"Serbia is secular; State and Church agree on key issues"

"Serbia is secular; State and Church agree on key issues"

At the same time, Vucic "underscored that Serbia is a secular state," and "highlighted the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) in preserving the Serbian cultural, spiritual and national identity in the former Yugoslavia and around the world."

The patriarch "inquired about the country's economy, reforms and rebuilding," Vucic told journalists.

According to the Serbian government, Vucic told reporters that Serbia is a secular state - "but it is good that there is mutual understanding because so much can be achieved – the Church in its spiritual sense, and the government in matters of state."

They also discussed Kosovo and Metohija, the survival of our cultural and religious sites in the southern Serbian province and what the state can do to further and help.

Vucic that the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade will be completed by the end of his presidential term, and added that half of the necessary funds for this will be paid in during the next month.

"Completion of the temple is very important, not only in the religious sense, but also in the economic and tourism," he said and announced that the state will help the monastery of Hilandar, which is considered the most famous Serbian religious site in the world.