Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Porfirije starts visit to Kosovo and Metohija; Pristina bans journalist

Photo: Serbian Orthodox Church

Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije has started his visit to Kosovo and Metohija, where he will celebrate Christmas (Serbian Orthodox Christians mark the holiday on January 7) together with the Serb people.

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Patriarch Porfirije will first visit the Patriarchate of Pec and during his stay in Kosovo and Metohija will also visit Visoki Decani, Gracanica and other monasteries.

On Christmas, the Serbian patriarch will serve the bishop's liturgy at the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchate of Pec.

Together with the patriarch, Vicar Bishop Aleksej of Hvostan, Vicar Bishop Ilarion of Novobrdo, Archimandrite Danilo, who is the director of the Patriarchal Administrative Office, Protodeacon Radomir Vrucinic, Rector of the Sveti Sava Theological Seminary in Belgrade, and Protodeacon Dragan Radic, professor of the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade, also traveled to Kosovo and Metohija.

Patriarch Porfirije was last in the Patriarchate of Pec on the feast of Vidovdan  in2023, where he led liturgy services.

Pristina bans Tanjug journalist who traveled to Kosovo and Metohija to cover patriarch's visit

The so-called Kosovo police yesterday at the Merdare administrative crossing, shortly after 3 pm, banned Tanjug news agency reporter Andjelko Utjesanovic from entering the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. He was supposed to travel there to cover the visit of Patriarch Porfirije to the sacred to Serbs places in Kosovo and Metohija.

Utjesanovic was on his way to Kosovo and Metohija together with the Serbian Orthodox Church delegation, which included the patriarch, but was sent back from the administrative crossing without any explanation, even though he was previously announced as a member of the delegation.

Police officers of so-called Kosovo told Utjesanovic to get out of the car at the administrative crossing, and informed that he could not continue, because the government in Pristina had banned him from entering Kosovo and Metohija.

When Utjesanovic asked them for an explanation, they said that they didn't have one either and were simply carrying out the decision of the provisional Pristina institutions. Utjesanovic would not sign a document presented to him which stated that he "refused" to enter the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.

(Telegraf.rs)