Montenegrin Orthodox Church
Encyclopedia
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church (MOC, Montenegrin
: Црногорска православна црква, ЦПЦ / Crnogorska Pravoslavna Crkva, CPC) is an Orthodox Christian organization acting in Montenegro
and Montenegrin emigration circles - e.g. the village of Lovćenac
(in Serbia
's northern province of Vojvodina
) and the Montenegrin emigration colony in Argentina
. It was created as an NGO movement in 1993 by the political forces eminent for Montenegro's secession from Yugoslavia, being recognized in 1999 as a religious community. However, it remains canonically unrecognized and only claims over the canonical jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church
, in prime its legal Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
.
In a poll between the Montenegrin and Serbian Orthodox Churches, 29.36% of Montenegro's Eastern Orthodox Christians have since opted for the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, while 70.64% opted or stayed with the Serbian Orthodox Church.
n Pećke and Constantinople Patriarchy.
MOC considers itself to be the sole legitimate representative of Orthodox Christianity
in Montenegro
. MOC also lays claim to all Orthodox Christian property in Montenegro that is in possession of the Serbian Orthodox Church
(SOC). From time to time, MOC's members and supporters have attempted to claim some of these structures (mostly in the Cetinje
municipal area).
Montenegrin Orthodox Church was founded in Cetinje
on October 31, 1993, by Antonije Abramović and Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
(LSCG), a political party that existed at the time. At the time, Montenegro was part of the federal state with Serbia called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was formed a year earlier following a 1992 referendum. LSCG, a party with a separatist agenda that had independent Montenegro as its aim, essentially used MOC in their overall political fight for Montenegrin sovereignty. Since none of this was supported at the time by the Montenegrin ruling regime embodied in Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
(DPS), which during that period maintained close ties to Milošević
's regime in Serbia, initial MOC's activities were very sporadic. For about 4 years it functioned without any official record of its existence.
By 1997, the DPS regime in Montenegro led by Milo Đukanović began to distance itself from Milošević and Serbia, and MOC was registered in the Montenegrin police as a civic group. (Therefore appeared the name "NGO MPC" for NGO Montenegrin Police Church). By this time, LSCG had mostly distanced itself from MOC completely. On January 17, 2001, MOC was officially registered as a non-governmental organization at the local department of the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior.
In the absence of any other relevant and more current piece of legislation, this registration was done by calling on the Law on the Legal Position of Religious Communities from 1977 when Montenegro was a socialist republic within SFR Yugoslavia.
In 2007, MOC attempted to expand its activities beyond the borders of Montenegro. Serbia originally refused to allow MOC to be registered as an organization, as all official Orthodox Churches have also refused to recognize the MOC. However, on appeal, the Serbian Supreme Court ruled this position unconstitutional, overturning the refusal and paving the way for a potential permission to register.
, on March 15, 1998, he was ordained as bishop by Bulgarian Alternative Synod's head Patriarch Pimen and seven Metropolitans and Episcops of his synod
. He was enthroned to Metropolitan of Montenegrin Orthodox Church in Cetinje
on October 31, 1998, in the presence of several hundred believers and supporters of Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
Metropolitan Mihailo had worked as a professor for the Serbian Orthodox Church and then as a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church
in Italy
, where he uncanonically created a Serbian Orthodox Municipality out of the Greek Church, leading after a number of scandals, including adultery
and accusations of embezzlement
, to his permanent suspension from the Church in 1995. After becoming Metropolitan of the MOC in 1997, he was fully excommunicated by the Holy Synod
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
from the Eastern Orthodox Church
.
, as well as in its newly-built Temple in Kotor. Open-air services are held across Montenegro for Christmas and Easter. The MOC officially opened a new shrine in the old town of Kotor in 2006, following the referendum
on independence. Services are also held in the Australian state of New South Wales
as well as in the Argentine province of Chaco, which is the base of Archimandrit Gorazd Glomazic and the Montenegrin Church of Saint Nikola in the colony of Machagay.
§
.
