Serbian Patriarch Porfiri called on world leaders to prevent the expulsion of the Serbian Orthodox people from Kosovo and Metohija

Serbian Patriarch Porfiri appealed to world leaders to prevent the expulsion of the Serbian Orthodox population from Kosovo and Metohija. In his letter, he warned of the serious consequences of the Pristina authorities’ discriminatory law against foreigners, which threatens not only educational and medical institutions serving the Serbian population, but also the very existence of the Serbian people and the Orthodox sanctuaries in the region.

According to Orthodoxia News Agency, the Patriarch sent a letter to Pope Francis, Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Ministers Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. He urged them to use their influence to stop the implementation of the law, which could lead to mass migration of Orthodox Serbs from the region, which is home to some 1,300 Orthodox churches, monasteries and other Christian holy sites, four of which are on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger.

Patriarch Porphyrios emphasized that the Serbian Orthodox Church seeks a peaceful resolution to the conflict and expects the Serbian authorities to make maximum efforts to find a compromise solution. «Human lives are the most sacred, and we are obliged to protect them, » said the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Serbs.

Recall, earlier the Serbian Orthodox Church expressed concern about the possible consequences of the application of the so-called «law on foreigners» in Kosovo, which could complicate the life of the Serbian community in the region. The law, which comes into full force on March 15, could affect thousands of people working and living in Serbian institutions, including teachers, students and medical workers.