THREATS FROM THE PATRIARCHATE: Porfirije sent a letter to Metropolitan Justin and ordered him to ban the gathering of the people! (FOTO)

After the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) adopted a decision on the formation of a special commission that will carry out an additional check of the financial and material operations of the Žiča Eparchy, which is managed by Metropolitan Justin, a letter arrived from the SPC head Porfirije from the Patriarchate emphasizing that the commission’s arrival is planned for October 23 and calling on him to “prevent any resistance,” i.e., the gathering of the people.

The letter, which was provided to “Nova” by a source from the Patriarchate, states that the aforementioned commission will consist of Metropolitan Irinej of Bačka (president), Metropolitan Metodije of Budimlje-Nikšić, Archpriest-Stavrofor Dr. Velibor Džomić, Protodeacon Miroslav Čolaković, legal advisor Milan Andrić, and Archpriest-Stavrofor Vladan Simić.

“Nova’s” sources state that the letter, although written earlier, was sent only recently so that it would arrive two days before the announced arrival of the commission – October 23 at 10 a.m.

“The goal is to thus thwart a possible gathering of the faithful people who would support the Metropolitan. The assessment is that they will not have enough time,” says our source.

What the letter says

The act, whose content confirms the earlier reporting of Nova, states that the Synod reacted “given the extremely disturbing content of the report of the Patriarchal Administrative Board’s Commission for the control of the material and financial operations of the Žiča Eparchy,” which was submitted on July 1 of this year, after an inspection conducted between March 25 and May 9.

The report, as stated, pointed to a series of irregularities, which is why the Synod assessed that the Patriarchal Administrative Board does not have the authority to solve these problems independently, but that the Holy Synod of Bishops is exclusively responsible for this.

“The Commission of the Holy Synod of Bishops is authorized and tasked with carrying out an additional review of the material and financial operations of the Žiča Eparchy, as well as checking all other aspects of the work of the competent Hierarch and eparchial bodies and services, which it assesses are subject to review or for which there are indications of irregularities or canonical offenses,” the decision states.

The Synod ordered Metropolitan Justin to brotherly receive the Commission and answer all the questions of its president and members, and to “cooperate with it in all respects.”

The text further adds that any form of obstruction or resistance to the Synod and the Patriarch is forbidden, with the statement that “the well-known infamous anti-church and anti-Serbian media in Serbia are widely announcing” possible attempts to obstruct the Commission’s work.

“In the best interest of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the God-saved Eparchy entrusted to him, and himself personally, Metropolitan Justin should prevent every form of obstruction, resistance, and violent resistance by individuals or pre-organized groups,” the document reads.

Finally, it is stated that the Commission of the Holy Synod of Bishops will arrive at the residence of Metropolitan Justin in Kraljevo on October 23 of the current year, at ten o’clock.

The decision was signed by Patriarch Porfirije, in his capacity as the President of the Holy Synod of Bishops, with the seal of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

What is the real reason for the investigation

Although the formal reason for the investigation and the commission’s arrival is stated to be Justin’s management of the eparchy, the main reason why the Metropolitan is under attack is his support for the citizens and students, as well as his open criticism of the repression that the regime has been carrying out in the previous 11 months.

We remind you that he spoke out after the protests in Valjevo which were marked by scenes of police violence against citizens. On that occasion, he criticized the actions of the competent authorities, which was interpreted in church circles as a departure from the official narrative of the SPC leadership.

“We call on government representatives not to forget their essential duty – to protect the people. Power is not given for violence but for service. The abuse of force cannot bring peace, it can only deepen wounds and leave a scar that does not heal for a long time. We remind you that the recent arrests and beatings are the wounds we are talking about. And we give prayer support to all those who suffer innocently to survive and persevere on the path of truth,” the Metropolitan said on that occasion.

How Justin became a target

According to “Nova’s” information, the members of the commission will be tasked with holding a conversation with Justin, after which, as stated, he will be asked to step down as the Metropolitan of the Žiča Eparchy.

“Justin is an obstacle because his priests have been supporting the students for these 11 months, welcoming them everywhere when they walked… In February, he was a signatory of the letter that six bishops sent to Patriarch Porfirije, in which they pointed out that students are our future, while simultaneously condemning Metropolitan David of Kruševac who called the youth of Serbia ‘Ustaše’,” our source explains.

In previous months, the Žiča Eparchy was visited by numerous SPC inspections whose goal was to determine irregularities in management, in order to find a justification for, above all, the Studenica Monastery to come under the direct control of Patriarch Porfirije.

“They have been trying for a long time to declare Studenica a stavropegial monastery (meaning the abbot reports directly to the Patriarch, not the bishop – editor’s note), given that it is currently under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Žiča. That idea existed before, but its implementation accelerated after the public statements of Metropolitan Justin,” emphasizes our source and recalls that Patriarch Porfirije already implemented an identical thing in the Eastern American Eparchy, where the Church of St. Sava in New York is outside the jurisdiction of Bishop Irinej Dobrijević.

“That is why they have been causing an artificial schism against Justin for months. The former abbot of Studenica is the current vicar of Porfirije, Bishop Tihon of Moravičko. In internal conversations, he is mentioned as someone whom the SPC leadership sees as a replacement for Justin. This is the bishop who interrogated the priest Vukašin Milićević and the theologian Blagoje Pantelić as part of the process initiated against them by the head of the SPC,” the “Nova” source underlines.

The Žiča Eparchy is one of the most significant Serbian eparchies due to its historical, spiritual, cultural, and symbolic significance for the development of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian statehood. The Žiča Eparchy originates from the earliest period of the organized Serbian Church. It was founded during the time of Saint Sava, who enthroned the first Serbian Archbishop in the Žiča Monastery in 1219, thus establishing the autocephalous (independent) Serbian Orthodox Church. Žiča thus became the first archbishopric of the Serbian Church, the seat of the first head, and the spiritual center of the newly created Serbian state.

Metropolitan Justin of Žiča was the abbot of the Crna Reka Monastery for years, and then the Bishop of the Timoč Eparchy. He has been at the head of the Žiča Eparchy for more than ten years. Those informed describe him as a bishop of the “old school,” who avoids media exposure and is devoted to the eparchy and the faithful people. He was extremely close to Metropolitan Amfilohije and Bishop Atanasije.

Who is leading the process against Justin

Although it is obvious that no decision within the SPC is carried out without at least the tacit approval of Patriarch Porfirije, the head of the SPC nevertheless decided not to enter into a direct confrontation with Metropolitan Justin, but for this purpose initiated the formation of a commission within the Synod, which includes his spiritual father Metropolitan Irinej Bulović, known as someone who has been one of the loudest supporters of every regime for years. We remind you that he, along with Patriarch Porfirije, during their stay in Moscow, “informed” the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin that a “colored revolution” was underway in Serbia.

In addition to Bulović, a member of the commission is Bishop Metodije of Budimlje-Nikšić, who made a major turnaround in the previous period, traveling the path from a bishop who refused to attend a ceremonial lunch at Andrićev Venac to someone who presents an award to the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.

In addition to the bishops, Archpriest Velibor Džomić is also a member of the synodal commission, a priest whose name often appears in the processes the Church conducts against the disobedient. In May, Džomić was also a participant in the first SPC podcast, which was dedicated to the “colored revolution” in Serbia.

After it was revealed that a commission had been engaged to investigate Justin’s management of the eparchy, “Nova” contacted the information service of the Serbian Orthodox Church, but did not receive a response.