Serbian Church Denies Rumors About the Creation of a “Kosovo Orthodox Church”

The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) has officially responded to media reports suggesting that it might be ready to sign an agreement with the authorities of self-proclaimed Kosovo to establish a separate church structure. The statement followed publications in the Serbian newspaper Danas and comments from the “Movement for the Renewal of the Kingdom of Serbia,” which claimed that the Church was holding talks with Pristina. This was reported on the official SOC website.

The Raška-Prizren Diocese, which oversees the historic monasteries of Kosovo, described such reports as “false and malicious fabrications.” The diocese emphasized that no such document has ever existed and that the matter has not been discussed by any governing body of the Serbian Church.

The statement reads: “This is an attempt to create division and sow discord among the faithful.” Particular outrage was caused by claims that the Church could abandon its holy sites in Kosovo, a region considered the spiritual heart of Serbian Orthodoxy, home to the Visoki Dečani Monastery, the Patriarchate of Peć, and other monasteries with an 800-year history of SOC presence.

The Serbian Church stressed that it does not participate in political negotiations on the status of Kosovo and insists solely on the protection of fundamental human rights and freedom of religion as guaranteed by international law. It also called on the media to act responsibly and avoid spreading unverified rumors, especially regarding matters of spiritual heritage and national dignity.

It is also worth noting that in the village of Rakitnica near Podujevo (Kosovo), a self-proclaimed “priest,” Nikola Džufka, forcibly entered the 14th-century Church of Saint Archangel Michael, which belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church, for the third time. According to the Raška-Prizren Diocese, Džufka broke the door lock and illegally occupied the church at the end of June. On June 30, the diocese filed a third complaint with the Pristina Prosecutor’s Office.