In his Christmas message, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije Perić says, among other things: “Since the middle of this year, centuries-old neighbors have been issuing ultimatums, provoking, terrorizing, and relentlessly threatening the remaining and defenseless Serbs with persecution and oppression, alongside the pitiful silence or, as it seems to us, the tacit support of some powerful countries.”
What Porfirije says is pure propaganda, a lie in the service of the current government in Belgrade, whose only mental nourishment is hatred of others. With this message, Porfirije assumes the role of a servant of the regime and not a servant of the truth.
In his message, the use of oriental words (“komšiluk”, “zulum”) stands out as an attempt to allude to the fact that Serbs in Kosovo supposedly suffer as in the Ottoman era, although to honor the truth, it must be said that at some stages the Serbs had even closer relations with the Ottomans than the Albanians themselves.
Porfirije, who in 1985 received the title of pop (Orthodox priest) at the Deçan Monastery, seems to have mentally remained in 2010 when he was appointed bishop to “coordinate” relations between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Army.
In his message boiling with hatred, the head of the Serbian church does not mention the participation of the mayor of Peja Gazmend Muhaxheri in his coronation as patriarch in the Patriarchate of Peja. The gesture of the mayor Muhaxheri was humane, humane, correct and far-sighted. Porfirije does not even mention the correct reception by the citizens of Prizren during his last visit to Kosovo.
The situation of the Serbian minority in Kosovo is not ideal. It suffers from poverty, from various pressures coming from Belgrade, from keeping alive the illusion that Milovan and Dragan will once again parade in Serbian police uniforms at the Grand Hotel.
Those times are gone forever. A responsible religious dignitary should respect reality as much as the words of the Bible. In his career so far, Porfiry has given several examples of cultivating ecumenism. But since his election as patriarch, he has not resisted the temptation to nationalist messages, such as his recent warning that “we are not sure that the borders will not change in the future.”
© Enver Robelli
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