Serbian President Aleksander Vucic hopes that Orthodox Christians will be able to overcome attempts to split the Orthodox world.
He made this statement in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General, Mikhail Gusman, ahead of the Russian leader’s visit to Belgrade on Thursday.
“We are concerned about the latest developments. When I talked to Patriarch Irenaios he told me that he was saddened by everything that was happening lately as is anyone else who lives for the unity of the Orthodox world. I hope that we will be able to overcome this one day,” Vucic stressed.
“As for the Serbs and Russians, the Serbian and Russian Orthodox churches are so close that (…) we Serbs see almost no difference. I believe this speaks of trust and congeniality, which no one can undermine even in the most difficult times. This helped nurture the closest and the most cordial relations between Serbia and Russia, and between our people,” the Serbian leader noted.
Earlier, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irenaios, stated that the split of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine was caused by ambitions of the global powers to “get closer to Russia”. There are no canonical reasons behind this crisis, it is just politically motivated. The Serbian First Hierarch stressed that it is not hard to comprehend the situation, if one removes politics from the context, the canonical part of the problem is perfectly clear.
SOURCE: TASS
