Serbian bishop urges State Dept to respond to persecution of SOC in Kosovo

Bishop Irinej (Dobrijevic) of the Eastern American Serbian Orthodox Church sent a letter to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in connection with the open persecution of the Serbian Orthodox Church and notably of the Visoki Dečani Monastery by the authorities of Pristina, reports the website of the Montenegrin-Littoral Metropolis of the SOC.

Vladyka drew the attention of the head of the State Department to the fact that this year marks six years since the final decision of the supreme judicial authority of Pristina, whereby the lands belonging to the Visoki Dečani monastery must be returned to the shrine. So far, this decision remains unfulfilled.

Moreover, Vladka wrote, officials in Pristina publicly refuse to comply with the court's decision because it concerns the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Bishop Irinej expressed particular concern about the growing negative rhetoric of the Pristina authorities, who demonstrate even more reluctance to recognize the rights guaranteed to the Serbian Orthodox Church by law and the local constitution.

In this regard and in order to resolve the problem as soon as possible, Bishop Irinej urged the US authorities "to consider imposing sanctions on all participants in this historical injustice, given that such discriminatory actions endanger reconciliation between peoples and destabilize the region."

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that three Orthodox churches were robbed in the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohije over a month.

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