Patriarch Porfirije Leads 34th Anniversary Commemoration for Serbian Victims in Bratunac

Patriarch Porfirije presided over a liturgy at the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God in Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, marking the 34th anniversary of the killing of 3,267 Serbs in the middle Podrinje and Bijeljina region during the 1992‑1995 war. The ceremony was attended by senior officials from Republika Srpska, Serbia and Montenegro, including Republika Srpska President Sinisa Karan, parliamentary speaker Nenad Stevanović, Prime Minister Savo Minić, a delegate from the Bosnian Presidency, the Russian ambassador Igor Kalabukhov, and representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

After the service, a memorial was held at the local cemetery where wreaths were laid on the memorial cross. Speakers called for remembrance of the victims, denounced the wartime killings as ethnic cleansing, and urged that the truth about the atrocities be preserved. The event was framed under the slogan “In Bratunac you go, you do not call it Bratunac,” emphasizing the determination to honor the fallen despite political disputes over the war’s narrative.