Tabloid Tactics: How SerbianTimes Fuels Church Discord

As the situation at St. Sava Cathedral in Cleveland continues to unfold, many readers have encountered coverage from SerbianTimes, a Chicago-based diaspora outlet. Before treating their reporting as objective journalism, the faithful should understand who is behind these articles and what editorial agenda drives them.

The Editor Behind the Headlines

Antonije Kovačević serves as Editor-in-Chief (Glavni i odgovorni urednik) of SerbianTimes and runs the associated YouTube channel. Kovačević has personally authored the most inflammatory articles about Bishop Irinej, including the recent piece cataloging "all the problematic priests" — a headline that puts "problematic" in scare quotes to mock the Bishop's perspective.

A Pattern of One-Sided Reporting

SerbianTimes has consistently amplified conflicts involving Bishop Irinej while presenting only one side of internal church disputes:

• Florida – St. Sava Parish, North Port (2024): Coverage of parish election disputes and police involvement framed as denial of parishioner rights, with diocesan oversight portrayed as escalation rather than conflict resolution.

• Cleveland – St. Sava Cathedral (2025): Reporting focused exclusively on protester claims and rhetoric, omitting canonical explanations for administrative actions and presenting accusations as uncontested fact.

• Priest Transfers and Removals (Recurring): Each instance consistently described as “persecution,” “purge,” or retaliation, without acknowledging that priest reassignment and discipline are normal episcopal responsibilities within Orthodox governance.

• Meta-Narrative Construction (2025): Explicit framing of Bishop Irinej’s tenure as a sequence of “rebellions” following priest removals, using repetition across unrelated cases to construct a cumulative narrative of abuse.

Most tellingly, the December 23, 2025 article explicitly acknowledges sourcing material from the St. Sava Parish News blog, the opposition's own communication platform. This reveals coordination between SerbianTimes and the Cleveland protesters, not independent journalism.

Sensationalism Over Substance

SerbianTimes employs classic tabloid tactics:

• Inflammatory headlines: "SENZACIONALNO" (sensational), accusations of houses being "broken into," priests "thrown on the street"

• Unverified claims: The allegation that Bishop Irinej told someone the NYC church was "burned with napalm" — presented without any corroboration

• Emotional manipulation: Stories emphasize sick wives, pregnant women, and children while ignoring canonical realities

• Zero ecclesiological context: No mention that Orthodox bishops have canonical authority to transfer clergy — a power explicitly codified in Article 11 of the newly published Diocese Rulebook

What Faithful Readers Should Know

The Diocese Rulebook, published December 10, 2025, states clearly: "The competent Diocesan Hierarch, by virtue of his position and on the basis of the Holy Canons of the Orthodox Church... appoints and removes parish priests in the Diocese of Eastern America of the SOC upon their request or according to the needs of the Church."

This is not controversial. It is foundational Orthodox ecclesiology.

SerbianTimes presents every episcopal decision as tyranny because their editorial position — whether conscious or not — aligns with congregationalist assumptions foreign to Orthodoxy. When they write "This is our church. This is our priest. And we decide who serves at our altar," they are quoting the protesters approvingly. But this Protestant sentiment contradicts two millennia of Orthodox tradition.

SerbianTimes coverage should not be treated as factual reporting. It is advocacy journalism serving those who reject hierarchical church governance. Readers seeking truth about the Cleveland situation should consult primary sources: the Diocese Rulebook, official diocesan communications, and the canonical tradition of the Orthodox Church.

The faithful deserve better than tabloid coverage dressed as news.

Orthodox Integrity is committed to defending canonical authority and exposing misinformation. We invite those with sincere questions to study the sources themselves.