Nikolla Xhufka, who claims to be a priest from Albania, has caused an incident in the Deçan Monastery. Under the disguise of an Orthodox priest, he attempted to enter the Monastery and record a video.
Following the media reports from Kossev, Joq-albania.com, Newsbomb.al, the Serbian Orthodox Church responded with a statement saying that "a few days ago, a citizen from Albania, Nikolla Xhufka, has falsely presented himself as an Orthodox priest, and has tried to make a video in the Deçan Monastery with provocative nationalist purposes". Attached in their response is also the statement of the Holy Metropolis of Elbasan, Shpat and Librazhd.
According to the Metropolis, Xhufka is not an Orthodox clergyman and is not recognized as such by any Christian Church in any country.
"He claims to have been handed over by a Serbian-Romanian person who has no connection to the Orthodox Church and is not a clergyman there. We are simply dealing with a deception of public opinion. Nikolla represents only himself, he has neither a church nor a community of believers, despite the pompous statements he makes from time to time in the media," is said in the statement from November 16, 2022.
The statement of the Metropolis came as a result of Xhufka's pronouncements in Albanian and Kosovan media - Kojshia Show, where he spoke with contempt and ridicule for religious clerics.
According to them, his irresponsible statements, under the guise of a religious cloak, cause divisions, while inciting rivalries between religious beliefs, lack of mutual respect and consequently inter-religious hatred.
After being expelled from the Deçan Monastery, Xhufka gave his version of events on social media, saying that he was not allowed inside because he was considered an Albanian nationalist. He wrote on February 6 that the Monastery is usurped by Serbs, while also calling the priests hypocrites.
After the incident, the Monastery also notified KFOR, asking them to be careful and avoid provocations that incite inter-religious hatred in Kosovo.
A few days after the incident, the Commander of this force, Angelo Michele Ristuccia, met the religious leaders of Kosovo, to emphasize their role in supporting peace, tolerance and dialogue for all people living in Kosovo.
*This article is published as part of the Western Balkans Regional Initiative against disinformation. “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: exposing malign influences through watchdog journalism.”
