Masses of students have led widespread protests in cities across Serbia in recent months, venting anger against alleged corruption in the government under the leadership of President Aleksandar Vučić and expressing frustration at an oppressive societal system where it seems impossible to make an honest living.

Three evangelicals who participated in the demonstrations – Rev. Dusan Beredi, a church pastor in Novi Sad; Tatjana Samardžija, an assistant professor at the University of Belgrade; and Kristina Tešić, a university student – shared their perspectives on the ongoing unrest and the role of churches in the movement in comments shared with Christian Daily International.

Roof collapse leads to reckoning in Serbia

Anger first erupted among students when a roof at Novi Sad Railway Station in the city of Novi Sad collapsed, killing 15 people on Nov. 1, 2024. Allegations quickly surfaced about the Serbian government being involved in corruption when giving building permission to a construction company for the roof.

Protests about the deaths rapidly spread across the country, with thousands demonstrating in cities, including the capital Belgrade. The protests also led to the closure of higher education institutes for four months.

While Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned in January, President Vučić continues to refuse to hand over power. Instead, his government purports to be dealing with corruption, approving the arrest of 153 people in an anti-corruption sweep by police in February.

Rev. Dusan Beredi, pastor of the Protestant Christian Fellowship Novi Sad, said estimates of the March 15 protest in Belgrade ranged from 107,000, according to government sources, to up to a million from independent observers. Despite threats of violence, the city’s streets were “completely packed,” he said.

However, during a peaceful tribute to the railway station victims, authorities allegedly fired a military-grade sonic cannon, which he believed was meant to “incite panic.”

Kristina Tešić, a local coordinator for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students in Serbia, was also at the protest and said the sonic blast interrupted a 15-minute silence to honor the victims.

“Some believe the banned sound cannon injured people in the crowd, but that’s still being investigated,” she said. “Thankfully, most of us went home safely and there were no major incidents.”

Fed up with corruption: ‘We see everything, we know everything, and we want change’

According to Rev. Beredi, the trigger for the protests has been the government's failure to meet the students' demands regarding the tragic railway station roof collapse.

“Specifically, the students are demanding the release of documentation that would help establish the extent of corruption and ensure that those responsible are held accountable,” he added. “At its core, this protest is a call for justice and a fight against corruption.”

Rev. Beredi himself joined the March 15 demonstration, and he has done so in other cities too, such as participating in the second day of an 80-kilometer (50-mile) march from Novi Sad to Belgrade. He believes that the pursuit of justice lies at the heart of Christian ethics.

Prof. Tatjana Samardžija, assistant professor at the University of Belgrade, also supports the students’ actions, calling them “Gandhi-style peaceful protests.” She highlights the “systematic and pervasive massive corruption, betrayal of national interests and selling out of national soil, minerals and water. Just to start with.”

Tešić, speaking as a student, said the “voice of the youth” had shown through the protests she supports: “We have had enough of corruption, we see everything, we know everything, and we want change.”

Recent events showed that young people with no particular goal in life were waking up to a desire for systemic change in the country, Tešić added. They were optimistic that change was possible and “worth fighting for.”

“I am involved in these protests and blockades at the university because I am tired of how the government is running our country and how my colleagues who I love so much are suffering,” Tešić said, adding, “I am with them.”

“I am tired of the corruption in this country, of the fear that if I am not part of the ruling party that our president is in, I will not be able to get the job I am studying for, even though I have good grades in college and knowledge.

“I am involved both as a student and as a Christian, because people need peace and hope, that someone will understand them and that everything will be okay; that no matter what happens, there is a God who judges fairly and who loves us. That the God I believe in is not a God of corruption, hatred; that he is a God who loves and that, even though sometimes things are not ideal, he is in control.”

Tešić hopes her actions would serve as “salt and light” in the situation, and says she prays for the authorities, despite not agreeing with them.

Corruption just the ‘tip of the iceberg’

While recognizing the issue of corruption, Rev. Beredi believes the protests seek to go further. Corruption is simply “the tip of the iceberg", but there is a deeper sense of injustice on multiple levels. He gave an example of state-controlled media attempting to deceive the public about the collapse of the railway station roof.

“Authorities initially claimed that the shelter roof that collapsed on people had not been part of any reconstruction efforts, only to later admit that it had been. This is just one of many lies.

“Furthermore, high-ranking officials who bear direct responsibility for the incident have yet to be prosecuted. Instead, they remain protected by the government.”

Prof. Samardžija echoed the pastor's comments by saying that corruption sparking the protests has also related to wider issues. She highlighted the corrosion of national wealth and resources, damaging national identity and honor.

“People of the government, as well as those close to [them], steal enormous sums of money through investments, through bribery,” she said. “What they build lasts short and kills people. The worst kind of people – criminal and semi-criminal – govern the nation, while the most educated are often obliged to emigrate in order to do what they are educated for.”

She specifically points to some millionaires and national media owned by foreigners, which “feed the audience with the worst tiles, vulgarities.” Meanwhile, she says that “honest people do not earn much, while the president’s party members heap millions of dollars.”

Evangelicals simply ‘being’ with students

Students in the protests have asked for support from religious communities of all denominations, according to Rev. Beredi. He describes the church “is a gathering of freethinking individuals” and he himself has never hidden his personal support for the students. “I have written about it, recorded messages, and marched alongside them,” he says.

