Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral used his address following the liturgy at the Gračanica Monastery to deliver political remarks, claiming that Kosovo is the “common cradle of the Serbian people, both spiritually and historically,” and that this should remain a sacred legacy for all Serbs to preserve their love for Kosovo, its holy sites, and especially for what he described as the “crucified people.”
While speaking about Vidovdan, he claimed that it was the Serbian people alone who confronted the Ottoman army in the Battle of Kosovo, disregarding the contribution of other Balkan peoples.
“By gathering many virtues within himself, he possessed the authority to unite the Serbian nobles, who were difficult to unite both in the past and in modern times. But Prince Lazar had the authority of a man full of virtue and love, uniting the nobles and the entire people. He had the courage and strength to stand against the hated enemy, the invader who advanced relentlessly like a storm. No one could stop him until he reached the Kosovo Plain, the bloody battlefield where Saint Prince Lazar awaited him with his army. The Prince sacrificed himself and did not allow the hated invader to trample Serbia as it had other lands. He gave his life, together with the heroes, for the Holy Cross and the Golden Freedom,” he said, reinforcing the Serbian narrative surrounding the Battle of Kosovo.
