Patriarch calls on northern Kosovo Serbs to persist

SOURCE: TANJUG

PEĆ -- Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church backed on Friday the right of northern Kosovo Serbs to defend themselves by putting up roadblocks.

Patriarch Irinej (Tanjug)

He called on the local Serb population to persist in the fight for their rights.

Irinej today served liturgy at the Patriarchate of Peć, located in western parts of the province.

The spiritual leader of the Serb Orthodox Christians was in Kosovo on the occasion of the Intercession of the Theotokos, which is one of medieval SPC monastery's patron saint days.

In a statement for reporters after the service, Irinej called on northern Kosovo Serbs to persist until, as he said, strongmen come to realize that Serbs are defending their country and that they put up barricades on their own land, in order to protect their homes and area in which they have been living for centuries.