VZCZCXRO7247
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0467/01 1521148
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011148Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1328
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNS/NSC WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000467 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV PREL SR KV
SUBJECT: SERBIA: PATRIARCH REMAINS BUT SYNOD REVAMPED 
 
REF: 08 BELGRADE 1217 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) During its annual spring session from May 14-22, the Holy 
Assembly of Bishops (Sabor) of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) 
stood firm in its stance that ailing Patriarch Pavle should fulfill 
his lifetime appointment.  The Sabor also confirmed that 
Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Coastlands will 
continue to head the Holy Synod, the church government, in the 
absence of the Patriarch.  However, in a move that likely portends 
growing recognition within the Church that fresh perspective is 
needed, the Sabor elected four new members of the Synod, including 
41-year old Bishop Grigorije of Zahumlje and Herzegovina and 47-year 
old Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia.  During one of its more 
results-oriented sessions in recent times, the Sabor also considered 
the situation in Kosovo, restitution, and relations with the broader 
Orthodox Church community.  End Summary. 
 
Sabor Stands Pat on Pavle but Overhauls Synod 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In the run-up to the Sabor, there was renewed speculation 
in the press whether the session would be dominated by debate over 
whether to replace Patriarch Pavle, as in November 2008 (reftel). 
Most attention, however, focused on the Holy Synod - the church 
government - since all of its members' two-year mandates had expired 
 and therefore were due to be replaced. 
¶3. (U) Learning a lesson from its last session, the Sabor acted 
quickly to address the Patriarch's future.  On May 15, newly 
reappointed SOC spokesman Bishop Irinej of Backa issued a statement 
that the Sabor had decided to stand by its previous decision to 
request that Patriarch Pavle fulfill his lifetime appointment.  The 
statement explained that the Sabor reached this decision only after 
considering the situation created by the lengthy illness of the 
Patriarch, hospitalized since November 2007, including the 
functioning of church bodies.  According to press reports, only 15 
of 35 bishops with voting rights supported placing succession of the 
Patriarch on the agenda, far short of the required two-thirds 
supermajority. 
¶4. (SBU) The Sabor did, however, end with a bang as one of its final 
decisions on May 22 concerned the appointment of four new members of 
the Synod.  In addition to Bishop Irinej of Backa and Bishop Irinej 
of Nis, considered part of the older guard in the Church, the Sabor 
tapped Bishop Fotije of Dalmatia (47) and Bishop Grigorije of 
Zahumlje and Herzegovina (41) to join the Synod.  Bishop Hrizostom 
of Zica and Bishop Hrizostom of Bihac and Petrovac were appointed as 
reserve members.  Although his mandate expires this year, the Sabor 
chose to allow Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the 
Coastlands to remain as head of the Synod, in effect extending his 
mandate indefinitely. 
¶5. (U) Citing Fotije and Grigorije's relative youthfulness by Church 
standards, religion experts openly debated whether the appointments 
were a harbinger of change.  In an interview with "Blic" on May 24, 
sociologist Mirko Djordjevic stated that the new composition of the 
Synod "awakens hopes that the younger bishops will offer new ideas 
and new approaches, in particular as regards ecumenism.  This in 
practice would mean that the Church would turn away from clericalism 
and toward the state and European integration."  However, Dr. Zorica 
Kuburic, professor of philosophy at Novi Sad University, told 
"Borba" newspaper on May 25 that she remained skeptical, arguing 
that there will not be drastic changes in course because even the 
new Synod members "belong to the Church system." 
Kosovo and Bishop Artemije Figure Prominently 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The May 23 final communique on the results of the Sabor 
suggested that the session also focused heavily on the situation in 
Kosovo, including the role played by Bishop Artemije of Raska and 
Prizren, a divisive and nationalist figure whose diocese includes 
Kosovo. 
 
