The Ra\u0161ka-Prizren Diocese has expressed concern and strongly condemned the statement of Kosovo-Albanian lawyer Tom\u00eb V. Gashi, who openly called for the demolition of the Church of Christ the Savior in Pristina. Gashi stated that the church \u201cmust be demolished,\u201d claiming it is \u201con someone else\u2019s land\u201d and was allegedly built during the \u201coccupation,\u201d adding that, in his view, it is unacceptable that the building has stood \u201cfor twenty-six years after the war and seventeen years after independence.\u201d The Diocese considers Gashi\u2019s statement a \u201cfurther radicalization of a long-standing narrative that denies the legitimacy of the Serbian Orthodox Church\u2019s presence in the very center of Pristina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawyer Gashi, in a Facebook post accompanied by a photo of the church, wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnough is enough! This building must be demolished! This building is on someone else\u2019s land! This building was built during the occupation! Unfortunately, we have endured this building for 26 years after liberation and 17 years after independence!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Church of Christ the Savior<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Church of Christ the Savior, whose construction began in 1990 and was halted in 1998 due to the outbreak of the war in Kosovo and Metohija, has repeatedly been subjected to attacks and attempted bombings. At one point, it was even used as a public toilet. It has also appeared in a music video, and in 2015 its walls were reportedly used as \u201cclimbing walls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 2021, for the first time in 23 years, the church\u2019s feast day was celebrated when Bishop Teodosije of Ra\u0161ka-Prizren conducted a liturgy with a small number of faithful, an event interpreted in Pristina as a provocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protests followed immediately, and graffiti appeared on the church\u2019s unfinished doors reading \u201cJesus Hates Serbs\u201d and \u201cSymbol of Chauvinism Becomes a Sanctuary, by the Blessing of Albin Kurti.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following year, the church feast was not celebrated, reportedly due to intervention by the Kosovo Police, as confirmed at the time by Pristina parish priest Stani\u0161a Arsi\u0107 and later by the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ra\u0161ka-Prizren Diocese: Gashi\u2019s Call is Not an \u201cIsolated Case\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ra\u0161ka-Prizren Diocese stated that Gashi\u2019s words are not merely \u201can opinion on urban planning,\u201d but:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey represent a direct call for the destruction of a religious building and, as such, constitute a severe form of hate speech and incitement to intolerance against the Serbian Orthodox Church as a historical religious community and its spiritual and cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Diocese, the Church of Christ the Savior and the land it occupies are properly registered as the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo\u2019s cadastral and land records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no final court decision that would annul the Church\u2019s property rights, nor any ruling declaring the church an illegal structure. On the contrary, there are court decisions recognizing the Serbian Orthodox Church as the lawful user of this property until all proceedings are concluded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this context, the claim that the church is \u201con someone else\u2019s land\u201d is not only false, according to the Diocese, but also dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt morally justifies the call for demolition and legitimizes the idea that a religious community can be denied the right to worship through the physical destruction of its sanctuary,\u201d the Diocese said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The call to demolish the church, they added, is not an isolated case, but rather reflects an atmosphere of ethnic intolerance that exists in part of Kosovo\u2019s public sphere and many media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOver the past years, certain public figures, including historians and commentators, have publicly advocated for the demolition or \u2018repurposing\u2019 of the Church of Christ the Savior, portraying it as a \u2018violent\u2019 or \u2018illegal\u2019 structure and disputing its status as a place of worship,\u201d the Diocese stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Diocese emphasized that Gashi\u2019s latest statement represents a further radicalization of a long-standing narrative that denies the legitimacy of the Serbian Orthodox Church\u2019s presence in central Pristina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSuch rhetoric sends the message that, according to this logic, there is no place in Pristina for a visible symbol of the Serbian Orthodox community, and that the mere existence of this church constitutes an \u2018injustice\u2019 that must be \u2018corrected\u2019 by its removal. In the sensitive post-conflict context of Kosovo and Metohija, where more than 150 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been destroyed or damaged since 1999 and tens of thousands of Serbs were expelled from their homes, such calls cannot be seen as harmless rhetoric. On the contrary, they directly contribute to a climate in which new attacks on religious sites are increasingly likely and easily \u2018justified.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Appeals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Diocese has called on institutions in Kosovo, professional legal associations, civil society organizations, and the international community to clearly and responsibly respond to this latest form of \u201chate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSilence in the face of such statements would be interpreted as tacit approval and would further endanger not only the Church of Christ the Savior but also the principle that all religious communities in Kosovo and Metohija have the right to equal protection, respect, and safety,\u201d the Diocese stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe European Convention on Human Rights, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and UNESCO instruments on cultural heritage oblige political authorities to protect religious sites and not tolerate any incitement that could lead to their destruction. The legal and institutional framework in Kosovo, including the mandates of the Ombudsman, the Independent Media Commission, the Kosovo Press Council, and the Office for Good Governance, was formally established to prevent hate speech and protect human rights. Yet repeated public calls for the demolition of the Church of Christ the Savior, now made even by a publicly engaged lawyer, demonstrate how wide the gap between normative obligations and actual practice remains,\u201d the Diocese concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EMOTIONAL ADDRESS BY \u017dELJKO OBRADOVI\u0106: \u201cOstoja Mijailovi\u0107 bears responsibility for the situation in Partizan!\u201d (FULL VIDEO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CONFESSION OF A SERBIAN NURSE: \u201cWhen I moved to Norway I had no idea what would befall us, I watched my children crying\u201d (VIDEO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBRIAN PUSHED ANA IN A PANIC, SHE FELL OFF THE BED\u201d: The defense presented shocking details at the trial in the case of the murdered Serbian woman!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n