The MOC also has support of the pro-Ustasha Croatian Orthodox Community NGO, which aims at creating an autocephalous Croatian Orthodox Church
for the Republic of Croatia, or rather reviving the one from the Axis Independent State of Croatia
, an act which the MOC came up to as the first supporter. The MOC had original support of the unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church
, which was latter withdrawn as the Macedonian Church entered negotiations for restoration into communion. It also had support of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
during its uncanonical period, which was lost some time before it finished the successful negotiations for restoration into communion by 2007.
In all official Orthodox theological circles (such as the Russian Orthodox Church
or the Ecumenical Patriarchate), MOC is seen as a schism
atic group and a political fabrication, similar to the churches that supported it.
MOC also has support from abroad, and it has managed to build several shrines in North America, South America, Australia, Western Europe all home to important Montenegrin émigré communities, most of whom also support the Montenegrin Orthodox Church. Eleven ex-Yugoslav émigrés from the US and Canada have together donated US$670 and Can$270 for the Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
MOC supporters present an excerpt from the 1911 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica as one of the proofs of legitimacy:
The remainder of the article refers to Montenegro as a Serb nation-state, which contradicts with the Church's basic beliefs of a distinct Montenegrin nation. The Catalogue of Tzarigrad Patriarchy (April 1855), Athens Sintagma, letter of Tzarigrad Patriarch Grigorius to St. Petar I Petrovic Njegos (dated 29 January 1798), and against the claims of other documents, see here and here (a list of historical documents; external links are in Serbian
) are interpreted by the MOC that the Church of Montenegro was independent and autocephalous until Yugoslav regent Alexander I of Yugoslavia
abolished it and incorporated, by the decree of 17 (30) June 1920, with Serb-Orthodox churches into a Serbian Orthodox Church
, an act which received subsequently canonical recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, although initially voicing his opposition, the dethroned King Nicholas I Petrovic-Njegos, in late 1920, recognized the unification of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the "benefit" of "all the Serbian people".
MOC followers also present foreign early-20th-century travelogues as supposed proofs of the church's legitimacy. In that vein they claim that in pre-Yugoslavia times, the independence of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church has been confirmed as late as 1905, by one of the best-known and well-traveled Balkan experts from the early 20th century, Mary Edith Durham
. In her book The Burden of the Balkans, published in London in 1905, Durham explained: "Montenegro alone kept a free and independent Slav Church, which survives to this day"
Political parties in Montenegro that so far officially stated support of the MOC are: the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
and minor Roman Catholic Croatian Civic Initiative
, officially proposing it to be mentioned in Montenegro's new Constitution, which eventually did not mention it with its adoption in late 2007. The Initiative invited representatives of both the Montenegrin and Serbian churches to a special municipal meeting in Tivat
, sparking a boycott among local Serbian politicians.
In Serbia, the church has the support of the Roman Catholic Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians
which believes it should be a recognized religion in the country.
, defrocked for stealing of church property and falsification of church seals. In early 2010 he joined with the Croatian Orthodox Union for the formation of the Croatian Orthodox Church and became its chief in Zadar
. Lalatovic was immediately expelled from the MOC on the grounds of spreading unrest and immorality in the church, the MOC officially dismissing its connections with the formation of the COC.
(initially vehemently supported by the biggest pro-independence party in Montenegro at the time - Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
(LSCG)) was the first leader of the church in 1993. After his dead he was replaced by Metropolitan Dedeić. Most liberals did not approve of this change, and their support for the church soon started to fade. After 1997 the Government of the Republic of Montenegro started supporting and financing the Church, receiving support from both the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
and the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro
; however, after 2001 this support waned and completely vanished.
According to the MOC, the Metropolia of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), headed by Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović
, has existed for only around eight decades, "or to be more precise, it has been there since 1920 when it was established as a structural and integral part of the Serbian Patriarchy in doctrinal, legal and organizational sense". The MOC maintains claims that the SOC Metropotanate was installed in Montenegro only after the autocephalous Montenegrin Orthodox Church was dissolved in 1920 against the constitution and canon law.
