Theologian Blagoje Pantelić, who was recently excluded from the church community of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) due to his public statements, assessed that the top leadership of the SPC is ready to confront anyone unwilling to be loyalists of the ruling party, and that his case best illustrates how Patriarch Porfirije responds to criticism.
“His behavior is so scandalous that people within the Church are stunned. Never in the history of the SPC have we had such a head,” Pantelić said in an interview for today’s edition of the newspaper Nova, commenting on the church court’s decision to exclude him and theologian Vukašin Milićević from the church community.
“If nothing changes in the meantime—and I believe it will—this persecution will end with the removal of politically undesirable bishops,” Pantelić added.
“I am not aware of a similar case in which a lay theologian was tried in such an unlawful manner simply because the patriarch did not like the opinion the theologian holds about how he performs his function. I am not aware that any theologian has been expelled from the Church for a verbal offense, for criticism directed at the so-called church leadership, which has nothing to do with doctrine or church structure,” Pantelić emphasized.
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Source: N1, Foto: N1