Kosovo "could never be outside Serbia," says patriarch

Kosovo "could never be outside Serbia," says patriarch

BELGRADE -- Patriarch Irinej has voiced hope that Serbia and its government would never make any gesture that could lead to giving up on the southern province of Kosovo.

“The Serbian people will never accept that. Our history, culture and spirituality are closely linked to that area," the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) told the Easter issue of the Belgrade-based daily Večernje Novosti.

Asked about a possible change to the Constitution, Irinej said he "does not know what the purpose of the change of the Constitution would be, or whether that would happen, but regardless of whether the supreme law of the land would be amended and to what extent, Kosovo and Metohija must not be separated from Serbia".

"If something like that happened, that would be an eternal bone of contention between us and our neighbors, which would benefit no one. The Serbian people will never give up on its religious centers- Dečani, Gračanica, Our Lady of Ljeviš," the Patriarch said.

He expressed hope that Serbia would do everything in its power to ensure the return of the property in KiM to the Serbian Orthodox Church, underscoring that he also expects Europe's backing for that.

The Patriarch also commented on the centenary of the beginning of World War I, warning against the attempts at historical revisionism, "in the way that suits revisionists".

"It is crystal clear that Serbs are not the ones to blame for the Great War and I hope that historians will have the courage to say that publicly so that the entire world could hear it," Patriarch Irinej said.