Mihailo: The church in Lovćenska street was painted at the urging of Boris and Stefan

Metropolitan of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church (CPC) Mihailo has filed criminal charges against several persons suspected of breaking the doors of the Church of St. Righteous Ivan Crnojević in Lovćenska Street in Cetinje.

In the announcement of the CPC, signed by Mihailo, it is stated that "breaking down the door and forced entry into the church, carried out at the urging of vicar bishop Boris (Bojan Bojović), priest Stefan Marković".

It is also stated that they were joined by several citizens who support the activities of Bojović and Marković.

"The act of violence was preceded by the return of one of the keys to the church's front door, which had been handed over to Metropolitan Mihail by Stefan Marković, the priest authorized until then, to Metropolitan Mihail. In the afternoon of September 7, the perpetrators entered the church without authorization and without the knowledge of Metropolitan Mihail of their own volition and unauthorized, i.e. without authorization and without the knowledge of Metropolitan Mihail, they installed cameras and alarm devices on this building. In this way, they ensured control over the presence of believers in the church and the arrival of, in their opinion, persons whose presence in the church would not be desirable for them. By taking possession of the church building, the self-proclaimed Metropolitan Boris appropriates the religious sanctuaries of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church and pretends to manage them, despite the fact that it has been properly reported to the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro and registered in the Unified Record of Religious Communities," Mihail said in a statement.

It is also added that Mihailo submitted a notice to the Ministry of Justice that, among other buildings, the church of Saint Ivan Crnojević is under the administration of the CPC "which he alone legitimately represents".

"On this undeniable fact, the Ministry of Justice issued a certificate confirming that this church is the property of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church. I emphasize that on September 7, priest Stefan Marković unscrupulously insulted me and called me a 'retired metropolitan' who 'should be ashamed of himself.' that way insulted me as the head of a recognized church. As the spiritual head of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, I filed a criminal complaint against the perpetrators," said Mihailo.

Last Sunday, September 4, the CPC bishop Boris Bojović was declared the metropolitan of that church at a public gathering in Cetinje, which was called the "General Montenegrin Assembly".

Metropolitan Mihailo called that gathering a "failed political rally" that has "neither legitimacy nor legality."

In the past months, serious accusations were exchanged between Boris and Mihailo, mostly related to alleged financial malfeasance, but also to disobeying the rules of monastic life...