Priests and SOC getting richer, Vučić opens the 'budget purse' to buy silence on Kosovo

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - In the last three and a half years alone, at least 43 million euros have been paid from Serbia's state treasury for the construction of the Saint Sava Temple, and with enormous amounts from current budget reserves, the state is helping to restore other churches and temples of the SOC in Serbia and abroad. When regular annual budget expenditures, measured in millions, are added to all of this, it is clear that the citizens of Serbia, willingly or unwillingly, are donating huge sums of money to the Church.

Sources for Nova.rs state that in this way, Aleksandar Vučić's government is buying peace and quiet regarding Kosovo.

No one has supported the Serbian Orthodox Church as much in the last 50 years as the current government, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić recently boasted, while visiting the construction works at the Saint Sava Temple. On that very occasion, he revealed that the state had allocated 43 million euros for the construction of the Temple in the last three and a half years alone.

This enormous expenditure from the pockets of all Serbian citizens should not be surprising, considering the large donations that are frequently made to the SOC. Thus, at the beginning of July, the government first decided to pay one billion dinars, or about 8.5 million euros, from the budget reserve for the works on the Saint Sava Temple, and then, seven days later, allocated another 200 million dinars, or 1.7 million euros, from the budget reserves for the same purpose.

The decision on the largest donation to the Church was made in March last year, when the government decided to pay 10 million euros for the continuation of the construction of the Saint Sava Temple.

However, this is only part of the money allocated from the Serbian budget to the Church.

For temples in Sweden, Croatia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina…

For example, in July last year, the government approved a donation to the SOC of 59.1 million dinars, or about 500,000 euros, for the renovation of the Holy Trinity Church in Mostar.

As reported by Insajder, at the beginning of May last year, a subsidy of 12 million dinars was paid from the budget to help build an SOC monastery in Sweden, and at the same session, a payment of 18 million dinars was approved for the Church to help complete the works on the Museum of the Eparchy of Budim in Szentendre, Hungary.

In the same month, at a government session, it was decided to help the Eparchy of Upper Karlovac in Croatia with about 234,000 euros for the construction and arrangement of the Orthodox church in Vrginmost.

The government also made generous donations to the SOC during 2018, when, as announced, about one million euros were paid from budget funds due to the "difficult situation".

How much is paid to the Church as a regular donation is not precisely known, and according to Insajder's research, the state allocated about 90 million euros for the needs of all churches and religious communities from 2002 to the beginning of 2017, of which the Serbian Orthodox Church received by far the most.

Milo neglected the church, Vučić won't

Long-time Reuters journalist and political analyst Jakša Šćekić states for Nova.rs that these large allocations to the church are actually about buying its silence on Kosovo.

“The Montenegrin experience has shown us how important it is. The only force that can cause problems for Vučić regarding Kosovo is the SOC. Milo Đukanović neglected it and got what he got. This way, Vučić is actually buying peace and silence from the priests, who do not pay taxes anyway. Irinej accepted it, and others accepted it. It suits everyone and everyone benefits from it,” concludes Šćekić.

Political scientist Vuk Velebit reminds that according to the Constitution, the church should be separate from the state, but it is “not only not separate from the state, but it is one of the biggest political forces in the country.”

“I am convinced that for the sake of peace regarding Kosovo and avoiding criticism of Vučić for what he is doing around KiM, peace is being made through donations to the SOC. The most problematic thing is that it is the money of Serbian taxpayers, and no one asked them if they wanted to allocate money to the church, or at least to this extent,” Velebit tells Nova.rs.

He points out that all this shows how strong the role of the church is in the country.

“It is not problematic if the SOC has a strong role in society, but it is if it has a strong political role, and especially if it pursues backward policies,” Velebit states.