Metropolitan of Novi Sad and Bačka, Irinej, has announced plans for the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) to establish a church university, emphasizing that religious communities in other countries have the right to such institutions. He also criticized the state universities in Serbia, saying they have “experienced a catastrophe.”
Speaking in an Easter interview with Radio “Slovo ljubve,” Irinej noted that European universities, dating back to the 11th century, “originated from modest monastic schools.”
“We are establishing a church university, but no one is obliged to study there. More attention should be paid to the challenges faced by state universities in our country. Why, in the name of secularism, should the Church in Serbia be denied a right that religious communities enjoy in other well-established and democratic countries? People can study abroad or at private institutions, but they cannot attend a faculty under the aegis of our Church, which has for centuries inspired and supported education and culture in our nation,” said Metropolitan Irinej.
