On November 20, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia led the bishop’s Divine Liturgy in the Russian Holy Trinity Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Tashmaidan, Belgrade. During the divine service, he consecrated the completed frescoes, which he called “an important milestone in the history of the temple.”
This is reported by orthodoxtimes.com.
The Holy Trinity Church, built in 1924-1925, was founded by Russian emigrants after the October Revolution. However, today its role as a “beacon of the Russian Orthodox faith and culture in Serbia” is questionable. Is this temple really only a spiritual landmark, or has it become a tool for the spread of the ideology of “Russian world” in the Balkans, which is exploited by the Moscow Patriarchate for political influence?
Expressing joy and gratitude to God for the brotherly love uniting the Serbian and Russian Churches, Patriarch Porfirije congratulated the Russian faithful on the centenary of the Holy Trinity Church. “I wish to congratulate our Russian brothers for having this sacred place, where for a hundred years Russians who came to Serbia have gathered and prayed to God to this very day,” he stated.
The Patriarch extended fraternal greetings to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, expressing love, prayers, and a plea for continued intercessions. “May the Lord protect the Russian Church and the Russian people for many years!” he concluded, which sounds like praise for the Moscow Patriarchate, which actively cooperates with the Russian regime and blesses the murders of Ukrainians.
It is particularly worrying that this visit and speech could be used to strengthen Russia’s position in the Balkans. The Moscow Patriarchate has traditionally used religious ties to spread its geopolitical doctrine, particularly through cultural and religious sites such as the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Belgrade.
Against the background of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the Russian Orthodox Church’s apparent support for aggression, such “spiritual” actions turn into a propaganda tool. This once again reminds us of the need to distinguish between truly church initiatives and those that mask political ideology under the guise of faith in God. The problem is that later such figures as Porphyry, when they are accused of propaganda in favor of the aggressor, start shouting about “persecution for faith”.
Recently, the Russian Orthodox Church expressed gratitude to the Serbian Church for its position on Ukraine.