In September 2008, Serbian Orthodox locals attempted to launch a blockade in the Nikšić
area to prevent the MOC from building a church there. Sixty five people were arrested for violating public order.
and proclaimed its first decree in which it confirms its autocephalous status. The Holy Synod is constituted by archpriests of MOC, led by Metropolitan Mihailo. The Holy Synod divided Montenegro in five eparchies - Cetinjska, Dukljanska, Primorska, Ostroška and Beranska.
, Vojvodina
, Serbia
, with the help of the Association of Ethnic Montenegrins in Serbia Krstaš. A contract for the land on which the new MOC shrine will be built was signed on 5 August 2005. A list with the names of several dozen donations—from Montenegro, USA, Slovenia, Australia and Switzerland—for the construction of a MOC shrine in Serbia has also been published.
in 1920. In April 2007 the "President of the Council for the promotion" of the MOC, Stevo Vučinić, was quoted as saying the "we [the MOC] will retake of all the churches and chapels in the towns, and of course the village churches, and the monasteries...we expect resistance, but in no case will we give up". This decision was mass-approved by the Montenegrin public. President of the Republic of Montenegro Filip Vujanović
said that he will protect the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church, along with other administrative officials, saying that the MOC should not give up and that they should go to legal suits on specific cases. Despite this, the MOC has claimed that it does not care about anyone's opinion outside its Council calling it irrelevant and is determined to forcibly reclaim their property in Montenegro, currently occupied by SOC.
According to data of Centre of Democracy in Montenegro from February 2007, the Serbian Orthodox Church was the most trusted institution in Montenegro by public opinion (coefficient 3.29), while the Montenegrin Orthodox Church was ranked sixth (coefficient 2.35).
On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, the representatives of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church - which has announced that it did not wish to cause an "excessive situation", but that it would enter the Serbian Orthodox Cetinje monastery without regard to the reaction of the Serbian Orthodox Church to their caims and requests - attempted to do so. Special police units prevented their forceful entry and that of several hundred supporters of the MOC. There was some pushing and shoving between the police, and the crowd which had intended to force its way into the monastery. Following this, members of the crowd shouted slogans such as "this isn't Serbia", "whose police are you?" and "Risto, Satan" (a reference to Metropolitan Amfilohije
of the SOC).
and 10 more churches in Njeguši
Montenegrin language
Montenegrin is a name used for the Serbo-Croatian language as spoken by Montenegrins; it also refers to an incipient standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian used as the official language of Montenegro...
: Црногорска православна црква, ЦПЦ / Crnogorska Pravoslavna Crkva, CPC) is an Orthodox Christian organization acting in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and Montenegrin emigration circles - e.g. the village of Lovćenac
Lovcenac
Lovćenac is a village located in the Mali Iđoš municipality, in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Serbia...
(in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
's northern province of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
) and the Montenegrin emigration colony in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. It was created as an NGO movement in 1993 by the political forces eminent for Montenegro's secession from Yugoslavia, being recognized in 1999 as a religious community. However, it remains canonically unrecognized and only claims over the canonical jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
, in prime its legal Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
The Metropolitanate of Montenegro is the largest diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. Founded in 1219 by Saint Sava, it is now one of the most prominent dioceses in the Serbian Orthodox Church. The current Metropolitan is Amfilohije...
.
In a poll between the Montenegrin and Serbian Orthodox Churches, 29.36% of Montenegro's Eastern Orthodox Christians have since opted for the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, while 70.64% opted or stayed with the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Montenegrin autocephaly
Montenegrin church was both before and after 1766 outside the canon and the actual organizational structure and scope and SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n Pećke and Constantinople Patriarchy.
MOC considers itself to be the sole legitimate representative of Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. MOC also lays claim to all Orthodox Christian property in Montenegro that is in possession of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
(SOC). From time to time, MOC's members and supporters have attempted to claim some of these structures (mostly in the Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
municipal area).
Montenegrin Orthodox Church was founded in Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
on October 31, 1993, by Antonije Abramović and Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
The Liberal Alliance of Montenegro was a liberal political party in Montenegro. The party used to be a member of Liberal International....
