Project to create “Kosovo Orthodox Metropolis” launched in Kosovo

On April 20, 2025, a new religious organization — the so-called “Kosovo Albanian Orthodox Metropolis” — was announced in the Ulpiana district of Pristina. The initiator of this structure is Nikola Gjufka, who has self-proclaimed himself as the “Archbishop of Pristina,” according to the news source Politika.

This project is presented as the first step toward creating an independent “Kosovo Orthodox Church,” separate from the canonical Orthodox world.

Neither the official Albanian Orthodox Church nor any other recognized local Orthodox Churches acknowledge Gjufka as a clergyman. Despite this, he is backed by radical political groups in Kosovo and individuals connected to local administrative bodies.

Analysts see this initiative not only as an attempt to cause a religious schism, but also as a potential threat of interference from the Vatican. It is expected that this new structure will serve as a platform for the eventual uniatization of the local population under the guise of “Orthodox” identity.

Previously, we reported that the Primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios, commented on the Ukrainian church issue. He emphasized that the creation of the OCU divided global Orthodoxy, noting that the Synod of the Albanian Church had already expressed its stance, which remains unchanged.