Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Remembered in Rakovica

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the repose of Patriarch Paul (Stojcevic) of Serbia of thrice blessed memory. The day was marked at Serbia's Rakovica Monastery of the Trinity, where Patriarch Paul was buried, with a memorial Divine Liturgy led by Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) and attended by the Serbian president and prime minister as well as other hierarchs and prominent Serbs. More here.

Northern Kosovars Reject Government Authority

In a recent referendum criticized by both the European Union and the Serbian government northern Kosovo's ethnic Serb majority has overwhelmingly rejected the authority of the independent Kosovar government. The Kosovar Parliament downplayed the referendum's results, which saw 99.7% of northern Kosovo's 40,000 Serbs voting against the Albanian-dominated Kosovar government in Pristina, whilst the Serbian government criticized them as harmful to Serbian interests, which under the leadership of Serbian President Boris Tadic have been focused on developing a dialogue with the Kosovar government aimed to allowing for Serbian membership in the EU. More here.

Serbian FM Calls for Preservation of Orthodox Monuments in Kosovo

In his address to the recent UNESCO General Conference Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic presented the Serbian government's opinion that Kosovo's Serbian Orthodox monuments cannot be transferred to the ownership of the independent Kosovar government since the preservation of Kosovo's rich Serbian heritage conflicts with the new state's efforts to emphasize its Albanian identity. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Supports Northern Kosovar Roadblocks

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of the Serbian Orthodox Church has spoken in defense of the right of northern Kosovo's Serbs to maintain their political and economic ties with Serbia in the face of opposition from the Kosovar government and the international community, which want the borders between Kosovo and Serbia to be placed under the control of KFOR and the Kosovar government. Patriarch Irinej expressed his support for Kosovo's Serbs after festal services in honor of the Protection in Pech, Kosovo. More here and here.

KFOR Soldiers Injured in Northern Kosovo Clashes

Four KFOR soldiers have been injured in clashes with northern Kosovo's ethnic Serb majority, which is resisting the efforts of the Kosovar government to instate its control over the region and its borders with Serbia. More here.

Serbian President Chooses Northern Kosovo Over Candidacy for EU Membership

Pro-European Union (EU) Serbian President Boris Tadic has rejected recent calls for his government to dismantle the administrative structures it has maintained in largely Serb northern Kosovo, saying that Serbia will accept delays in its acceptance as a candidate for EU membership as the price for maintaining its interests in Kosovo. More here.

Serbian Muslim Leader Call for Autonomy for Sandzhak Region

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls on Serbia to abandon its claims on Kosovo, including predominantly Serb northern Kosovo, to strengthen its candidacy for membership in the European Union a leader of the country's large Serb Muslim minority in Sandzhak, Mufti Muamer Zukorlic, has renewed his calls for the Serbian government to establish Sandzhak as an autonomous region due to its Muslim majority. Sandzhak is one of Serbia's more backward regions, with resentment over its economic state be aggravated by the largely Orthodox Christian composition of its security forces. More here.

Serb Men Marry Albanian Women

As tensions remain high between Serbian and Kosovar authorities an increasing number of men from the southern Serbian region of Raska have begun arranging marriages for themselves with women from neighboring Albania as the ongoing exodus from the Serbian countryside to the cities leaves men in rural areas with fewer marriage options. Roughly 1,000 marriages have already been contracted between the region's Serbian farmers and Albanian women while another 8,000 immigration applications for Albanian fiancees are currently being processed by the Serbian government. More here.

Prizren Diocese Supports KFOR-Serbia Interim Agreement

The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Raska and Prizren has appealed to its flock in largely Serb northern Kosovo to support the interim agreement reached between the Serbian government and the KFOR over the management of the border crossings in the region between Kosovo and Serbia, arguing that support of the agreement will return peace to northern Kosovo while also displaying the trust of the area's residents in Serbia. More (in Serbian) here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Opposes Partition of Kosovo

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) has rejected calls for the partition of Kosovo between an independent Albanian-controlled state and the Serb enclave in northern Kosovo, which would remain part of Serbia. The patriarch's opposition was not based on the hope of guaranteeing the freedoms and security of Serbs in an independent Kosovo, but rather on the reincorporation of all of Kosovo into Serbia. More here.

