
“We must divide ourselves - into those who stand for justice, truth, and non-violence, and those who stand for injustice, lies, and violence. Today, the choice is clearer than ever for all of us, as it is evident what is good and what is evil, who is good and who is bad,” theologian Blagoje Pantelic told the latest issue of the weekly Radar.
Blagoje Pantelic, a Christian theologian and editor of the first Serbian theological online magazine Teologija.net, serves as an editor at the publishing house Biblos. Known for his sharp criticism of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Pantelic spoke to Radar about the Church’s position and SPC Patriarch Porfirije’s stance on student protests and the government, revealing various deviations within church leadership.
With their recent response to a letter of support from Patriarch Pavle in 1996, students have demonstrated that they expect a clear stance from the SPC leadership regarding current protests. Why isn’t there one, and the Church has only expressed being “deeply concerned” about the situation, as Patriarch Porfirije said in a sermon at the Cathedral Church in late December?
“I didn’t understand that truly brilliant gesture of theirs as one where they would expect support from the church leadership. On the contrary, they wrote to a patriarch who has been dead for 15 years, not to the person who currently holds that office. In my opinion, in doing so, they made it clear to the incumbent that they have no expectations from him. On the other hand, I believe the patriarch is indeed ‘deeply concerned,’ but because the regime he personally supports and which supports him is seriously collapsing,” he said.
“In his sermon, the patriarch conveyed several Alan Ford style messages, but also a very dangerous thesis: that drugged thugs, local dealers, corrupt party officials, as well as students, high schoolers, their professors, artists, and others peacefully seeking truth and justice are actually brothers who need to reconcile. They are not brothers. I don’t know how he envisioned a dialogue that would lead to reconciliation between students and those who are beating them up on the streets,” Pantelic told Radar.
Doesn’t the New Testament suggest this?
“Absolutely not. The patriarch’s statement is not just a stale cliché, but in this particular situation, it is deeply unchristian. According to him, it turns out that the street criminals from the story of the Good Samaritan are our neighbors. Divisions aren’t always bad. The New Testament ethics even insists on divisions, between light and darkness, between God and Mammon, for example. How can an unrepentant executioner and an innocent victim be brothers? They can’t! We must divide ourselves! Into those who stand for justice, truth, nonviolence, and those who stand for injustice, lies, and violence. Today, the choice is clearer than ever for all of us, as it is evident what is good and what is evil, who is good and who is bad,” Pantelic stressed.
How is there such unity in the Church after decades of divide into factions?
“Since Porfirije became patriarch, a sense of opportunistic apathy has prevailed at the Assembly. Bishops gather in the Temple, stay for a few days, and can’t wait to return to their homes,” he said, adding: “To my knowledge, only a handful of bishops oppose the idea of the Assembly devolving into days of nodding and raising hands. Unfortunately, they are not powerful enough to influence decision-making.”
“Outside the Assembly, bishops are divided primarily over their support for Serbian President Vucic. It seems to me there are two groups of bishops, each with two factions of supporters. On the one side, there are those who openly support (Serbian President Aleksandar) Vucic – most notably the current patriarch and Bishop Irinej of Backa – while others support him behind the scenes. On the other side, there are those who critically oppose the regime. Statistically speaking, there are far more priests, monks, and believers who support the students, indicating that the stance of the Church leadership cannot be interpreted as support for Vucic’s regime,” Pantelic explained.
What message does the patriarch send by living in a villa in Belgrade’s elite neighborhood Dedinje rather than in the Patriarchate in Pec, at least occasionally? What positive impacts could his presence in Pec have, and why doesn’t he make that sacrifice?
“When it comes to sacrifice, I don’t want to be a hypocrite. If I had to choose between living in an enclave or in a villa in Dedinje, I’d go for the villa. The message seems clear: ‘That is the historical seat, and nothing more, so I will serve there once or twice a year, and that’s it from me,’” said Pantelic.
“Many believe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the patriarch’s seat to be in Metohija, with the administration and other matters remaining in Belgrade. The patriarch could receive guests in the Patriarchate in Pec. He could, for example, invite the Pope to visit Serbia and host him in Pec. Both he and the Pope consider Kosovo and Metohija to be an autonomous province of Serbia, as the Vatican has not recognized Kosovo’s independence. Therefore, there are no formal obstacles to what could be an excellent diplomatic move by the patriarch,” Pantelic told Radar.