State Support for the Clergy and the Monastic Communities in Kosovo and Metohija

The Serbian Government’s support for the clergy and monastic communities in Kosovo and Metohija represented the central issue during talks held at the Gracanica Monastery between the Minister for Religion Radomir Naumov and the Bishop of Raska and Prizren, Artemije.

"The Church is our connective tissue and should play a key role in the return of the internally displaced Serbs back to Kosovo and Metohija", Minister Naumov said after the talks held in the enclave of Gracanica. The Minister announced an improved and a closer coopoeration between the state and the Diocese of Raska and Prizren. According to the Minister, the formalities of such a cooperation have also been discussed.

The contract covers salaries for priests and monks in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as sacral building contruction works, cultural activities, and pension funds. “Today we have signed a contract between the Diocese of Raska and Prizren and the State of Serbia, in which we agreed to financial aid on a regular monthly basis, which did exist up until now, even though it hadn’t been defined by contract’’, the Minister said.

The contract also provides for the assembly of a “legal team for Kosovo, to explore the possibilities for bringing indictments against those states that are responsible for the destruction of Orthodox churches in Kosovo from 1999 onwards“ revealed Bishop Artemije.

Sources: KIM Radio, BalkanInsight