The main schismatic of Montenegro wants to celebrate Christmas at the walls of the oldest monastery of the SOC

The head of the schismatic “Montenegrin Orthodox Church”, created by analogy with Ukraine, “Metropolitan Michael” Mirash Dedeić, appealed to the mayor of Cetinje for permission to hold a Christmas service and a ceremony of burning badnjak (oak branches and trunks) on Christmas Eve at the walls of the oldest Cetinje monastery, which belongs to the canonical Serbian Church and which is the residence of the SOC metropolitans.

As a PolitNavigator correspondent reports, in his address to the mayor of Cetinje, Alexander Kaščelan, schismatic Miraš Dedejic wrote that the 15th-century Cetinje Monastery is “the traditional residence of our church, since 1918 it has been in occupation status, the see of Peter Cetinje is located there, which we occupy.” .

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“We ask and demand from you, as from the mayor of the capital (Cetinje was the capital of Montenegro for centuries before the era of the SFRY, and now the residence of the country's president is located there - ed.) provide us with unhindered conditions to carry out (the ritual) at three o’clock in the afternoon on January 6, 2021,” Dedeich wrote. “We expect that you, as the first person of the city, will be present at the ceremony.”

It should be noted that the ceremony of burning badnjak at Christmas is characteristic of many Yugoslovenian peoples, replacing the Christmas tree.

The schismatic “Montenegrin Orthodox Church” was officially registered as a public organization in 2000. Its current “primate” Mirash Dedeich was originally a priest of the SOC, but because of his moral qualities he was defrocked, and in addition his wife left him.

However, the sufferer was sheltered by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which sent him to serve in Rome, but even there he did not find anything better than to lead a riotous lifestyle and get close to Catholics, after which he was recalled and sent to the state.

In the early 90s, a forgotten ordinary priest was invited to the schismatic structure of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, and after the death of its head he was called to a leadership position. For this purpose, schismatics from the “Macedonian Orthodox Church” tonsured him as a monk, and other schismatics - representatives of the parallel BOC - the “Bulgarian Synod”, elevated him to the dignity of metropolitan.

Such movements outraged the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople anathematized Dedeich, who began to be called “Metropolitan Michael.”

In response, the scandalous and quarrelsome “Primate of the Czech Orthodox Church” called him a “Turkish patriarch”, which is not a decree for a real Montenegrin.

Lately, however, Mirash Dedejic speaks of Bartholomew with respect, expecting that the leader of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, who has repeatedly stated that his country and people need “its own Church,” will be able to persuade the Ecumenical Patriarch to give the Montenegrin schismatics a tomos on the Ukrainian model.

The dictator of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic and the main schismatic of Montenegro Miras Dedejic

Montenegro separated from Serbia in 2006 under the pretext of “faster integration into the EU”, but has still not received EU membership. In 2017, against the will of the population, Montenegro was included in NATO by the pro-Western ruling elite without a referendum. Now about 30% of the population of this former part of Yugoslavia call themselves ethnic Serbs. The Montenegrin authorities are trying to weaken the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church, seeing in it a threat to local independence.