Neither the citizens nor Constantinople need the DPS church

While it is not yet entirely clear why President Milo Đukanović and the Montenegrin government suddenly and strongly launched an offensive for the autocephaly of the Montenegrin church, one thing is certain - they have not received such a political slap from an official address for a long time as the letter of the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew to the President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović .

In a letter published by the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced that it recognizes as the only canonical Orthodox jurisdiction in Montenegro the one under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Amfilohi of Montenegro.

According to independent MP Nedjeljko Rudović, Bartolomej's letter can be read as an announcement that the Ecumenical Patriarchate will never agree to the re-establishment of the CPC.

At the beginning of the month, at the DPS election convention in Nikšić, Đukanović accused the Serbian Orthodox Church of trying to protect the infrastructure of Greater Serbia in Montenegro.

"It is strange at first glance if it is indisputable that in the Orthodox world every country can have its own autocephalous Orthodox church. However, this letter can easily be read as a hint that the Montenegrin Church can receive support if Amfilochius requests it. It is only indisputable that the government in Montenegro received a slap from the Ecumenical Patriarch," says Rudović for "Vijesti".

At the beginning of the month, at the DPS election convention in Nikšić, Đukanović accused the Serbian Orthodox Church of trying to protect the infrastructure of Greater Serbia in Montenegro, while at the same time announcing that he would restore the Montenegrin Autocephalous Church, whether anyone liked it or not.

"If the reason for the sudden 'opening' of the issue, the position of the Orthodox Church by Mr. Đukanović, was someone's informal promise from circles close to the Ecumenical Patriarchate that the so-called Ukrainian scenario would also be applied in Montenegro, it is clear that the opposite effect was achieved and that those who they promised, in fact, they misled the president of the country", assesses the president of the special club of deputies, Aleksandar Damjanović.

After Đukanović's first statement, a public showdown began, mainly through the media, in which the Serbian government intervened with a blade pointed at the President of Montenegro and the DPS.

Meanwhile, the Montenegrin Government received a mostly positive opinion from the Venice Commission on the proposal of the Law on Freedom of Religion, according to which religious buildings built before December 1, 1918 should become state property if religious communities do not possess ownership documents. That success was overshadowed by Bartholomew's letter, which the president's office announced that they had not received. They did not answer yesterday whether the letter had finally arrived.

While the public controversy continued, Đukanović softened the rhetoric. At the DPS conference in Podgorica, he said that the task is to resolve the religious issue, but with the aim of overcoming divisions and reaching reconciliation.

Damjanović says that Đukanović should now, if he is honest, stop with the statements that initiate these divisions and create additional political destabilization, while the Government would have to review the already established Bill.

"Just as that same Constitution is the highest act that we all have to respect, regardless of whether we agree or not with certain solutions, so are the church canons, something that defines the church order, that is, a kind of church constitution, and they must be respected as much as even if someone, including the president, didn't like them.

This is exactly the essential message from the letter sent by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the President of the State", said Damjanović to "Vijesta".

According to Neđeljko Rudović, it is extremely important for Montenegrin society to know its priorities:

"Our priority is a democratic state, which means a changeable government, equality before the law, economic development and decriminalization of society. When we establish a true civil state, we can devote ourselves to other issues, but in a way that brings us together, and does not divide us as a community".

I would like, he said, to have a unique independent Montenegrin Orthodox church, which is equally dedicated to the good of all who believe and go to church:

"All this kind of government is doing is only increasing the gap in order to retain power by brazenly using emotions. Just as they were the supposed guarantor of independence, now they want to be the guarantor of the restoration of the Montenegrin church in order to strengthen the position of citizens who are national Montenegrins. There is nothing honest about it, there is only that political calculation in the background".

Đukanović's policy was the biggest opponent of the autocephalous Montenegrin church

Rudović says that for the sake of all those who renewed the CPC in 1993 out of the purest intentions, it is important to remember that the politics personified by Đukanović was the biggest opponent of the renewal of the autocephalous Montenegrin Church, which is an endeavor of Montenegrin intellectuals and cultural organizations, as well as LS and SDP, as political representatives of sovereignist, anti-war and pro-Western forces.

"Djukanović is now putting himself in the position of the patron of the autocephalous church, after he actually appropriated the first one, exercising control over its head. Those citizens of Montenegro who, out of pure intentions, fought for an independent and free Montenegro and for its church, do not need the DPS autocephalous church," said Rudović.