(LSCG), a political party that existed at the time. At the time, Montenegro was part of the federal state with Serbia called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was formed a year earlier following a 1992 referendum. LSCG, a party with a separatist agenda that had independent Montenegro as its aim, essentially used MOC in their overall political fight for Montenegrin sovereignty. Since none of this was supported at the time by the Montenegrin ruling regime embodied in Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is the ruling social-democratic political party in Montenegro....
(DPS), which during that period maintained close ties to Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's regime in Serbia, initial MOC's activities were very sporadic. For about 4 years it functioned without any official record of its existence.
By 1997, the DPS regime in Montenegro led by Milo Đukanović began to distance itself from Milošević and Serbia, and MOC was registered in the Montenegrin police as a civic group. (Therefore appeared the name "NGO MPC" for NGO Montenegrin Police Church). By this time, LSCG had mostly distanced itself from MOC completely. On January 17, 2001, MOC was officially registered as a non-governmental organization at the local department of the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior.
In the absence of any other relevant and more current piece of legislation, this registration was done by calling on the Law on the Legal Position of Religious Communities from 1977 when Montenegro was a socialist republic within SFR Yugoslavia.
In 2007, MOC attempted to expand its activities beyond the borders of Montenegro. Serbia originally refused to allow MOC to be registered as an organization, as all official Orthodox Churches have also refused to recognize the MOC. However, on appeal, the Serbian Supreme Court ruled this position unconstitutional, overturning the refusal and paving the way for a potential permission to register.
Leader
MOC is led by the Archbishop of Cetinje and Montenegro Metropolitan Mihailo. At a General Montenegrin People's Assembly formed by the MOC in Cetinje on January 6, 1997, he was chosen by traditional public acclamation the Head of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church. In the Church of St. Paraskeva in SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, on March 15, 1998, he was ordained as bishop by Bulgarian Alternative Synod's head Patriarch Pimen and seven Metropolitans and Episcops of his synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
. He was enthroned to Metropolitan of Montenegrin Orthodox Church in Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
on October 31, 1998, in the presence of several hundred believers and supporters of Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
Metropolitan Mihailo had worked as a professor for the Serbian Orthodox Church and then as a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where he uncanonically created a Serbian Orthodox Municipality out of the Greek Church, leading after a number of scandals, including adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
and accusations of embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
, to his permanent suspension from the Church in 1995. After becoming Metropolitan of the MOC in 1997, he was fully excommunicated by the Holy Synod
Holy Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod...
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
from the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Services
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church currently holds its regular services in several Chapels in the area of Montenegro's royal capital, CetinjeCetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
, as well as in its newly-built Temple in Kotor. Open-air services are held across Montenegro for Christmas and Easter. The MOC officially opened a new shrine in the old town of Kotor in 2006, following the referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on independence. Services are also held in the Australian state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
as well as in the Argentine province of Chaco, which is the base of Archimandrit Gorazd Glomazic and the Montenegrin Church of Saint Nikola in the colony of Machagay.
§
Support
The Church has support from a number of likewise non-canon, unrecognized Eastern Orthodox Churches: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kievan Patriarchate, the Bulgarian Alternative Orthodox Church (founded by patriarch Pimen), and its Italian-based branch, the Orthodox Church in ItalyOrthodox Church in Italy
The Orthodox Church in Italy is an effort to establish a national Orthodox church in Italy, bringing all the Orthodox parishes and missions under an Italian Metropolitan, but only some independent groups have adhered to it...
.
The MOC also has support of the pro-Ustasha Croatian Orthodox Community NGO, which aims at creating an autocephalous Croatian Orthodox Church
Croatian Orthodox Church
The Croatian Orthodox Church was a religious body created during World War II by the Ustasha regime in the Independent State of Croatia .The reason for formation of this church was that Orthodox Christian Churches are state-based...
for the Republic of Croatia, or rather reviving the one from the Axis Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
, an act which the MOC came up to as the first supporter. The MOC had original support of the unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church
Macedonian Orthodox Church
The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian...
