Department for External Church Relations
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Statement on the attack of Albanian extremists against an Orthodox monk in Kosovo
The Statement of the Communication Service of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations reads:
On 15 May 2012, a group of young Albanians attacked monk Dionysius from the Serbian Monastery of Ss Cosmas and Damian near Orahovac in Kosovo and Metochija. They inflicted blows on him and threw stones.
The attack was launched in the territory of the monastery, which is formally under protection of the so called Kosovo Police Service. The impertinence of the extremists accentuates the fact of the attack being launched in three hours after the commander of the German Army KFOR soldiers visited the monastery.
The beating of the Serbian Orthodox monk continues the series of incidents that has cast gloom over the life of Orthodox Christians in the region during recent months. On the day of the attack, unknown persons distributed leaflets issued by an Albanian terrorist organization. The leaflet contains threats to deal brutality with the Serbs who would dare to stay in Kosovo and Metochija.
The Russian Orthodox Church is concerned about the beating of monk Dionysius. A proper legal assessment should be given to the incident, which reminds of the necessity of taking measures to guarantee security of churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Patriarch
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