¶7. (U) The communique emphasized that the Sabor "dedicated its 
utmost attention to the status of the Church and people in our 
southern province after the illegal declaration of Kosovo's 
independence."  It praised the GOS' efforts to halt and prevent this 
"flagrant lawlessness" and its consequences in the face of "cold and 
indifferent silence of the most powerful and outspoken defenders of 
human rights."  It noted that the Sabor met with Minister for Kosovo 
Goran Bogdanovic and presidential advisers Mladjan Djordjevic and 
Damjan Krnjevic-Miskevic to coordinate policy and expressed 
confidence that Serbia and the Serbian people "will never accept the 
violent seizure of Kosovo." 
 
¶8. (U) As proof of its intent to move from words to action, the 
Sabor appealed to Bishop Artemije to accept control of religious 
sites in Kosovo damaged during March 2004 violence and rebuilt with 
the help of the international community.  The Sabor stressed that 
 
BELGRADE 00000467  002 OF 002 
 
 
successful completion of this process, which eventually would 
involve more than one hundred churches and monasteries, would create 
sustainable conditions for the priesthood and encourage Serbs to 
return to their homes in Kosovo.  "Blic" daily reported on May 24 
that the Sabor gave Artemije, who vehemently opposed the 2005 
memorandum on renewal signed by the SOC and the Kosovo Ministry of 
Culture, until the end of May to soften his stance or face 
disciplinary proceedings. 
 
Artemije Causes Trouble 
----------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Bishop Artemije also was at the center of two controversies 
that came to light during the Sabor and worsened his already 
strained relations with the Synod.  On May 20 he publicly announced 
his refusal to "bless" Vice President Biden's visit to Visoki Decani 
monastery, stating that the visit "confirmed the violent seizure of 
a part of Serbian territory and its handing over to terrorists who 
went unpunished for carrying out countless crimes against the 
Serbian people, property, and cultural heritage."  The Sabor reacted 
immediately, adopting a decision to "annul" Artemije's decision, 
which it characterized as "counter to traditional Christian 
hospitality," and criticizing his rhetoric. 
 
¶10. (U) The verbal fireworks between Artemije and the Church 
continued following a May 21 report in "Vreme" weekly, which alleged 
that patients at a drug addiction treatment facility near the Crna 
Reka Monastery close to Novi Pazar were "healed" through beatings 
with shovels and other inhumane treatment.  The video Vreme used as 
a basis for its story has now been viewed over 30,000 times on 
youtube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etEGO2e9At8).  The Synod 
called for Artemije to close the facility immediately and to 
initiate proceedings against those responsible, including its 
director, Father Branislav Peranovic.  Artemije hit back through the 
media, denying any connection between Crna Reka and its brotherhood 
and the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center for Treating Addiction and 
alleging that this incident was "brought out of mothballs" to 
discredit him.  Artemije, who finally relieved Peranovic of his 
duties on May 27 but refused to close the center itself, also 
speculated that it was possible that Washington had exerted 
influence on Belgrade to pressure the Synod in response to 
Artemije's opposition to the Vice President's visit. 
 
Restitution and Church Relations 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) The Sabor also considered less sensational but critically 
important issues such as restitution and relations with the broader 
Orthodox Church community.  In particular, the Sabor expressed 
interest in intensifying the restitution process foreseen for 
nationalized church property.  It welcomed progress in overcoming 
differences with the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ohrid, represented at 
the session by Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje Jovan 
and bishops from the Ohrid Archbishopric, but singled out for 
censure the "anticanonic and unbrotherly activities of certain 
representatives of the Romanian Patriarchy in eastern Serbia." (It 
is not yet known what activities the Sabor was referring to.) The 
Sabor also adopted a decision confirming the SOC constitution in 
North and South America and enacted a new administrative structure 
for eparchies based in Libertyville, Illinois; Third Lake, Illinois; 
Pittsburgh; Los Angeles; and Toronto. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Judged against an admittedly indecisive past record, the 
recently-concluded spring session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops 
was productive.  Rather than becoming bogged down on internal 
divisions, it addressed pressing issues such as restitution and the 
appointment of new members of the Holy Synod.  Its selection in 
particular of two relatively young members raised expectations that 
the Church may begin to emerge from the stasis caused by the 
Patriarch's absence.  End Comment. 
 
 
MUNTER