, which was latter withdrawn as the Macedonian Church entered negotiations for restoration into communion. It also had support of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia , also called the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church....
during its uncanonical period, which was lost some time before it finished the successful negotiations for restoration into communion by 2007.
In all official Orthodox theological circles (such as the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
or the Ecumenical Patriarchate), MOC is seen as a schism
Schism
- Religion :* Schism , a division or a split, usually between people belonging to an organization or movement, most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body...
atic group and a political fabrication, similar to the churches that supported it.
MOC also has support from abroad, and it has managed to build several shrines in North America, South America, Australia, Western Europe all home to important Montenegrin émigré communities, most of whom also support the Montenegrin Orthodox Church. Eleven ex-Yugoslav émigrés from the US and Canada have together donated US$670 and Can$270 for the Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
MOC supporters present an excerpt from the 1911 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica as one of the proofs of legitimacy:
- "The Montenegrin Church is an autocephalous branch of the Eastern Orthodox communion. In 1894 it formally vindicated its independence against the claims of the Russian synod".
The remainder of the article refers to Montenegro as a Serb nation-state, which contradicts with the Church's basic beliefs of a distinct Montenegrin nation. The Catalogue of Tzarigrad Patriarchy (April 1855), Athens Sintagma, letter of Tzarigrad Patriarch Grigorius to St. Petar I Petrovic Njegos (dated 29 January 1798), and against the claims of other documents, see here and here (a list of historical documents; external links are in Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
) are interpreted by the MOC that the Church of Montenegro was independent and autocephalous until Yugoslav regent Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...
abolished it and incorporated, by the decree of 17 (30) June 1920, with Serb-Orthodox churches into a Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
, an act which received subsequently canonical recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, although initially voicing his opposition, the dethroned King Nicholas I Petrovic-Njegos, in late 1920, recognized the unification of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the "benefit" of "all the Serbian people".
MOC followers also present foreign early-20th-century travelogues as supposed proofs of the church's legitimacy. In that vein they claim that in pre-Yugoslavia times, the independence of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church has been confirmed as late as 1905, by one of the best-known and well-traveled Balkan experts from the early 20th century, Mary Edith Durham
Edith Durham
Mary Edith Durham was a British traveller, artist and writer who became famous for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century.-Early life:...
. In her book The Burden of the Balkans, published in London in 1905, Durham explained: "Montenegro alone kept a free and independent Slav Church, which survives to this day"
Political parties in Montenegro that so far officially stated support of the MOC are: the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
The Liberal Alliance of Montenegro was a liberal political party in Montenegro. The party used to be a member of Liberal International....
and minor Roman Catholic Croatian Civic Initiative
Croatian Civic Initiative
The Croatian Civic Initiative is a Croat minority political party in Montenegro. The party was formed in 2002. It first participated in elections in the Tivat municipality that year, and is still based in the town...
, officially proposing it to be mentioned in Montenegro's new Constitution, which eventually did not mention it with its adoption in late 2007. The Initiative invited representatives of both the Montenegrin and Serbian churches to a special municipal meeting in Tivat
Tivat
Tivat is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor...
, sparking a boycott among local Serbian politicians.
In Serbia, the church has the support of the Roman Catholic Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians
The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians ; , Savez vojvođanskih Mađara ) is an ethnic Hungarian political party in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. Its chairman is István Pásztor. The former party chairman József Kasza is now its honorary president...
which believes it should be a recognized religion in the country.
Relations to the Croatian Orthodox Church
One of the prominent members of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church was Jelisej Lalatović, a former Serb monk from NikšićNikšić
Nikšić is a city in Montenegro . In 2003 the city had a total population about 75,000.Nikšić is located in Nikšić plain, at the foot of Mount Trebjesa. It is the center of the municipality , which is the largest in Montenegro by area...
