The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia to the Holy See held the conference dealing with the results of the project “Protecting sacred places of the Mediterranean” performed in 2012, which was supported by the European Commission and the Sovereign Order of Malta. In the presence of representatives from Vatican, members of the Diplomatic corps and other guests, the meeting was opened by Rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute prof. D. Nazar.

Coordinator of the Project prof. S. Ferrari from the University of Milan pointed the importance of sacred places protection, while Special Envoy for Religious Freedom and Religious Dialogue at the MFA of Italy A. Benzo explained the definitions of sacred (holy) places that he was working on. Ambassador of the Sovereign order of Malta to the Holy See recollected his memories on massive destruction of Serbian Orthodox sacred sites at Kosovo and Metohia during the Pogrom of March 2004 when he was Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to the Republic of Serbia. Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the Holy See S. Avramović enlightened reasons why the Serbian Orthodox sanctuaries at Kosovo and Metohia were selected within the Project alongside with Vatican, Jerusalem, Mt. Athos and Orthodox sacred places in Cyprus.

Supported by power-point presentation Amb. Avramović specified that the first reason was “density of holiness”, namely an existence of more than a thousand of Serbian Orthodox monasteries, churches, shrines and other sacred places at Kosovo and Metohia. The second reason is importance of those sanctuaries not only for Serbian but for a world cultural heritage. Therefore there are four Serbian Orthodox sites (three monasteries and a church) listed in the World Heritage List issued by UNESCO as well as that the Dečani monastery is enlisted among seven most endangered places in Europe in 2021 according to Europa Nostra organization.

The third cause why Kosovo and Metohia sacred places were encompassed by the Project is that a few tens of sanctuaries have been massively destroyed and damaged in one day during the Porgom in 2004, despite the presence of international peacekeepers. Finally he presented a conclusion from the Project that important measures for protection of sacred places are restitution, reconstruction and revitalization, namely the imperative that holy places have to remain not just a tourist attractions but places of spirituality and vibrant religious worship.