“You have to make this fateful decision to stay where you are, and this is not the decision of an individual, it is the decision of the Serbian people,” the Patriarch of Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej said today at the Church of St. Dimitrije in North Mitrovica.
The Patriarch has been visiting monasteries, churches, and meeting with Kosovo Serbs for the past four days. He sent clear messages against ethnic partition and delimitation, emphasizing on the other hand that Serbia should not recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
Simultaneously, he spoke of peace and tolerance towards other religions, adding that the Albanian people and their rights should be respected.
Throughout his journey over the past four days, he has been accompanied by Bishop Teodosije and, after a long time and recent tensions, today in North Mitrovica he is accompanied by representatives of Srpska Lista.
He said that the Serbian Orthodox Church is standing behind Kosovo Serbs, adding that he is “rejoicing at the fact that more children are being born in Kosovo”.
“It is a great joy and I will pass on this joy to others, this is where our strength lies, this is where our expectation lies which is more powerful than all our enemies,” Patriarch Irinej stressed.
„We did not barge in and conquer this land, we did not take it from somebody. This is our country, as our poet Beckovic says, which God gave to us. We need to protect what the Lord gave to us and what we have received from our ancestors, we must increase spiritual and moral values and leave the most precious heritage for those who come after us,“ Patriarch Irinej said in North Mitrovica.
He also reiterated the Serbian Orthodox Church’s decisive position against the ethnic partition of Kosovo.
„It is mentioned here today, coming from certain people, that Kosovo needs to be divided, or solved with some compromise. In the end, there are also those, unfortunately, who say that Kosovo should be removed like it is a burden. It is not said by smart people, it is not said by the Serbs, this is spoken by those who only bear a Serbian name, but are far from everything that is Serbian,“ the Patriarch emphasized while addressing the public in the presence of deputies and officials of Srpska Lista.
We cannot imagine, and I lived in Prizren for 20 years, that my Prizren will belong to someone else, that we will give it to someone… Who gives away one’s home, instead of guarding it as God’s gift?
Speaking about the compromise between Belgrade and Pristina, Patriarch Irinej said that „we still do not know whether a compromise will happen,“ adding:
„We want a compromise and we pray to God for a compromise.“
According to him, the compromise involves „Kosovo remaining part of Serbia and the Albanian people having full rights, human dignity, their own language and rights”.
„The country of Serbia cannot belong to anyone else but Serbia,“ he emphasized.
„The truth is that anything that is given away is lost forever. Occupation does not last forever, another solution will be found. This is the position of our church, we will not stand down, we are here with you, we are fighting and defending ourselves with all permissible means,“ said Irinej.
„We struggle in every way possible to persuade all those who give so easily and generously to others. Thank God there are signs that something is changing in our favor, that the Serbs and Serbia can preserve these blessed territories next to their graves, that justice, truth, law and order blessed by God can win,“ Patriarch concluded.
Patriarch Irinej will also visit the university in North Mitrovica today.
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