, defrocked for stealing of church property and falsification of church seals. In early 2010 he joined with the Croatian Orthodox Union for the formation of the Croatian Orthodox Church and became its chief in Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
. Lalatovic was immediately expelled from the MOC on the grounds of spreading unrest and immorality in the church, the MOC officially dismissing its connections with the formation of the COC.
Status
Opponents accuse it of being a group without theological purpose, and of having only political goals. Metropolitan Antonije AbramovićAntonije Abramovic
Metropolitan Antonije, was the first Metropolitan of the uncanonical Montenegrin Orthodox Church and self-proclaimed Metropolitan of Montenegro....
(initially vehemently supported by the biggest pro-independence party in Montenegro at the time - Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
The Liberal Alliance of Montenegro was a liberal political party in Montenegro. The party used to be a member of Liberal International....
(LSCG)) was the first leader of the church in 1993. After his dead he was replaced by Metropolitan Dedeić. Most liberals did not approve of this change, and their support for the church soon started to fade. After 1997 the Government of the Republic of Montenegro started supporting and financing the Church, receiving support from both the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is the ruling social-democratic political party in Montenegro....
and the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro
Social Democratic Party of Montenegro
The Social Democratic Party of Montenegro is a political party in Montenegro....
; however, after 2001 this support waned and completely vanished.
Opposition of Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church maintains that Serbian Orthodox Church usurped its churches and other property in Montenegro in the early 20th century, following the annexion of Montenegro by Serbia.According to the MOC, the Metropolia of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), headed by Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović
Amfilohije Radovic
Amfilohije Radović is the current Metropolitan of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, Archbishop of Cetinje.His role in the Yugoslav Wars is considered controversial.- Biography :...
, has existed for only around eight decades, "or to be more precise, it has been there since 1920 when it was established as a structural and integral part of the Serbian Patriarchy in doctrinal, legal and organizational sense". The MOC maintains claims that the SOC Metropotanate was installed in Montenegro only after the autocephalous Montenegrin Orthodox Church was dissolved in 1920 against the constitution and canon law.
In September 2008, Serbian Orthodox locals attempted to launch a blockade in the Nikšić
Nikšić
Nikšić is a city in Montenegro . In 2003 the city had a total population about 75,000.Nikšić is located in Nikšić plain, at the foot of Mount Trebjesa. It is the center of the municipality , which is the largest in Montenegro by area...
area to prevent the MOC from building a church there. Sixty five people were arrested for violating public order.
Holy Synod
On January 11, 2007, MOC restored its own Holy SynodHoly Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod...
and proclaimed its first decree in which it confirms its autocephalous status. The Holy Synod is constituted by archpriests of MOC, led by Metropolitan Mihailo. The Holy Synod divided Montenegro in five eparchies - Cetinjska, Dukljanska, Primorska, Ostroška and Beranska.
Construction of First Shrine Abroad
Construction of the first MOC shrine abroad, the Holy Church of Righteous Ivan Crnojević, is planned to take place in LovćenacLovcenac
Lovćenac is a village located in the Mali Iđoš municipality, in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Serbia...
, Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, with the help of the Association of Ethnic Montenegrins in Serbia Krstaš. A contract for the land on which the new MOC shrine will be built was signed on 5 August 2005. A list with the names of several dozen donations—from Montenegro, USA, Slovenia, Australia and Switzerland—for the construction of a MOC shrine in Serbia has also been published.
Claim to Serbian Orthodox Churches
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which was restored in 1993, lays a claim to all Orthodox churches, monasteries and chapels in Montenegro built before 1918, and all Serbian Orthodox churches built after that date with financial assistance from the state. However, the Church of Montenegro was not included into the SOC before 1920. They base their claims on their belief that they are the rightful successors of the autocephalous Montenegrin Metropolitanate, which participated in the formation of a imposed Serbian Orthodox ChurchSerbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
in 1920. In April 2007 the "President of the Council for the promotion" of the MOC, Stevo Vučinić, was quoted as saying the "we [the MOC] will retake of all the churches and chapels in the towns, and of course the village churches, and the monasteries...we expect resistance, but in no case will we give up". This decision was mass-approved by the Montenegrin public. President of the Republic of Montenegro Filip Vujanović
Filip Vujanovic
Filip Vujanović is a Montenegrin politician who, since 2003, has served as the President of Montenegro. He is the first President of Montenegro since it split ties with Serbia and became an independent nation in June 2006...
said that he will protect the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church, along with other administrative officials, saying that the MOC should not give up and that they should go to legal suits on specific cases. Despite this, the MOC has claimed that it does not care about anyone's opinion outside its Council calling it irrelevant and is determined to forcibly reclaim their property in Montenegro, currently occupied by SOC.
