Published: 17/02/2010
Modified: 12/10/2020
Activity of anti-church sites aimed at undermining the authority of the SOC continues
The administrator of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren Bishop Atanasije yesterday criticized the opening of a new anti-church website under the name of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, where articles are being signed by certain "monks of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren":
"These are uninformed and misguided people who with their lies are further aggravating the position of Bishop Artemije, in whose best interest they are supposedly writing. They are thus only demonstrating that they do not know what the Church is nor order within the Church and thus continuing the misdeeds of Simeon Vilovski, who brought his bishop and the Diocese into this position."
For the last few years, an ultra-radical group of monks and laity in the Serbian Orthodox Church has launched the work of several anti-church sites, including Gazimestan, Ihtus, Maranata, Borba za veru (the Struggle for Faith), Novinar.de, etc. In the files of Simeon Vilovski in Gracanica Monastery, a folder was found with a series of articles he wrote for these forums along with a few other monks of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren. Especially prominent among these were hieromonk Benedikt Preradovic, the administrator of Holy Archangels Monastery, who was removed two days ago from Gracanica Monastery for failing to accept the blessing from the competent bishop and for his arrogant behavior. Most active beside him was hieromonk Ksenofont Tomasevic from the same monastery, who was removed in 2005 from Decani Monastery by the unanimous decision of the brotherhood for creating discord and unbalanced psychological behavior. It is known that they also actively aided by some monks from Crna Reka Monastery with the blessing of hegumen Nikolaj, especially by hieromonk Naum. These and other "loyal children of Bishop Artemije" as they call themselves, are also behind the latest anti-church site, which propagates the most impudent fabrications against Bishop Atanasije and the Synod of the SOC.
These para-church sites have for years been regularly publishing the worst lies and insults, including those directed against Patriarch Pavle, now against Patriarch Irinej and against the most eminent bishops of our Church. Unfortunately, the writings of these deluded people is being uncritically repeated by certain printed media, especially prominently by Frankfurtske Vesti, in which reporter Rada Loncar has for years been giving a distorted picture of events in the Diocese in a highly unprofessional way and conducting a personal media campaign against Bishop Teodosije and Decani Monastery.
In the continuing investigation into the uncanonical activities of Simeon Vilovski and his accomplices in the Diocese, special attention will also be devoted to the anti-church activities of this group of “monks from the Diocese of Raska and Prizren”, some of whom began two days ago to actively distribute emails and phone messages lies about the alleged imprisonment of Bishop Artemije in order to cause unrest in the monastery. One member of Pokret 1389 (the 1389 movement), who was embittered by the attempt to misuse this movement in Gracanica on February 14, testified that they were personally instructed by hieromonk Ksenofont in Holy Archangels Monastery on how they should free the monastery “from the usurpers Atanasije and Teodosije”.