There had even been thoughts of a Pope’s trip to Serbia, which would also be a first step toward Moscow, with which Belgrade has always had excellent relations. And now there is a possibility that a meeting between Pope Francis and the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije could instead take place in Koper (Koper), where the Forum for Dialogue and Peace in the Balkans will be held on June 18 and 19. For sure, Porfirije should be in Koper, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. Meanwhile, last April 26 received Bishop Andrej (Ćilerdžić) of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Dicastery.
Bishop Andrej administered Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Malta and was accompanied by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Community in Rome, Archpriest Adam Fischer. The meeting was also attended by Father Jaromír Zádrapa, DPUC Eastern Section Official in charge of relations with the Slavic Orthodox Churches.
According to a communication from the Dicastery, the discussion between the cardinal and the Serbian Orthodox archbishop “focused in particular on cooperation between the Catholic Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Europe and Serbia.”
Cardinal Koch was in Serbia on Oct. 27-28, 2022, visiting Patriarch Porfirije, and there, too, they discussed the “various challenges facing the Churches in the local Serbian context and in today’s situation in Europe.”
The Cardinal and Patriarch had also gone together to the new St. Sava Cathedral, where they had prayed before the tomb of Patriarch Irenej, who died of COVID and was highly esteemed by Pope Francis.
Cardinal Koch had already met Patriarch Irenej on his 2015 trip to Serbia. In short, bridges of dialogue with Serbia are underway. From the diplomatic point of view, the Holy See supports the European integration of all Balkan countries. From the spiritual point of view, there are various tensions with the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is always opposed to the canonization of Cardinal Aloizije Stepinac, Archbishop of Zagreb, a martyr of silence who is accused by the Serbian side of Nazi collaborationism.
