Patriarch Pavle of Serbia: changing status of Kosovo without consent of Serbian people is impossible

It is impossible to change state and legal status of Kosovo ‘without consent of Serbian people and other peoples living in Serbia’, said His Holiness Patriarch Pavle of Serbia in his Christmas message to the believers and clergymen of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church noted that ‘peace, freedom, security, equal conditions for all residents of Kosovo, protection of Serbian shrines and returning refugees to their homes’ are needed to decide on the future of the region. He underscored that only absolute respect to the human values and norms of international law can bring about the right decision favorable for everyone in Kosovo. His Holiness Patriarch Pavle criticized plans of tearing the region away from Serbia. ‘At all times Kosovo has been Serbian land before God and people’, he noted. ‘On the illustrious feast of the Nativity of Christ we all need sincere repentance, purification, spiritual renewal, moral transformation and sincere prayers for our relatives and neighbors including those who are suffering in Kosovo. If we do not reach it, we shall have no future both in this life and in the eternity of the Heavenly Kingdom’, His Holiness Patriarch Pavle said concluding his Christmas message.