Belgrade, Serbia - The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has tried to keep a lid on tensions among its bishops, but Monday newspapers were full of embarrassing details about fist-fighting monks, accusations of backstabbing and hints of financial abuse. The scandal erupted when the hardline Kosovo Bishop Artemije decided to sack and ostracize his moderate deputy, Bishop Teodosije and Sava Janjic, an outspoken monk in the Visoki Decani monastery in Kosovo.
But instead of humbly receiving the decision, Teodosije's and Sava's monks turned physical and tossed Artemije's secretary, Simeon, out of the monastery, injuring his foot in the process.
Stunned and outraged, Artemije accused Teodosije and Sava Janjic of "open, blatant mutiny," but the synod, the church government, refused to back him and has called the feuding bishops to attend when it convenes Tuesday in Belgrade.
The synod, comprising all bishops running an eparchy, an administrative unit within the SPC, actually said Artemije's sacking of Teodosije was "hasty."
While a bishop has near-absolute power over his eparchy, procedures still must be honoured, a source told the Kosovo Serb KiM Radio.
Chances are slim for the two feuding priests to make up despite warnings from officials that they are harming the church itself. In addition, their fight is a reflection of much bigger strife in the SPC leadership.
The simmering rift first burst into public view in May, with the clumsy decision by the Holy Bishop Synod to declare the hospitalized head of the Church, Patriarch Pavle, incapacitated.
The move - which sidelined Pavle, who remains in hospital in fair health despite his 93 years of age - opened the door to a fierce power struggle among the bishops.
Following Pavle's refusal to step down, Artemije's rival - Bishop Amfilohije - was appointed acting representative of the patriarch and stands the best chance to take over when Pavle dies.
Artemije took a (verbal) jab at Amfilohije over the weekend, accusing him in statements to reporters of "meddling for long time" in the Kosovo eparchy.
Newspapers highlight Artemije's extremely hard stance regarding not only international missions in Kosovo, which is the heartland of the Serbian church, but also the political sides in Belgrade.
Artemije wanted Serbs to cut all cooperation with foreign and local officials in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in February. Angered by Western support for Kosovo, he also branded Serbian pro-European President Boris Tadic a traitor.
In contrast, Teodosije pointed that the SPC is not strong enough to decide the status of Kosovo, where the dominant Albanian population is hostile to anything Serbian. He said the church should work with any authorities to secure the protection of Serbs and their shrines.
So, in the already very conservative Serbian Church, the clash of Artemije and Teodosije exposed the tip of the iceberg of the struggle between hardliners and the more moderate and pragmatic wing.
Bringing the story even further away from the divine are reports, spurred on by sources from within the church itself, that by trying to sideline not only Teodosije but the authorities in Belgrade and Pristina, Artemije is struggling to retain control over the lucrative business of the reconstruction of Serb shrines in Kosovo.
A big chunk of the work was carried out by a Belgrade-based firm under his control, sources said.