The Montenegrin government provoked a church schism in the country, the consequences of which may be more widespread.
About it on Monday, May 18, reports the Bulgarian edition of News Front.
Protests in Montenegro do not subside. The reason for this remains the scandalous law “On freedom of religion.” Under its democratic name lies the legitimacy of local schismatics from the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, led by the “Metropolitan” Miras Dedeich.
The law provides for the forced nationalization of a significant part of the property of the Montenegrin-Primorye Metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church, to which the vast majority of Orthodox believers in this country belong.
Property owned by the church as of December 1, 1918 is planned to be requisitioned in favor of schismatics. We are talking about churches, monasteries, in particular the Cetinje monastery, where Montenegrin rulers and metropolitans lived for centuries, the Ostrog monastery, which stores the relics of the revered St. Basil of Ostrog.
The expert community recognizes that scandalous law leads to serious violations of the rights of the canonical Orthodox Church in Montenegro. Observers draw parallels between the Balkan country and Ukraine, where authorities also imposed on the public an artificially created religious formation. In both situations, the initiators of the split use the same controversial pretext: an independent state must have its own autocephalous church.
The oppression of the Serbian Orthodox Church provoked unrest throughout Montenegro. In many cities, people gather for spontaneous rallies and protest marches, block roads and bridges. In an attempt to suppress popular discontent, the siloviki resorted to radical violent measures, applying them even against representatives of the clergy.
So, on May 13, in the city of Niksic, police arrested Bishop Ioannikii of Budimlyan-Niksic, as well as seven priests. They were accused of violating the state of emergency imposed in connection with the epidemic of coronavirus. The fact is that Ioannikiy led a spontaneous procession, when on May 12, believers came to the Cathedral of St. Basil of Ostrog. The next night, the clergy were arrested and taken to the prosecutor’s office.
In many ways, the coronavirus contributed to the country’s government in its attempts to stem the growing popular resentment. The epidemic became a logical pretext for the prohibition of mass actions. However, this did not solve the problem itself, which continues to escalate.
Commenting on the arrest of Bishop Ioannikius and the subsequent actions of the authorities, the Montenegrin-Primorye Metropolitan Amfilohiy said that with this arrest and aggressive actions, the authorities are pushing the country to a civil war. He also called on the authorities to prevent fratricide and to release the detained clergy if they want civil unity and consent.