Kojadinovic Expresses Gratitude to Patriarch Alexei and President Putin for Support of Serbia

Kojadinovic expresses gratitude to Russian Patriarch for helping Serbia
Belgrade/Moscow, Nov 3, 2006 – Serbian Minister of Culture Dragan Kojadinovic met today with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei the Second, who organised a reception for participants of the Slavic Cultural Forum.
A statement of the Ministry of Culture says that Kojadinovic expressed gratitude to Russian Patriarch Alexei for his concern for the Serbian people, Serbian Orthodox Church, and for help provided by the Russian Orthodox Church for the construction of the Saint Sava Temple in Vracar, and particularly for Serbian churches and monasteries in Kosovo-Metohija.Russian Patriarch Alexei stressed that Kosovo-Metohija is the cradle of orthodox spirituality and the statehood of the Serbian nation. Alexei the Second said that Kosovo-Metohija is an unalienable part of Serbia and voiced hope that it will remain so forever. After the March 2004 violence in Kosovo-Metohija I appealed to the public world wide to condemn the destruction of world cultural heritage, but the reaction was lukewarm when compared to situations where historical monuments were destroyed in Afghanistan, recalled the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia, Alexei the Second.Kojadinovic presented the Patriarch with a phototype edition of the 15th century Gospel of Duke Nikola Stanjevic.During his stay in Moscow, the Minister of Culture will attend a reception at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which will be held on November 4 on Russia’s National Unity Day.Minister Kojadinovic will be the only representative of Serbia at the reception and will use the opportunity to express gratitude to Russian President Putin for his personal, and state-level efforts of Russia to safeguard Kosovo-Metohija as an integral part of Serbia, reads the statement.
top of the page