Russian Church officially condemns Kosovo independence

Moscow, April 15, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church has issued a document officially condemning Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence.

Minutes of a meeting of the Holy Synod in Moscow on Tuesday, quoted the Church's governing body as expressing "solidarity with Serbia, a country that shares our faith, due to the separation from it of one of its historic parts, a part that has played a role in the history of the spiritual, cultural and ethnic life of the Serb people."

The Synod backed the position of "the Serbian Orthodox Church in the issue of separation of Kosovo and Metohia from Serbia."

It also advocated "all forms of support for the will of the brotherly Serbian people, who want the territorial integrity of their state to be preserved."

In February 2008, the head of the Russian Church, Patriarch Alexy II, expressed fear that Kosovo's unilaterally proclaimed independence would fuel separatist movements in other parts of the world and set off "very tragic events."

Kosovo's declaration of independence "is an anti-historical event, which upsets the world balance, something that may lead to very tragic events in a whole number of spots on the globe where separatist sentiments are being stoked," Alexy said.