He said it all with what he left unsaid: What does Porfirio's message mean that they never discussed establishing a diocese in Boka mean?

Message from the Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Porphyria that in that religious community they never even thought about, let alone discussed, the establishment of the Boka Kotorska eparchy, is not an attempt to "drop the ball" in the political-ecclesiastical conflict with the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and some local officials, but only a continuation of the discipline that the Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church implements towards those who are not on the course of official Belgrade.

This follows from the statement Nikola Šaranović, correspondent of the Sociological and Legal Data on Religion in Europe (EUREL) project from Montenegro and member of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS).

He told "Vijesti" that Porfiry's message last Sunday was not contained in what was said, but in what was left unsaid - and these were primarily attacks on the dignity of the Cetinje Metropolitanate and accusations of church separatism directed at the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral. Joanikia and prominent priests of the Metropolia.

Šaranović alluded to an organized campaign by Belgrade tabloids, close to the regime. Aleksandar Vučić, after a message was recently sent from Cetinje to the President of Serbia that his statements about the 2020 liturgies were not clear, and that the uninvited interference of politicians in church matters does not bring good to the state and the church.

From that moment on, propaganda outlets close to the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) government began creating a narrative that the Metropolitanate had intentions to create a Montenegrin church, while the Metropolitan of Budimlje-Niksic Methods, who came to Vučić's defense, was widely praised.

The statement also shows that Belgrade was concerned about the Metropolitanate's resistance to Vučić. Aleksandar Raković, close to the Belgrade Patriarchate.

"... The people there are disenfranchised. They don't know which way to look. On one side is Vučić, on the other (the head of the Montenegrin parliament) Andrew) Mandic". On one side is Joanikije, on the other Methodijje. This is a more complicated situation than during the Democratic Party of Socialists. We now need to see how to repair what has happened. And what has happened and who conceived it - some demonic mind conceived it," he said.

Šaranović: Time and truth on the side of the Metropolitanate

At the end of last week, Porfirije seemingly tried to calm the situation, but not by defending the Cetinje see, but by touching on the story of establishing the Boka Kotorska eparchy, denying that such a thing was being considered.

"The story about the establishment of the Boka Kotorska eparchy in Montenegro would be funny if it were not for evil intent, a well-designed malicious campaign that, by emphasizing this topic, aims to create confusion... We have never even thought about it, let alone spoken and discussed this topic, and especially we have not developed any strategy. Therefore, the establishment of the Boka Kotorska eparchy in Montenegro does not exist as a topic in our Church," Porfirije wrote in a statement published on the SPC website.

The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral did not respond to "Vijesti's" question about their view of Porfirio's statement.

Šaranović told the newspaper that not only can one not speak of separatism of the Metropolis, but one can only speak of separatism from the Metropolis, adding that this is most vividly visible through the activities of the newly proclaimed Metropolitan and Archbishop of Budimlje-Niksic, Metodije.

"Part of that separatist package was the idea of ​​forming the Boka Kotorska Eparchy, which, judging by the patriarch's statement, has since been abandoned," he said.

However, he notes that further "discipline" of those who are not in "obedience" to the "alliance of the throne and altar" in Belgrade has not been abandoned, adding that in doing so, we should not lose sight of - on the contrary, it should be taken as one of the key variables - that for the President of Serbia, who acts as the secular head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the church issue in Montenegro is, in the short term, a useful topic to divert attention from the problems he is facing.

"In the medium term, such a policy may aim to destabilize the situation in Montenegro ahead of the 2027 elections and its possible entry into the European Union. In the long term, it is an attempt to Serbianize Serbs in Montenegro, through the imposition of Serbia as their home state. He is assisted in this by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who acts as the spiritual president of all Serbs," said Šaranović.

However, according to him, time and truth are on the side of the Metropolis of Cetinje. Šaranović points out that the more the church-state Belgrade acts in this way, the clearer it will be how much the people and the state are on the side of the Metropolis.

"... Defending it as its spiritual institution with uninterrupted centuries-old continuity - as the former seat of the autocephalous Montenegrin Church, and today at least as an archiepiscopal see with primacy over the entire territory of Montenegro," the interlocutor said.

Political motives

The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral told "Vijesti" at the end of February that there were no ecclesiastical reasons for separating Boka Kotorska from the Metropolitanate, claiming that they did not know where such a "rumor" came from, but that, as they said, it seemed to have "primarily political motives."

"If they were to come true, it would represent an attack on the historical continuity, centuries-old heritage and integrity of the Metropolis," they stated at the time.

The Belgrade newspaper "Danas" announced in winter, citing information from the top of the Serbian Orthodox Church, that Porfirije and "his spiritual father", Bishop of Bačka Irenaeus, they plan to "leave" the Metropolitanate without Boka at the session of the Serbian Orthodox Church Assembly in May.

That media outlet claimed that there was speculation about the division of the Eparchy of Žička, but also the Eparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina, which could allegedly be left without Dubrovnik.

The editorial team was then told by several sources familiar with the events in the Patriarchate in Belgrade and the Metropolis in Cetinje that there were stories in the Serbian Orthodox Church about the separation of Boka. One interlocutor claimed that it was an alleged attack by Porfirio on Metropolitan Joanikije, another that it was the same thing - the Serbian Patriarch's response to the alleged objections of the Cetinje head to some moves by the church leadership, and a third - that the alleged plan to redraw the borders of the Metropolis existed, but that he (the interlocutor) did not think that it would happen at the Parliament in May, given the already existing frictions in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

However, "Vijesti" was unable to officially confirm either the writings of "Danas" or the claims of the source, and the issue was not on the agenda at the Serbian Orthodox Church Assembly.

Joanikije under attack from student support

At the end of February last year, Joanikije signed a letter condemning allegations that students protesting in Serbia were "Serbian Ustashas," a move that was not approved by the regime in Belgrade, with which the top leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church is also associated.

A few days later, Belgrade tabloids demanded that Joanikije withdraw his signature from the letter, assessing that he had joined the public attack on Porfirije and Metropolitan David of Kruševac (who was the author of the text in which the students were called “Serbian Ustashas”), and that he had “joined the ranks of those who do not wish well for the Serbian people and Serbia.” This was stated in an article by the little-known portal “Sunčanik”, close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, and which was reported by the local tabloid press.

Another signatory of that letter, until recently Metropolitan Justin of Žička, was removed from that position in February by a decision of the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which accused him of "persistently deceiving the public that he was politically persecuted."

The Synod at the SPC Assembly in May confirmed the decision to dismiss Justin. 27 bishops voted for Justin's dismissal, while eight abstained. Six bishops expressed a dissenting opinion, including Joanikije.