According to data of Centre of Democracy in Montenegro from February 2007, the Serbian Orthodox Church was the most trusted institution in Montenegro by public opinion (coefficient 3.29), while the Montenegrin Orthodox Church was ranked sixth (coefficient 2.35).
On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, the representatives of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church - which has announced that it did not wish to cause an "excessive situation", but that it would enter the Serbian Orthodox Cetinje monastery without regard to the reaction of the Serbian Orthodox Church to their caims and requests - attempted to do so. Special police units prevented their forceful entry and that of several hundred supporters of the MOC. There was some pushing and shoving between the police, and the crowd which had intended to force its way into the monastery. Following this, members of the crowd shouted slogans such as "this isn't Serbia", "whose police are you?" and "Risto, Satan" (a reference to Metropolitan Amfilohije
Amfilohije Radovic
Amfilohije Radović is the current Metropolitan of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, Archbishop of Cetinje.His role in the Yugoslav Wars is considered controversial.- Biography :...
of the SOC).
Churches
- Chapel, CetinjeCetinjeCetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
- Crkva Svetog Petra Cetinjskog, KotorKotorKotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
- Crkva Svetog Đorđa, Gavrilovac
- Crkva Svetog Pravednog Ivana Crnojevića, LovćenacLovcenacLovćenac is a village located in the Mali Iđoš municipality, in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Serbia...
- Crkva Svetog Nikole, ChacoChaco ProvinceChaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
- Crkva Svetog Arhanđela, Venado TuertoArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
- Crkva Svetog Nikole, KopitoKopitoKopito is a village in the municipality of Višegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina.-References:...
, NjegušiNjegušiNjeguši is a village in southern Montenegro, within Cetinje municipality. It is located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within Lovćen national park.... - Crkva Svetog Đorđa, Erakovići, NjegušiNjegušiNjeguši is a village in southern Montenegro, within Cetinje municipality. It is located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within Lovćen national park....
- Crkva Svete Trojice Raićevići, NjegušiNjegušiNjeguši is a village in southern Montenegro, within Cetinje municipality. It is located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within Lovćen national park....
- Crkva Svetog Save, Erakovići, NjegušiNjegušiNjeguši is a village in southern Montenegro, within Cetinje municipality. It is located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within Lovćen national park....
- Crkva Svete Petke, VrbaVrbaVrba is one of ten villages in the Žirovnica municipality in the Upper Carniolan region of Slovenia. It is first mentioned in written sources from 1247 and is a typical example of a compact Alpine village. According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 196...
, NjegušiNjegušiNjeguši is a village in southern Montenegro, within Cetinje municipality. It is located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within Lovćen national park....
and 10 more churches in Njeguši
See also
- Croatian Orthodox ChurchCroatian Orthodox ChurchThe Croatian Orthodox Church was a religious body created during World War II by the Ustasha regime in the Independent State of Croatia .The reason for formation of this church was that Orthodox Christian Churches are state-based...
- Macedonian Orthodox ChurchMacedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian...
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev PatriarchateUkrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev PatriarchateUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate is one of the three major Orthodox churches in Ukraine, alongside the Ukrainian Orthodox Church , and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church...
, which faces a similar kind of non-recognition. - Orthodox Church in ItalyOrthodox Church in ItalyThe Orthodox Church in Italy is an effort to establish a national Orthodox church in Italy, bringing all the Orthodox parishes and missions under an Italian Metropolitan, but only some independent groups have adhered to it...