Belgrade – A controversial Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) bishop is likely to face a tribunal for his latest run-in with the church over a drug rehabilitation centre where addicts are severely abused, reports said Tuesday.

The ultra-conservative Kosovo Bishop Artemije has outraged the SPC assembly and its government by refusing to shut down the facility linked to his diocese.

The centre is billed as a “spiritual rehabilitation centre” but has been exposed in media reports showing footage of addicts being subjected to severe physical abuse, including being beaten with shovels.

Belgrade newspapers said criminal charges against Artemije were pending.

The controversy follows a string of disagreements between the 74- year-old bishop and his Church.

Just last week, the SPC synod overruled Artemije’s decision not to allow US Vice-President Joe Biden to visit the Decani monastery, the ancient seat of the SPC in Kosovo.

Artemije, who has in the past met top US and European officials, described the US as a foe of Serbia in announcing his decision.

Over the years, he has ignored church orders to sort out his murky property affairs, dissolve a shadowy construction company he operates and to cooperate with the international community in the rebuilding of Serbian shrines destroyed or damaged in Kosovo.

So far, Artemije has avoided sanctions amid a power struggle within the Church after its Patriarch Pavle became incapacitated some 18 months ago, leaving a vacuum.

In light of changes in the synod and its consolidation earlier this month, Artemije could face possible impeachment by the Church, Tuesday’s reports said.

It was however unclear what action could be taken to bring Artemije to order in a country where bishops have virtually limitless authority in their dioceses. (dpa)