Police and found the doors locked.

According to the statement from the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren, Father Arsic established that unauthorized construction work had been carried out on the church without anyone's permission after a fire and the destruction of the southern wall of the church several years ago.

"He attempted to enter the church, but the doors were locked with a large new padlock and chains embedded in the stone lintel and old wooden doors with their own lock. On the northern side of the main part of the church, the glass in the window is broken, and through it, one can only see a part of the interior and the epitaph that remained after the break-in and the alleged service by the self-proclaimed priest Nikolla Xhufka and Kristijan Zagali, also a false priest from Albania whom Xhufka declared a priest", the Eparchy stated.

In the bushes beside the sidewalk beneath the window, remnants of small white candles used for decoration are laid out, likely used in the "ritual" performed in the broken-in church.

"Father Stanisa prayed in front of the closed doors and found a part of the lintel from the inside of the church with ornaments and Cyrillic letters on a pile of broken slabs and bricks. Although rare post-war reports mention an old cemetery around the church and two preserved crosses, they could not be found today", the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren added.