Patriarch Irinej: Kosovo should not be defended with arms
Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarch Irinej said that it is better to defend Kosovo with history, culture, holy sites and love for them, than with weapons.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, April 19, 2010
He told Odbrana (Defense) magazine that he hopes that the world would not make a great mistake and allow this holiest of Serbian land to belong to someone else, because such a solution would create a flashpoint between Serbia and its neighbors, since such a Kosovo would always be a danger to peace - "both our peace and world peace".
"For us, even possibility that Kosovo would not within Serbia is an unimaginable history. Serbia is Kosovo. That is where our history and culture begins. The center of our church is there, the Pec Patriarchy," Irinej said.
According to the spiritual leader of Orthodox Serb Christians, the main weapon in the fight for preserving the province should be love for Kosovo, because "as long as Kosovo is in our thoughts, in our hearts, in our songs... it can only be Serbian."
Irinej said that the decision of KFOR to pull its unit that protects SPC churches and monasteries in Kosovo and give them over to the Kosovo police could be a tragic one, "given the current disposition of our neighbors the Albanians."
