The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, said that the Church “cannot be part of any political negotiation or agreement” for Kosovo.

In the talks between Kosovo and Serbia, which are mediated by the European Union, the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church is part of the Agreement on the way to the normalization of relations, which the parties reached in 2023.

In this agreement it is stated that the parties must “officialize the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and will provide a high level of protection of the Serbian religious and cultural heritage, in accordance with the existing European models”.

“Respect and protection of human rights and especially religious freedoms represent universal values ​​of humanity because these rights belong to everyone and must be guaranteed to the Serbian Church and believers,” said the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church on March 26.

According to him, the international community, represented by the United Nations and the European Union, is obliged to ensure full respect for human rights and religious rights in Kosovo. Porfirije said that the Serbian Orthodox Church does not want to have special rights anywhere, including in Kosovo.

“Furthermore, universal human and religious rights cannot be treated as ‘special rights’ only for the Serbian Orthodox Church in ‘Kosovo and Metohija’. The protection of the cultural heritage of the Serbian Church and of people, of movable and immovable assets that have cultural, spiritual and historical values, cannot be seen only as a case of ‘special rights’ for the Serbian Orthodox Church,” the said the Serbian Patriarch.

The Serbian patriarch invited the Albanians in Kosovo for dialogue.

Like the state of Serbia, the Serbian Orthodox Church does not accept the independence of Kosovo.