At the invitation of the Serb Orthodox Church, a delegation of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), headed by its general secretary Keith Clements, made a four-day visit to Serbia and Kosovo from 10 to 13 February to “renew and reinforce the links between CEC, Orthodox Churches and the other member Churches of the CEC present in those countries”. In Belgrade, after a visit to the Orthodox theological faculty, the delegation met His Holiness Pavle, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the members of the Holy Synod. On 12 February, the delegation went to Pristina, capital of Kosovo-Metohija, and visited the holy places of Serb Orthodoxy: the monastery of Gracinica, the ancient church of the Patriarchate of Pec, and the monastery of Decani, all places that are still under the military protection of the forces of the UNO in Kosovo (UNMIK) and of NATO (KFOR). “The fragility of the situation in Kosovo says a CEC press release is demonstrated by the fact that throughout its journey through the province the delegation was accompanied by armed escorts of the United Nations”. On his return to Geneva, Keith Clements said: “The visit emphasized the need to stay put and to encourage the members of our churches that are living there in a difficult and complex situation. It was encouraging to see how the Orthodox Church is trying to resume its own life”. There are also many persons and many young people engaged in “translating their own faith into social work, with great openness to dialogue”. Nonetheless, added Clements, “urgent challenges remain”. For that reason, “Kosovo must not be forgotten”. The country is called to become a “multiethnic society, and great responsibility in this effort is incumbent on the Serbian and Albanian political representatives, the international community, Serbian religious leaders, and the whole ecumenical world”.
