The Government of Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church signed a Memorandum on the Establishment of a University, Vučić announced state assistance

The Memorandum of Cooperation between Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) on the establishment of the "Saint Sava" University was signed today in the building of the Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade.

It was signed by Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut and Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Porfirije.

"Aware of the significance of the moment for the future of Serbian education and culture, we are convinced that we are continuing the historically founded educational path of the Serbian people, church and state," said Porfirije.

The decision to establish a new higher education institution comes at a time when representatives of the academic community in Serbia have been the target of criticism from the authorities since they supported student protests launched due to the tragedy in Novi Sad in November 2024.

The Serbian Orthodox Church sided with the authorities and labeled the anti-government protests as an attempt to destabilize the state.

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church said that the establishment of the University of Saint Sava "is not directed against anyone" but rather expresses "concern for the public and general good."

The signing of the memorandum was also attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

He stated that the new university will educate future priests and that the Serbian Orthodox Church will have financial and "every other type of assistance" from the state when establishing the higher education institution.

"In times when we were losing our state, we did not lose ourselves, because we had the church and its school. At this university, young people will be able to gain an exceptional education and inherit patriotism," Vučić said.

The text of the Memorandum was adopted by the Government of Serbia in early April.

However, apart from a few sentences, there is no detailed explanation of the purpose of the planned establishment of the university, nor whether it will be run as a state or private institution, given that only the government can establish state universities.

The government told Radio Free Europe at the time that after signing the Memorandum of Understanding, the two sides would "begin discussions on the details of establishing this university."

The Ministry of Education and the Serbian Orthodox Church did not respond to Radio Free Europe's inquiry about the details of this initiative.