Bishop Artemije: President should act more wisely

13/1/2010

Bishop Artemije of the Serbian Orthodox Church has sent a letter to Serbian President Boris Tadic, protesting because Tadic did not notify him, the host, of his visit to the Visoki Decani monastery.

Bishop Artemije of the Serbian Orthodox Church has sent a letter to Serbian President Boris Tadic, protesting because Tadic did not notify him, the host, of his visit to the Visoki Decani monastery.

In the letter, delivered to the president on Jan. 12, Bishop Artemije described such behavior as “inappropriate,” among other things because it brings discord into the canonical order of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The bishop expressed the belief that, should Tadic visit Visoki Decani again, he would “act more wisely.”

“Dear president, we do not mind anyone, including you, visiting our monasteries, but it is inappropriate that you, as president, do so without notification, announcement and without asking us, as the host of all monasteries in the Diocese of Ras-Prizren,” Bishop Artemije wrote.

The bishop reminded Tadic that this was not the first time he had not been informed of the president’s visit to Visoki Decani, as the same had happened at Easter.

“Forgive me, but that is not wise for a statesman. You thereby bring discord into the canonical order of the Orthodox Church, approaching our vicar and making arrangements with him, bypassing us as the responsible bishop (host),” Bishop Artemije wrote to Tadic, pointing out that Tadic’s guest U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden had emulated his example.

The bishop stated that in this context, Tadic’s messages of peace, the need for reconciliation and meeting halfway lost their meaning and were reduced to empty phrases.

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