A Challenge to Faith: Patriarch Kirill Condemns Blasphemy in Kosovo

OCP News Service – 16/09/2024

Moscow- Russia: His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed deep concern and condemnation over the recent blasphemous act perpetrated by Kosovo Albanians on the ruins of ancient Ulpiana.

Ulpiana Fest Sparks Controversy with Cross Burning in Kosovo

In a message addressed to His Holiness Patriarch Porfiry of Serbia, Patriarch Kirill highlighted the desecration of the three crosses, a symbol of Golgotha, which were publicly burned during a local festival. This act was deemed a direct challenge to all Christians, regardless of denomination, and a grave insult to their religious sentiments.

The Patriarch emphasized that this vile act took place in Kosovo and Metohija, a region of profound spiritual significance for the Serbian people, where the enemies of the Cross of the Lord have long sought to de-Christianize the land. He expressed solidarity with the Serbian Orthodox Church, recalling the tragic experiences of Serbian brothers and sisters who were killed, expelled, or subjected to religious persecution.

Patriarch Kirill offered prayers for the well-being of Patriarch Porfiry and his flock, who continue to endure oppression and sorrow in their homeland. He invoked divine protection and comfort for the Serbian people, seeking strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

Full Statement:

To His Holiness Porfirije, Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci, Patriarch of Serbia

Your Holiness, beloved in the Lord Brother and Co-Servant at the throne of God!

It was with deep bitterness that I learned of the blasphemous action recently carried out by Kosovo Albanians on the ruins of ancient Ulpiana.

A composition of three crosses, reminiscent of the events of sacred history on Golgotha, was publicly burned at a local festival as part of a cheap farcical performance. Openly desecrating the image of the True Cross is a challenge to all Christians and an insult to their feelings: both Orthodox and Catholics, among whom are Kosovo Albanians.

This vile act was carried out in Kosovo and Metohija – in the sacred Serbian region, for the de-Christianization of which the enemies of the Cross of the Lord and Holy Orthodoxy have long and stubbornly fought.

The children of the Russian Church preserve the memory of the many Serbian brothers and sisters killed or expelled from their homeland, of the thousands of destroyed crosses and tombstones in Serbian cemeteries, of the hundreds of churches and monasteries of the Church of St. Sava desecrated, burned or blown up by extremists.

I always pray for the good health of Your Holiness and for the granting of strength to your Christ-loving flock, who are suffering oppression and sorrow in the land of Old Serbia. May the Father of mercy and God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3) protect your children and wipe away every tear from their eyes (Rev. 7:17), strengthening them in trials, protecting them from every misfortune and adversity.

With brotherly love in the Lord

+KIRILL,
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA

Source:

OCP News Service