Court in Bosnia nationalizes Serbian Orthodox properties

A municipal court in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, registered two Serbian Orthodox cemeteries, a chapel and two churches as state property, causing shock and deep concern among the Serb community in the region. According to media reports, the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has owned the sites for centuries, was not notified of the court decisions, having learned of them from the media. This is reported by the Srna news agency.

According to the information received, the court registered as state property the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Vrapčići, known as Kraljevina, together with its chapel, as well as another cemetery in Gornji Vrapčići with a church. In addition, the church in the settlement of Celebici in Konica was nationalized.

Local residents expressed bewilderment at the situation. Drago Antel, a resident of Vrapčići, told Srna news agency that his ancestors have been buried for generations in the local cemetery, where there are tombstones up to 200 years old. “Our people gave this land and we have always considered it ours and the Church’s, ” Antel emphasized.

Archpriest Dusko Koic, rector of the cathedral in Mostar, said the Serbian Orthodox Church parish learned about what was happening from media reports and immediately engaged lawyers. “We did not know about it not because we are careless, but because no sane person could have expected something like this, as these properties have belonged to the Serbian Orthodox parish in Mostar for centuries,” Father Dusko said. He also noted that the court is required by law to notify any known person with a legitimate interest in the property, but the Church was not notified. “Apparently, in 2026, the parish is considered an unknown person in Mostar,” the priest added bitterly.

The Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the Federation of BiH drew attention to the fact that the same court clerk had previously registered the Majlis of the Islamic Community in Mostar as the owner of the plot with the mosque in Vrapčići. “No one objects to the Islamic Community being registered as the owner where there is a mosque or the Catholic Church where there is a Catholic Church, but the same rule should apply to the Serbian Orthodox Church,” the Committee said.

These registration actions came just weeks after the former supreme mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, called for the creation of a separate Bosnian Orthodox Church independent of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has canonical jurisdiction in Bosnia. This proposal was condemned by the Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing the Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish and Islamic communities.

We will remind, earlier we reported that the former supreme mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, came forward with an initiative to establish an autocephalous “Bosnian Orthodox Church”. In his opinion, the establishment of such a structure is necessary to strengthen Bosnian statehood, break ties with “foreign centers of influence” and ensure the loyalty of Bosnia’s religious institutions.