The Bishop of Dusseldorf and all Germany, Bishop Grigorije, is a determined opponent of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, is a supporter of ecumenical dialogue and as a person of free and self-aware spirit, represents hope for many, but also the fears of the regime, assessed the French portal Curie de Balkan.
In an extensive article about Grigori, the portal states that the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) is electing a new patriarch on February 18 and questions whether the bishop will be among the favorites for the post.
Grigorije, born in 1967, whom his relatives think is a "revival figure", has become a representative of the progressive current of the Serbian Orthodox Church and commands respect outside the circles of believers.
The bishop with short gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard was also nicknamed "Orthodox George Clooney", but he causes dissatisfaction with the Vučić regime as he openly criticizes the authorities, condemning his authoritarianism and everything he does to gain the obedience of the church.
Curie de Balkan takes a look at the biography of Grigori, mentioning that he became a member of the board of the protest organization during the launch of "Slobodan Milošević's war machine" in the early XNUMXs. At the time, Grigorije was hanging out with Dragan Đilas, the former mayor of Belgrade who today leads the small opposition Freedom and Justice party.
Describing Grigori's priestly path in the SPC, the French portal reported, among other things, that he became a monk in the Ostrog monastery in 1992, from where he left with his mentor, Bishop Atanasi (Jevtić) of Zahum and Herzegovina to the renovated Tvrdoš monastery near Trebinje.
To those who accuse him of being an entrepreneur close to Milorad Dodik, that he benefited from donations from Republika Srpska and loans from that entity's bank in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Grigorije answered in an interview for Croatian television HRT in 2018 that he had no choice but to go into business, because it was a matter of survival.
Grigorije is close to Bishop Joaniki, especially regarding Kosovo. Together with him, the late Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and Bishop Teodosije of Prizren-Rag, he criticized every idea of territorial division on an ethnic basis that Vučić tried to push through in 2019.
His conflict with the Serbian president has only worsened since then, especially after an interview with the weekly Vrijeme in May 2019, in which he explained how Vučić threatened, insulted and humiliated bishops, especially Teodosi, during a meeting of church leaders, according to Curie de Balkan.
Grigorije then criticized the lack of media freedom in 2020 and stated that "absolute power is in the hands of one man". The disagreement with the authorities continues, according to the French portal.
The bishop, as the portal further writes, became a taboo target in the service of the regime. Tabloids say he was a "drug addict connected to criminal circles." The media machine went so far that he started circulating a video in which it is reported that he even wanted to "bury the then Patriarch Pavle alive".
The representatives of the regime, for their part, are tasked with discrediting him by accusing him of wanting to interfere in politics. Some politicians state that Dragan Đilas is behind Grigori and that the bishop should decide whether he wants to be patriarch or president of the state, the portal states.
Be that as it may, Grigori's popularity is growing. Political scientist Cvijetin Milivojević said that he is one of the few free spirits in the upper circles of the SPC, and Grigorije's friend from Mostar, the Franciscan priest Iko Skoko, has a similar attitude.
"If Grigorije were to become patriarch, he would bring a breath of change to all relations in the Balkans," Skoko said, Curie de Balkan reported.
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