Anniversary of the March Pogrom in Kosovo and Metohia

Here you can also download the chapters of the book March Pogrom in Kosovo and Metohija, published in 2004 by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Museum in Pristina (with relocated headquarters):

It is 17 years since 4,012 Serbs were expelled from Kosovo and Metohia in destructive attacks by Albanian extremists, and most of them have not returned to their homes to this day.

In the wave of violence in Kosovo and Metohija, 19 people were killed then, eight of them Serbs, while 11 Albanians were killed in a clash with members of the international security forces. At least 170 Serbs were injured, as well as dozens of members of the international force who clashed with local Albanians protecting Serbs and their property. About 800 Serb houses were demolished and 35 religious buildings set on fire, including 18 cultural monuments, including the Church of Our Lady of Ljevis in Prizren.

This church, one of the most representative monuments of medieval Serbia, the episcopal center of the Serbian Church in the Middle Ages, received a monumental shape during the reign of King Milutin (1282-1321). The church was somewhat renovated, the first Liturgy was served in it six years later, but the traces of devastation and fire have not been removed. In 2006, the building was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The extremists especially attacked the Serbian Orthodox shrines. 35 churches and monasteries were destroyed, and in these unprecedented acts of vandalism, some of which were broadcast live on local Kosovo television (such as in Podujevo), numerous icons and immovable cultural goods that survived the Ottoman occupation and world wars were destroyed forever. On March 17, 2004, the Serbian people and their Church were particularly affected by the fact that all this happened not during the chaos of war, but in the presence of thousands of members of the international peacekeeping force KFOR, Kosovo Police and the UNMIK, none of whom publicly claimed responsibility for a number of omissions.

The March events in Kosovo and Metohija were condemned by the UN Security Council, as well as the European Union, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution on April 29, 2004.

Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja awarded with the Sretenje Order of the First Degree

 Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja was awarded the Sretenje Order of the first degree for special merits in preserving and nurturing Orthodoxy and traditions of the Serbian people and on the occasion of 950 years at the ceremony in the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade, on the occasion of the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia and the feast of Meeting of the Lord, February 15, 2022.

In the presence of His Holiness Porfirije, the Serbian Patriarch, on behalf of the monastery, His Grace Bishop Pahomije of Vranje received the order from the President of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Aleksandar Vučić The abbot of the Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja Archimandrite Metodije (Marković) also accompanied His Grace.

Patriarch Porfirije: Let's walk the path of the publican, the path of calmness, not the path of pride, the path of the pharisee

His Holiness Porfirije, the Serbian Patriarch officiated the Liturgy in the church of Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God in Belgrade, on 13 February 2022, the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (phоto gallery).

The Patriarch was concelebrated by protopresbyter-staurophors Jovica Vicentijevic, Slobodan Ceketic and Jovan Milanovic, presbyters Gavrilo Rajic, Nenad Prodic and Mihailo Rapajic, as well as deacons Dragan Rodic, Radomir Vrucinic, Nemanja Kalem and Pavle Matulic.

Patriarch Porfirije presented annual scholarships to final year students of the founding faculties of the University of Belgrade

On February 12, 2022, on the feast of the Holy Three Hierarchs, at a ceremony in the crypt of Saint Sava Cathedral Church, His Holiness Porfirije, the Serbian Patriarch,  presented scholarships to final year students of the Faculty of Medicine, Electrical Engineering, Law, Philosophy, and Theology, selected in a contest. 

In that sort of evangelical love and noble endeavor, the Serbian Business Association and Humanitarian Fund "Privrednik," also participates. Founded in 1897, it also provides scholarships to gifted pupils and students, while His Holiness Porfirije has been its chairman and benefactor for an entire decade.

Patriarch Porfirije officiated the services on the occasion of the feast of the Holy Three Hierarchs

His Holiness Porfirije, the Serbian Patriarch, celebrated the All-Night Vigil in the crypt of the Saint Sava Memorial Cathedral, on the Eve of the feast of the Holy Three Hierarchs, 11 February 2022. 

In the continuation of the prayerful gathering, at midnight, His Holiness Porfirije, the Serbian Patriarch officiated the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy with the concelebration of Their Graces Bishops Stefan of Remesiana, Jerotej of Toplica and Justin of Hvosno (phоto gallery).