Page 869 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

it happened, above all, in the eve of the year 2000 since
the Nativity of our Lord jesus Christ. ...
On March 10/23, the feast day of the Holy Martyr Qua- dratus of Corinth, the Holy archierarchical Synod of the Serbian Church, issues the following press release after the assembly held in the Patriarchate of Belgrade:
Human experience, both old and new and most recently in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, shows that war and violence, particularly inter-ethnic, leaves in its wake only chaos and general misery, with long-lasting spiritual, moral and social consequences and unhealed wounds Aware of this, in the name of God we demand and beseech that all conflict in Kosovo and Metohija immediately cease, and that the problems there be resolved exclusively by peaceful and po- litical means The way of non-violence and cooperation is the only way blessed by God in agreement with human and divine moral law and experience
Deeply concerned about the threatened Serbian cradle of Kosovo and Metohija and for all those who live there, and especially by the terrible threats of the world’s armed forces to bomb our Homeland, we would remind the responsible leaders of the international organizations that evil in Koso- vo or anywhere else cannot be uprooted by even greater and more immoral evil; the bombing of one small but honorable European people We cannot believe that the international organizations have become so incapable of devising ways for negotiation and human agreement that they must resort to ways which are dark and demeaning to human and na- tional honor, ways which employ great violence in order to prevent a lesser evil and violence
We pray the Lord of peace, the living and true God, in whose hands are judgment and justice, to give to all in Ko- sovo and Metohija, and throughout our Homeland and throughout the world, peace, justice, security in freedom, and to the powerful of the world understanding and wisdom
...On the first night of bombing, on March 11/24, the Bish- op of Raška and Prizren gives the following statement to the Radio Svetigora:
May the Lord help all those who are threatened in these difficult times I’ve visited many places in the world every- where saying that the problem of Kosovo and Metohija can- not be solved by the use of force but by peaceful means, nego- tiations and dialogues Unfortunately, I was able to speak anywhere, but in Belgrade, the place where it was most nec- essary for me to speak This has been expected for a long time now considering the politics coming from Belgrade and the situation developments here in Kosovo and Metohija
Since common sense hasn’t prevailed, we came to the point of expecting to be showered by bombs
May God protect all of us and divert the evil intentions of those who govern and those who threaten these people Our only hope is the hope in God that this is not going to last long and that the consequences of this attack will have lim- ited effects on both people and the army
The Chronicles of the Renewed Crucifixion of Kosovo
...On March 25, the feast day of Sts. Procopius the De- capolite and Theodore of Komogovo, His Holiness Patri- arch alexy ii of Moscow and all Russia, sent the following letter to the Serbian Patriarch and his people:
Your Holiness, beloved in the Lord brother and concele- brant at the altar of God!
It was with a deep pain of heart that the whole Russian Orthodox Church received the news on the bombing of the territory of the Republic of Yugoslavia fraternal to the Rus- sian Orthodox people The blood of peaceful people is being shed on the much-suffered Serbian land again, and the most unprotected, old people, women and children are perishing The brutal military force is destroying dwelling houses, in- dustrial objects and monuments of culture which have been carefully preserved by the Serbian people In spite of the pro- tests of many sensible people, the rude pragmatism of the NATO military politicians prevailed over the responsible good sense and patient and painstaking diplomatic work for the peaceful solution of the Kosovo problem Yet the be- lieving heart knows that the blood of the innocent victims cries to God and that God is never mocked No good objec- tives can be achieved through evil means!
Kosovo for the Orthodox Serbs is not only a geographical object on the map, but the sacred place of their forefathers and the land of old churches and monasteries which have intransient spiritual and cultural importance The Russian Orthodox Church is in profound sympathy with the position of the fraternal Serbian Orthodox Church’s authorities on the inadmissibility of solving the problem of Kosovo through NATO military means, as this conflict is not just a territo- rial one A significant role in the just solution of the conflict must be played by a thoughtful evaluation of the national, religious, ethnic, psychological and spiritual factors of the confrontation in Kosovo We are saddened by the fact that these circumstances are not always taken into consideration in the process of negotiations and that immediate political objectives sometimes have priority over justice and adher- ence to the truth of God
Your Holiness! On behalf of the whole Russian Orthodox Church I state our fraternal support and our love to you and to the whole Serbian Orthodox Church Our archpas- tors and pastors, the monastics and laymen, all Orthodox Christians of the Russian Church join in their prayers to the Lord for the suffering Serbian brothers and sisters and for all innocent sufferers in the Serbian land We offer up our prayers for the intercession to the Protectress of Christen- dom, our Most Holy Lady and the Mother of God and to all saints, so that the Almighty God in his righteous judgement and ineffable mercy takes away sorrow from the Serbian land and we can ’walk before the Lord in the land of the liv- ing’ (Ps 116:9)
It is with all my heart that I ask Your Holiness to convey to the suffering flock of the Serbian Orthodox Church our support, love and the firm faith in that the long-awaited peace will reign in your Fatherland through the efforts of all
867