Historians: The state has always interfered in the election of the patriarch: the Society.

Historian Dejan Ristic assessed that the government’s attempts to influence events in the church were “constant in the history of Christianity” and that the recent election of a new patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) was not marked by brutal attempts. in relation to The experience of Serbia during the 20th century.

He, as a guest in the Impression of the Week, gave the example that in 1920 the authorities demanded the re-election of the patriarch through state institutions, but that the media coverage in the process was bad, that is, it caused divisions.

(The election of patriarch) was 57, most of them were organized in the monastery of the Patriarchate of Peja. The holding of elections in the Temple of San Sava is not a precedent. What is happening in the media is not acceptable, you have had (demonized) a whole series of bishops. On the other hand, the media expected riots in front of the Temple of San Sava … It is good that the media showed interest, but there were incursions into lies, “said Ristic.

The historian Milan St. Protic believes that the government interfered in the election of the patriarch of the SOC, and that the attributes of the ruling parties carried over to that activity.

“What kind of government is this?” Its simplicity, banality, and banality carried over to this topic as well. “I am much more concerned that the church did not defend itself from those attempts, that the patriarch’s envoys (in recent years) were profane, with political speeches, where the evangelical essence of our church is hardly ever mentioned,” Protić said. .

He also affirmed that he hopes that the Serbian Orthodox Church “sees the danger that hangs over the church” and that the new patriarch “returns it to its essence”, regardless of his attitude towards the authorities.

“The street entered our church. It worries me when I see a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church who chooses who can and who cannot enter the church. That means he doesn’t know what a church is … (That priest) told reporters to ‘complain about the plumbing.’ Is that what a priest says, a clergyman? Is the church private property or does it belong to believers? Is it the body of Christ? some bishops encourage that, but tolerate it. I would like to ask that question of the patriarch as well, as a believer, “Protić said.

At the Electoral Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church on February 18, the former metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana, Porfirije, was elected the new patriarch, and a day later he was enthroned in the Cathedral.

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