Serbian Church Under Fire For Backing Authoritarian Regime
(ANALYSIS) As protests against the authoritarian regime of President Aleksandar Vučić entered the tenth month this September, ordinary Serbians have expressed their discontent towards the Serbian Orthodox Church for not showing enough support towards them.
Serbia’s Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Porfirije has appealed for national unity, as protests by students demanding fresh elections have intensified in Belgrade and other cities. But he has been accused of aligning with the Vucic government by urging students to end their protests.
The relatively peaceful protests gradually turned violent with protestors vandalising the offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and clashing with police firing tear gas, smoke bombs, flares and sonic weapons.
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European lawmakers have criticized Serbia’s use of force against anti-government protesters. But the Serbian Orthodox Church, which represents 85 percent of this Balkan country’s population, has been largely urged the student protestors to “go back” to their classes and not protest.
Vučić views himself as the leader of all Serbs, including those in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo. A key element in his strategy is the influential Serbian Orthodox Church, which maintains tight control over its 15 million followers worldwide.
This influence is vital to Vučić’s political reach, prompting him to co-opt clerics. By aligning with the Church, Vučić consolidates nationalist support and consensus, strengthening his grip on both domestic and regional Serbian communities and reinforcing his image as a unifying figure.
The recent protests began soon after a railway station canopy in Novi Sad city collapsed in November last year, leading to 16 deaths. The protests highlighted the blatant corruption and nepotism of the government that consolidated authoritarian practices. But Vučić often called the protests an “imported revolution” and launched a crackdown on civil society groups that received foreign funding.
When the European Green Party, a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe that share Green values, took note of the “full-blown autocratic” use of brutal police violence against peaceful protesters and opposition members, and a blatant attempt to avoid elections by Vučić, he accused the party officials of participating in an anti-government demonstration.
Porfirije, who has appealed for an “end to all conflicts”, however, didn’t criticise the government crackdown on protestors yet. Instead, he “complained” to Russia about the protestors.
In April, a Serbian theologian rebuked Serbia’s Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Porfirije for complaining to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the ongoing protests in Serbia.
Porfirije defines the Serbian Orthodox Church as the guardian of the value order in Serbia, but he has sent a message of unity between church and state modeled on Russia, thereby legitimizing nationalist and anti-democratic impulses in both countries.
The Serbian Orthodox Church is seen as one of the pillars of Russian influence on the Balkans, not just Serbia, and critics often draw a parallel between Vučić’s relationship with Porfirije with the relationship between Russian President Putin and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill, who are close allies.
The ongoing protests also exposed the division within the Serbian Orthodox Church. In August, the Serbian Orthodox Church summoned two theologians to appear before the Church Court for criticizing Porfirije and the church leadership for their blind support of Vučić’s regime.
One of the two theologians on spot clarified that the criticisms were always directed at specific actions, aiming to encourage church leaders to reflect on “the pact they have made with the criminal regime of Aleksandar Vučić, which involves demonizing the student movement and all those who support it” and the aim was to “save the episcopal institution from bishops who abuse their position in the church.”
The two theologians were banned from receiving communion — the harshest penalty the church can impose on a believer. One of the theologians sees it as a tactic “to intimidate everyone in the church who acts in accordance with the principles of the gospel and listens to their conscience”.
In February, six high-ranking Serbian church bishops issued a letter criticising the “dehumanising language” used by a government official, who called the student protesters “Serbian Ustashas” – a reference to a Croatian fascist movement.
But the top clerics in the church have always been seen as Vučić’s “cheerleaders.” Patriarch Irinej, who died in November from COVID-19 complications, was also known to be close to Vučić. After his death, Porfirije was considered a strong candidate for the post not only for his ranking within the Serbian Orthodox Church but for his apparent closeness to Vučić.
The ongoing tensions in Serbia and the silence of Porfirije over Vučić’s authoritarian tactics have exposed the friendliness between the church and the State, which goes against the tenets of Serbia’s Constitution.
Sonia Sarkar is a journalist based in India. She writes on conflict, religion, politics, health and gender rights from Southeast Asia. Her work has appeared in a range of international publications, including the South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asia and Al Jazeera.