On September 7, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije conducted the funeral service for recently deceased General Ratko Mladić in Belgrade. This was reported by Orthodox Times.

In his sermon, Porfirije described the deceased as an “Orthodox Christian, soldier and commander” who “gave his life for the freedom of his people.”

At the same time, Western media have described the funeral as a “shameful fascist gathering” and called Ratko Mladić an “architect of genocide” and the “Butcher of Bosnia.”

The BBC reports that thousands of supporters of Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska who was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes and genocide in Srebrenica in 1995, marched to Topčider Cemetery following a memorial service at St. Luke’s Church in the Vidikovac district of Belgrade. For them, Mladić is not a war criminal but a “hero who defended the Serbian people.”

Mladić’s coffin was brought from The Hague, where the 84-year-old general died in a prison hospital last Thursday.

Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” Mladić was convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He became notorious for “ethnic cleansing,” with the number of his victims estimated in the tens of thousands. The war in the former Yugoslavia was marked by some of the bloodiest atrocities Europe had seen since the Third Reich.

Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the “public glorification of Ratko Mladić” and called on Serbia’s competent authorities to counter it in order to protect justice and the rights of victims.

Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, announced the cancellation of her planned September 10 visit to Belgrade, where she was due to meet government, opposition and civil society representatives.

“The return of Ratko Mladić’s remains to Belgrade reminds Europe of the darkest chapters of our recent history. The heroization accompanying his death is incompatible with the values on which the European path is based. This path requires coming to terms with the past, genuine reconciliation and respect for the victims of war crimes,” Kos said.

Nevertheless, for Orthodox Patriarch Porfirije, Mladić is a “hero of the Serbian Orthodox people.”

“His name will forever remain in the memory and prayers of the majority of our Serbian Orthodox people, who feel deeply grateful to him because they see in him a soldier and commander who, in a difficult and tragic time, took command of the people’s army, assumed enormous responsibility and a heavy burden, endured sacrifices and gave his life for the freedom, protection and survival of his people,” Porfirije said at the funeral ceremony.

Earlier, we reported that Serbia will remain a Russian satellite for many decades, while Montenegro will be admitted to the EU earlier than others and will shed Russian influence more quickly. This was stated in an LF interview by Archimandrite Nikanor of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, abbot of the Monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian.

As LF reported, the Serbian Orthodox Church is not an independent political actor. It is an even more dependent and subordinate structure than the Moscow Patriarchate. This view was expressed in an exclusive LF interview by prominent church commentator Lera Furman.

Earlier, we reported that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew criticized the Moscow Patriarchate and made a number of sharp remarks about Serbian Patriarch Porfirije during a speech on August 12 at St. George’s Church on his native island of Imbros.

The Ljubljana District Court sentenced Serbian Patriarch Porfirije to four months in prison, suspended with a one-year probation period, as well as a suspended fine of €10,000, also with a one-year probation period. The proceedings were initiated following a years-long dispute between Željko Lubarda, the former parish priest in Ljubljana, and the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church.