Batushka concert canceled over church call for protests

Shutterstock/Taya Ovod

Organizers canceled a concert by Polish black metal band Batushka due to security concerns after calls for protests from a Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) abbot.

A Facebook post by the Hangtime concert agency said that Krzysztof Drabikowski’s band would not be performing in central Belgrade’s Dorcol Platz venue because organizers can’t guarantee the safety of ticket holders and venue staff.

“Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Батюшка has been targeted by extremist orthodox church representatives calling for protests. Inciting and pushing their followers to „peacefully“ protest in front of the venue the day of our show and form blockades. While these leaders seem not to be a real danger, their followers, blinded by faith like sheep, are often supported by far right hooligans and such kind of violent animals. They already attacked the local promoter and their crew,” the press release said. It added that the SPC started a legal process against the venue and local promoter claiming harm to “religious and national feelings, causing national and religious hatred and intolerance towards all citizens of the Republic of Serbia who are Orthodox Serbs, including brainwashing their children“.

The Beta news agency recalled that Abbot Arsenije of the St Peter and Paul monastery in Mionica called for protests at Dorcol Platz in social media posts claiming that “a Satanist group is coming to Belgrade”. He also claimed that the band, which combines Christian chanting with its music, “desecrates holy relics on stage”. The Orthodox Culture (Pravoslavna kultura) association said it would file criminal charges over the concert which, it said, “offends public morals, the traditions, culture and faith of our people”.

Batushka combines black metal music with church chanting. The lyrics to its songs about Christian Orthodoxy are written in old Slavonic.