Patriarch urges Serbs to remain in Kosovo

Patriarch urges Serbs to remain in Kosovo

BELGRADE -- Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej has called for peace, forgiveness and love in his Christmas message, and urged Serbs in Kosovo to remain there.

"This Christmas as well, we stand with our brothers and sisters in Kosovo and Metohija, and we tell them to stay in Kosovo with their holy places," said the patriarch in a letter read at the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarchate in Belgrade.

Serbia's majority Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7.

Irinej pointed out that he was praying for "less turmoil, and more peace, less hate and more love, less discord and more harmony" this year.

"We also remember in prayers those who are innocent and suffer anywhere, and the Archbishop of Ohrid and Skopje Metropolitan Jovan, who is unjustly imprisoned," said patriarch.

He added that the celebration of Christmas means "worshiping the God of love and of true human love", but that it is taking place "at a time of man's use and misuse of God's giving", which causes "disturbances of the basic order and the loss of the meaning in life."

"A human is by nature created to love, and in our time everything is for sale, especially the sanctity of love and the meaning of life," warned Irinej.

According to him, "man is now in danger more than ever of replacing God with Satan - the false deity and the false knowledge."

"Whenever humanity moved along that path in its history, it inevitably found itself in front of disaster and facing the collapse of its civilization," the patriarch said in his message.