The Serbian Orthodox Church is becoming increasingly threatened in the Balkan region and needs Russian support, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday after holding a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2020) The Serbian Orthodox Church is becoming increasingly threatened in the Balkan region and needs Russian support, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday after holding a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"It is extremely important for us to preserve the Serbian Orthodox Church, whose position is under threat in the region. I asked Russia for support," Vucic said.
The Serbian leader also confirmed that he is awaiting Russian President Vladimir Putin's attendance at a consecration ceremony at Belgrade's Church of Saint Sava, which is scheduled to take place in autumn.
"I believe that president Putin's visit will not only provide an additional impetus to our cultural and religious ties, but it will also strengthen the position of our people, our country, and the Serbian church," Vucic remarked.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has increasingly come under threat in the neighboring country of Montenegro after the authorities signed a bill in December that would see religious property nationalized if proof of ownership cannot be found.
The bill has prompted widespread protests by members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who have said that the religious institution's property will be seized and then transferred to the self-proclaimed Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
In May, Bishop Joanikije of Budimlja-Niksic and seven other priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church were arrested for holding a religious procession in the town of Niksic. Law enforcement officers said that they were detained for violating the country's ban on public gatherings amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
