SATANIC REGIME

Serbian Orthodox Church and Protests in Serbia

AIM Belgrade, 6 January, 1997

"We will not wonder: how come the Sacred Synod is in session on the eve of the meeting of the Permanent Council of OSCE? This is obviously clear to everybody. Perhaps God will help them at least as much as they pray for the state of Serbia and its people, that is for a peaceful solution of all misunderstandings and preservation of lasting peace", it is said in a commentary of Radio Belgrade (Milika Sundic) on the occasion of the statement of the emergency session of the Sacred Bishops' Assembly in which the current regime is, without circumlocution, named as responsible not only for "having drastically broken the will of the people expressed in local elections", but also for having "brought the nation and the state to a complete collapse, and reduced the people to poverty, estranged us from the whole world, and now trying to sow dissension among us and turn us into each other's bitter enemies just in order to preserve power".

The latter messages of the highest Church body were especially the target of the quoted commentary in which it is claimed that the statement "according to its content, grossness, left Warren Christopher far behind. In relation to the Sacred Synod, Christopher is, to put it simply, a semi-literate parish-rector in a Serbian sequestered place". In other words, controlled media have started treating the Serb Orthodox Church (SPC) as one of the external enemies of the regime, so it turns out that the statement of the Assembly was certainly inspired from abroad especially because in it too "recognition of 17 November election results" is explicitly demanded, just as the OSCE, the USA and other international and foreign institutions insist.

By the way, controlled media in Serbia have mostly published only the part of the statement in which it is claimed that in the specific case "it is not the matter just of a political and party affiliation, but primarily of ethic and essential question among our people". Parts have been omitted in which the regime was taken responsible for treason of "western Serb krajinas", stifling political and religious freedom, application of force, bloodshed, failing to return Church property and several other major issues which have for a long time been too big a stumbling block in relations between the Church and the state.

Has the Serb Orthodox Church issued its official stance concerning protests of students and opposition coalition Together a little too late? This question is posed equally by some church dignitaries and opposition leaders. Obviously the top echelons of the Church in present Yugoslavia needed quite some time to assess well in which direction these protests were going, so it spoke out only after these protests have acquired characteristics of a general national rebellion, at least in Belgrade and other cities. Such caution is understandable in view of the experience acquired in social turmoil during the past years. Appearance of Patriarch Pavle at some of the earlier protests a few years ago provoked allegations of the ruling circle that the Church was not non-partisan any more and that by getting involved in the political developments, it was losing the aureole of an exclusively patriotic and spiritual institution. Due to that, the Patriarch was very cautious in giving support to the students' protest avoiding to mention the opposition coalition.

It is very interesting that Greek media, among which is the daily Lesterotopia which has a large circulation, assessed the statement of the Sacred Bishops' assembly of the SPC as pure "political calculation" and that it was published when the Church "assessed that plans about greater Serbia were frustrated" and that Milosevic's regime "belonged to the past". There were similar assessments elsewhere.

It is forgotten in such assessments that some bishops have publicly declared their views before, like the Bishop of Raska-Prizren Eparchy Artemije, who offered unambiguous support to coalition Together through the leader of the Serb Revival Movement Vuk Draskovic: "Until these justified demands of ours are met, majority of our people are with you, our mother Church of St. Sava is with you, our honest Serb intelligentsia is with you, and all those who have not sold their souls and given them to the devil with five points".

The address of 230 priests from the Sabac-Valjevo Eparchy sent to the Synod Conference, in other words to the bishops, also showed that the clergy refused to be silent any more. In the letter they demanded that the Assembly "unambiguously state its stance and condemn the unprecedented and unheard of physical and spiritual tyranny and tyrant, violence and immorality of the Serbian communist, godless and satanic regime over unarmed and defenseless people, primarily the students, the Serbian youth which is the conscience and future of this people". The priests sent word that they would no more be reconciled with the customary statements "which are traditionally vague, understated and ambiguous, and which are as such used against the Church and the people by the communist Radio-Television Serbia".

It should also be added that not a small number of priests have participated in protest walks. It was also registered that in Negotin, the protest was held in the Church of St. Trinity on New Year's eve, when due to power failure it was impossible to do it in the city square. The demonstrants were invited into the church by Bishop of Timok Eparchy, Justin himself. Then he said to the gathered people: "Do not be afraid because they hate you, they started hating the truth a long time ago... My people have not come out into the street only because of the theft of votes. They must know that the reasons are much deeper and more significant. Time has come for the truth".

In any case, it can be said that the SPC has this time unambiguously taken a stance in relation to current events in Serbia taking great heed not to be caught in the trap of political calculations as it happened so often in the past years.

Ejub Stitkovac