Patriarch Irinej wants apology from EU office

The EU representative in Kosovo spoke about the stance of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) towards Kosovo.

The patriarch now requested that the EU office in Belgrade apologizes for the "grave error".

The patriarch sent a letter to EU Belgrade office chief Peter Sorensen expressing extreme disappointment over the translation of Feith's views on the situation in the southern Serbian province.

In his address in the European Parliament on Tuesday, Feith noted that "the transition of the Serbian Orthodox Church towards a more moderate approach in Kosovo is another positive development," it is stated in the patriarch's letter.

The letter adds that the same sentence in the Serbian translation distributed by the EU office in Belgrade might be interpreted to mean that the transition of the Serbian Orthodox Church towards a more moderate approach to the Kosovo issue was another positive development.

"There is a big difference between 'a more moderate approach in Kosovo' and 'a more moderate approach to the Kosovo issue'," the letter said.

Patriarch Irinej demanded a public correction and apology from the EU office for this serious error, it was stated in the letter of the Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The statement indicates that the attitude of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the status of the southern Serbian province is clear and that the Church neither changed nor intends to change its stance on the issue which has been clearly regulated by the Serbian Constitution and the will of the country's people.

It is the standpoint of the Church that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and that the self-proclaimed independence of the province by the Kosovo Albanians and part of the international community is an illegal act contrary to international law, it was stated in the letter.