Pseudo-priest seizes SOC church in Kosovo for the third time

In the village of Rakitnica near Podujevo (Kosovo), self-proclaimed “priest” Nikola Djuvka has, for the third time, forcibly entered the 14th-century Church of the Holy Archangel Michael, which belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church. According to the Raška-Prizren Diocese, Djuvka broke the lock on the church doors and, without any legal grounds, took control of the sacred site at the end of June. On June 30, the diocese filed a third criminal complaint with the Pristina prosecutor’s office. This was reported by the Serbian branch of the UOJ (Union of Orthodox Journalists).

Djuvka acts on behalf of the unrecognized “Albanian National Orthodox Church” (ANOC), which lacks canonical status and has been publicly disavowed by the official Orthodox Church of Albania. Two legal cases have already been opened against him in Kosovo for similar actions, and Albanian media have previously accused him of inciting religious hatred.

The diocese states that Kosovo institutions are consistently failing to protect the rights of the Serbian religious community and calls for an urgent resolution of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s legal status in Kosovo, emphasizing that the survival of the Church in the region depends on it.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo responded to the incident. In a statement published on July 4, it expressed concern over the latest unlawful entry into a Serbian shrine and called on local authorities to protect religious rights, conduct an investigation, and prevent further violations.

It should also be recalled that on April 20, 2025, a new religious organization — the so-called “Kosovo Albanian Orthodox Metropolis” — was announced in the Ulpiana district of Pristina. The initiative came from Nikola Djuvka, who declared himself “Archbishop of Pristina.”