Serbian Patriarch Porfirije will visit Skopje to celebrate St. Sava Day, the most significant Serbian holiday, BGNES reported.
The annual event, held at the Macedonian National Theatre in Skopje, will be attended by the parliamentary leaders of Montenegro and Republika Srpska, according to Ivan Stoilkovic, North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Inter-Community Relations. Stoilkovic, an outspoken supporter of Russia and Vladimir Putin, has previously referred to the Serbian genocide in Srebrenica as a “necrophilic Disneyland.”
“This is a message of reconciliation and cooperation for the region, which will be positively received by the Macedonian public,” Stoilkovic said.
Special representatives of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, along with several Serbian ministers, are also visiting Skopje for the occasion. Patriarch Porfirije will be a guest of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and will be accompanied by Archbishop Stefan, its head.
St. Sava Day is an official holiday and a non-working day for the Serbian community in North Macedonia. Last year, President Vučić himself attended the celebrations in Skopje.
BGNES noted that the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) is an active participant in political processes in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The SPC is linked to efforts promoting the geopolitical project of “Greater Serbia” or the “Serbian World,” which seeks to unite all Serbs into a single state.
In 2016, the SPC was reportedly involved in an attempted coup in Montenegro aimed at derailing the country’s path to NATO and the European Union. Evidence showed the SPC supported efforts to oust and assassinate then-Prime Minister Milo Đukanović. In 2020, the SPC organized six months of protests against Đukanović, who was president at the time.