Jesus Hates Serbs painted on church in Pristina

An anti-Serb graffiti was painted on the entrance to a Serbian Orthodox Church in Pristina following a service to mark a patron saint day.

The words Jesus Hates Serbs were painted in red on the church gates soon after Raska-Prizren Bishop Teodosije served in the Church of Christ the Savior for the first time since 1998. The land on which the church stands is under dispute with the authorities in Pristina claiming that the plot belongs to the University of Pristina and that the temple was built on it illegally. The case has been taken to court by the University which lost its law suit.

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The police turned out to investigate the event. The service met with condemnation from Kosovo Culture Minister Hajrulah Ceku who said it was in violation of the law on public gatherings and adding that the authorities will not tolerate any promotion of conflict which endangers cohabitation. His reaction was followed by a Pristina University student organization which called for a protest on Friday.

The construction of the church started in 1990 and was interrupted in 1998, coming under attack several times and even being used as a public toilet, its walls scaled by mountain climbers and for the recording of a music video.