Serbian patriarch inaugurated in Kosovo

Oct 3, 2010, 12:46 GMT

Pec/Belgrade - The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Patriarch Irinej, was inaugurated Sunday in a solemn ceremony in Pec, the mediaeval seat of the SPC in Kosovo.

Irinej was elected in January to replace his deceased predecessor, Pavle. The inauguration was delayed because of Serbia's hostile relations with its former province and its predominantly Albanian population.

Serbian President Boris Tadic and some 2,500 Serbs travelled to Kosovo to attend the service in the 14th century monastery, but two Belgrade politicians were turned back, police said in the Kosovan capital Pristina.

The SPC was founded in Kosovo in the 13th century.

Dozens of Serbian politicians had announced plans to attend the ceremony, but changed them when the SPC appealed to them to help lower tensions by remaining in Serbia.

Opposition leaders Tomislav Nikolic and Velimir Ilic travelled to Kosovo despite the plea, but were turned away by police, police spokesman Brahim Sadriu told the German Press Agency dpa.

Ilic did manage to slip across the border, but was intercepted and escorted back, Sadriu said.

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