Prizren Bishop Calls for Calm in Northern Kosovo

Bishop Teodosije of Raska and Prizren has called on the Kosovar authorities and his flock in northern Kosovo to refrain from resorting to violence in the wake of fighting over the control of border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia, saying that all of the outstanding issues between the Serbian and Kosovar governments should be resolved by negotiation. More (in Serbian) here.

Serbia, Kosovo Tensions Rise

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo rose to new levels overnight as Kosovar police launched attacks intended to seize control of border posts in northern territories still controlled by the surviving remnants of Kosovo's Serb minority. More here.

Azerbaijan to Finish Church, Renovate Mosque in Serbia

The Azerbaijani government has committed to assisting in the completion of the construction of the Church of St. Parasceva in Novi Sad, Serbia, and the renovation of the Bajrakli Mosque in Belgrade as part of its efforts to promote closer political and economic ties between itself and Serbia. More here.

Serbian Religious Organizations Call for Implementation of Property Restitution Law

Representatives of Serbia's historic religious organizations, among them leaders of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church in Serbia, and the Muslim community, have renewed calls for the Serbian government to fully implement its law on the restitution of property stolen from religious organizations during the Communist era. More (in Serbian) here.

Montenegrin PM Visits Serbia, Speaks on Montenegrin Orthodoxy

Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic has begun a state visit to Serbia to discuss relations between Serbia and Montenegro, generally deemed to be at a historic low, and negotiate joint infrastructure and economic projects. Commenting on recent issues between the Montenegrin government and the Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Luksic stated that it was not his government's intention to alter the canonical foundation of Orthodoxy in Montenegro, but rather to encourage the unity of the Church of Montenegro to strengthen the Montenegrin state. More here and here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Begins Visit to Serbia, Montenegro

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has begun a 3-day visit to Serbia and Montenegro, meeting with Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech, members of the lesser Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the Serbian minister of foreign affairs shortly after his arrival today in Belgrade. More on that here.

During his visit to Montenegro Metropolitan Hilarion is expected to work to reconcile the Montenegrin government with the Orthodox Church in Montenegro, with meetings scheduled with the Montenegrin president and prime minister and with Metropolitan Amfilohije (Radovic) of Cetinje. More on that here.

Criminal Charges Initiated Against Former Bishop Artemije of Prizren

On the basis of charges brought forward by the Serbian Orthodox Church the Serbian public prosecutor for Belgrade has initiated criminal proceedings against former Bishop Artemije (Radosavljevic) of Raska and Prizren. Among the charges brought against the former bishop are the embezzlement of millions of euros intended for the renovation of Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kosovo, the acquisition of properties without the approval of the appropriate central ecclesiastical authorities, and the repair of private properties not owned by the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren. More (in Serbian) here.

Serbian, Macedonian Presidents Meet in Montenegro

At a meeting in Montenegro the presidents of Serbia and Macedonia have expressed their satisfaction over the development of relations between the two former member republics of Yugoslavia as well as their hope that the Serbian and Macedonian Orthodox Churches would overcome their schism, which both presidents recognized as beign their responsibility, not that of the Serbian or Macedonian governments. More here.

Serbia Protests Reclassification of Kosovar Monuments as 'Byzantine Albanian'

The Serbian government is blocking a Kosovar initiative in UNESCO to reclassify historic Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches in Kosovo as 'Byzantine Albanian' monuments. The move comes as the Kosovar regime has undertaken a sweeping rewrite of its history, recasting the founder of the Serbian Empire and the nobleman who killed Ottoman Padishah Murat during the Battle of Kosovo Polje (among others) as ethnic Albanians. More here.

Serbian Defense Ministry, Orthodox Church Sign Chaplaincy Agreement

The Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Ministry of Defense has concluded an agreement allowing for the provision of pastoral care by the Serbian Orthodox Church for the members of Serbia's armed forces in active service. More here.