Faced with the complete lawlessness that the current authorities in Pristina are doing to the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox people, restricting this time the freedom of movement of the very Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, His Holiness the Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan Porfiry of Belgrade-Karlovica and Serbian Patriarch Porfiry, and the Serbian bishops, depriving them of the possibility, in a completely illegal way, actually by force, to begin the regular annual meeting of the Holy Synod of Bishops in the monastery of the Peć Patriarchate, where they have been doing so since the first half of the fourteenth century and the time of His Holiness Patriarch Joannica II, the Holy Synod of Bishops testifies before the entire civilized world, especially before Christians, that the Serbian people and their Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija live in complete legal, and therefore existential, insecurity.
The fact that the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church is not allowed into the Patriarchate of Peć is like the Pope being banned from traveling to the Vatican or the head of the Church of England being banned from traveling to Canterbury Cathedral. We, the archbishops, gather once a year from all over the world, from all continents, crossing numerous borders without any problems, except when we have to come to Kosovo and Metohija, our spiritual hearth.
This lawlessness, committed before the eyes of the entire world at a time when the Government in Pristina is hoping for admission to the Council of Europe, is a pale picture of what the Government there is doing every day to the Serbian people living in their centuries. old living space that has been in Kosovo and Metohija for at least one and a half millennia, as vividly evidenced by ancient monasteries and churches, tombs, frescoes and icons of priceless value. Therefore, the Holy Synod of Bishops draws the attention of all responsible international actors who have the ability to influence the authorities in Pristina, that by this act they have grossly demonstrated that the internationally recognized and universally binding provisions of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other conventions that explicitly guarantee the right to liberty to every human being, including the Serbian Patriarch, archbishops, priests, bishops, priests and religious leaders of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church Movement, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church in Serbia. Orthodox Church Movement, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and other guaranteed human rights and freedoms. We also call upon the Orthodox and the entire Christian world and its spiritual leaders to assert respect for our religious rights through prayer and other means.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has never been, is not now and certainly will not be a political institution in the future, but is and remains the spiritual Mother of Orthodox Serbs, freely carrying out its spiritual mission in countries all over the world. The Serbian Orthodox Church neither in the Republic of Serbia nor in other countries has the status of a state church or a political organization, and therefore political criteria cannot be applied to it.
The current authorities in Pristina have tried to humiliate the Serbian Orthodox Church and to instil new fears and anxieties among the Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija, so as not to force them to leave their holy places, through a classic abuse of rights and undermining the foundations of the rule of law, on days when Orthodox Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ and at home.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has testified everywhere, especially in Kosovo and Metohija, and still testifies that it remains with its people despite the violence that has been systematically perpetrated against Orthodox Serbs for decades, especially from 1999 to today, with impunity.
The Holy Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, headed by His Holiness Patriarch Serbian. Porphyriem calls on the international authorities in Kosovo and Metohija to do everything in their power to stop the flagrant violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Serbian people. The Serbian Patriarch and the Archbishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church remain with their people in Kosovo and Metohija.
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