He lauded the fact that other pastors he met at the protests had opened the doors of their church buildings for students to sleep, cooked meals at the protests and accompanied the young people during the demonstrations. Support for the students came from both young and old in his own church, and several members had joined the protests in Belgrade. 

“We will not display our religious symbols; we will simply be among the people. We are going as citizens of Serbia who care about justice and truth, and as those who say to the students: with all our hearts, we stand with you.”

Prof. Samardžija calls upon the wider church to pray for peace and ask for God’s intervention and presence. She also wanted the church in Serbia itself to call upon people to repent of a “general corrupt mentality” such as in some academic institutes where fake degrees could be forged and obtained.

Opinions differ about the approach of older people in the protests. Samardžija thought that the older generation had been “taught to obey governments and to mind their business.”

“Old age is generally controlled by the magic word ‘stability,’ just like in the novel 1984 [by George Orwell],” she said. “Some church members simply don’t care about anything outside the church. For them, outside of the church is the wild world of sin and Christians, according to them, should just let the world go to perdition. The unsaved should not bother them.

“But then also, not all of those who support students are young, far from it. Many middle-aged members support them too, especially those with degrees.”

Tešić thought adult Christians felt constrained under a biblical imperative to only “pray and respect” authorities in Serbia and were afraid to otherwise react to the systemic issues. Personally, she has seen little direct contact between churches and students.

“I know that there are some churches that are involved in the field with the students at the protests and take care of them,” said Tešić. 

"But I know and believe that all the churches in Serbia are praying for what is happening in Serbia and are helping as much as they can, and that there are more people who are Christians from other churches who stand by the students and are at every protest.”

‘We have prayed for a long time for this to happen’

Rev. Beredi says he felt inspired by the passion of Serbians for their country, driven by love not just anger at corruption. He said that is why the students generally won’t support the political opposition, “considering them equally prone to corruption.”

“My message is — young people, I admire how much you love our country,” he said. “The young people protesting embody kindness, a strong sense of morality and ethics. They leave no trash or disorder behind, they oppose violence, and they seek justice. In many ways, we can see the message and ethics of the gospel reflected in them.

“Our nation longs for such a society after decades of suffering, wars, and hatred. I see God's hand in this because we have prayed for a long time for this to happen.”

However, the pastor also fears an escalation of the protests. 

"Pray that there will be no bloodshed and that a resolution to this difficult situation will be found. Also, pray that young people will become more interested in God rather than being driven away from Him.

“The biggest fear is that there will be violence that we will no longer be able to stop. Also, the protests have been going on for over four months and are exhausting for everyone. There is a danger of great division in society... The church must be a unifying factor.”

Only a truthful and honest church can bring change

Prof. Samardžija issued a strong call for the nation of Serbia to turn to God, warning that the nation was “on the brink of destruction because of all the evil you do” but adding that “God can save you if you repent.” 

“Corruption has become the way of life for too many people. They have grown accustomed to injustice, nepotism and bribery in everything. A corrupt nation is to be abandoned by God if they do not repent.”

The university professor also pleaded for repentance in churches, saying that injustice and egoism existed in some fellowships, which is contrary to the gospel.

“A truthful and honest church is the only one who can make a change in social turbulence. If its members are cowards and hypocrites, no difference can be made.”

“I would [say to] Christians that a Christian always has to stand for truth and justice, whatever the price – like all prophets have always done – but should never use the means of this world, violence, corruption and manipulation.

"We must remain calm and be peaceful, but we must also speak for freedom and appeal to powerful people to change their way. We must especially tell the nation to repent because there is so much corruption in some layers of society. Actually everywhere. Whoever can be bought has been bought.”

Samardžija also wants to see Christians encouraging protestors, who “risk a lot in the name of justice and truth.” She asked for prayers for students, academics and anyone else opposing the “social evil.” 

“Honest people in Serbia have only God for their ally,” she said, citing Isaiah 59 as a “message” describing the country and mirroring the prophecy found in the biblical passage. 

“Wordly forces have the interest to keep Serbia low and corrupt, so they can keep on exploiting us as a colony.

"People of God all over the world should implore God to save Serbia from all kinds of evil in power here. God is our only helper. And I do not exaggerate.”

As students now think about the purpose of their lives, the Church has the answer

Tešić also believes that “God is in control, and He has the final word” in Serbia.  "He loves us, takes care of us and he is going with us through this. His timing is perfect, and we should trust him,” she said.

“I think that as Christians we should be visible in what we stand for and stand for true values. To be salt and light in society and the times we are in. We are called to point to Christ in every situation.”

Pointing to Romans 12:12-15, Tešić believed that students feel God has forgotten them. They do not see Christians around them who “listen to them, hear them, help them, show them where there is peace and hope in this world.”

“Students have now begun to think carefully about the purpose of their lives and about the future that arouses fear and anxiety in them, and we, as Christians, have a cure for that,” she added. “We have living water, the word of God. We have Christ, who is very necessary for them.”

Tešić’s prayer is that God would “touch Serbia with His hand” and that He would “instill fear in the hearts of the people who lead this country. That they will know God and repent and focus on good and moral values. That they will come to know who Christ is.”

The fear of God is what can lead to change, she says.

“I pray that the people of Serbia will understand that their only hope and comfort, happiness and fulfillment is in a God who is good, patient with everyone, full of love and mercy, who is there. A God who sees everything and whose word will be the last.”