The New York Times Attacks Metropolitan Amfilohije

by Srdja Trifkovic

In its obituary of Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, on November 16 Th e New York Times stated matter-of-factly that the favorite for succession is “infl

uential Bishop Amfi lohije, a hard-liner known for his anti-Western and ultranationalist stands.” Exactly the same formulation was repeated twice in subsequent

articles in the same newspaper, on November 17 and 19.

 

Such summary assertion is unworthy of a newspaper of record.

First of all, it is not true. An American who knows Metropolitan Amfi lohije well is Dr. Thomas Fleming, editor of the monthly magazine Chronicles. He was surprised to read such description of the Metropolitan:

“In doing research on Montenegrin history and politics, I have met the Metropolitan on many occasions.  In all the time I  spent with him,  I never heard a single remark that could be honestly construed as either anti-Western or nationalist, much less ‘ultranationalist’ – a propaganda term that is so oft en used to stigmatize anyone

who does not hate his country.” “As a Catholic,”
Dr. Fleming went on, “I have always received courteous attention to my views and gracious respect for my Church.  

When I brought a prominent Catholic theologian to Cetinje, he was treated as a long-lost brother.”“Far from being a nationalist,”
Thomas Fleming concludes,

“Metropolitan Amfi lohije was strongly opposed both to Montenegrin nationalism and to the hardliners of the Milosevic era.  As an Orthodox Christian, he represents

the most pluralistic of the traditional Christian faiths, and as a man of peace he has consistently opposed the eruption of violence that has been, unfortunately, all

too frequent in recent Balkan history."

”Secondly, and perhaps more seriously, The New York Times makes an editorial assertion dressed as “fact.” This assertion reflects a deeply ingrained prejudice against the Serbian Orthodox Church, including the old accusation that it had not distanced itself resolutely enough from the Milosevic regime and that it was somehow complicit in the bloodshed of the 1990s. Th is prejudice is merely a refl ection of a deeper negative bias against the Serbs in general, which has been all too apparent in the American media for almost two decades.Far from being “anti-Western,” Metropolitan Amfi lohije is known as a leading proponent of the spiritual and civilizational unity of Europe and an active participant in the ongoing dialogue with other Christian denominations. This is attested by his many meetings with political and ecclesiastical leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, including a recent visit to Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. As a fluent Italian speaker who has completed part of his postgraduate studies in Rome, Metropolitan Amfi lohije is a respected and welcome interlocutor in the ongoing inter-faith dialogue – hardly a refl ection of “anti-Western” views.

Of course the Metropolitan is known as an opponent of certain Western policies – notably the U.S. support for the illegal and illegitimate secession of Serbia’s province of Kosovo – but he shares that position with many prominent non-Serbs all over the world. It should be pointed out that an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states have refused to recognize the self-proclaimed entity in Pristina.

Far from being an “ultranationalist,” the Metropolitan has explicitly stated on numerous occasions that he does not seek for his people what he is not prepared to grant to others. The fact that he rejects discriminatory treatment of the Serbs, all too often apparent in the Western media and politicalitical institutions, is not nationalism – let alone “ultranationalism” – but a reflection of his principles. Those principles are rooted in the Gospels, not in the ideology of blood and soil. Metropolitan Amfilohije, like all other hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, is painfully aware of the fruits of “ultranationalism,” including 150 Christian churches in Kosovo that have been reduced to ruins over the past decade, and the exodus of half a million Serbs from their ancestral homes all over the former Yugoslavia since 1991. It is unfortunate, although not surprising, that The New York Times remains stubbornly oblivious to those unfortunate facts of recent Balkan history.

...

Read rest of column in Liberty

Штампа Ел. пошта

  • SPC
  • Dijaspora
  • Svetigora
  • Save Displaced Serbs
  • Srbi za Srbe
© 2024 Портал Српске народне одбране у Америци. Сва права задржана.
Joomla! је слободан софтвер објављен под GNU General Public License.