A fifth of the residents of Montenegro came to prayer resistance
More than 130 thousand people gathered in front of churches in Montenegro on the eve of the Serbian New Year to offer prayer (the total population of Montenegro is 678 thousand people) and to protest against the adoption of an anti-Orthodox law by the country’s parliament.
Prayer services and prayers were organized in Podgorica, Pljevlja, Bar, Bijelo Polje, Kolasin, Mojkovac, Niksic, Herceg Novi, Tivat, Budva, Beran, Andrijevic, Murin, Zabljak, Pluzin, Danilovgrad, Kotor.
It is expected that in the coming days there will be even more people at prayer services wanting to protect Orthodox shrines.
Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and Littoral celebrated the festive liturgy at the Cathedral of St. John in Bar, after which he led a nationwide religious procession as a form of prayer resistance.
“The Church of God has been persecuted from its founding to the present day. Therefore, do not be surprised that even in our time this anti-Christian, godless spirit haunts us, and our godless rulers turn out to be the heirs of those who killed the priests after the war. They want to take away the temples using their godless power,” Amphilochius said, addressing the believers.
The day before, the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church, at its meeting in the Cetinje Monastery on January 11, 2020, adopted a draft appeal to the Constitutional Court of Montenegro to repeal the so-called Law on Freedom of Religion.
“We thank all believers in Montenegro for demonstrating Christian dignity in resisting this lawlessness, which is not recognized by our brothers and sisters throughout the region and the world,” says the Episcopal Council’s message to the faithful.
The Council blessed the organization and conduct of prayer services on Thursdays and Sundays, as well as prayer meetings on other days, recalling the commitment to maintain peace and dignity, as it has been until now.
“We ask all three branches of government of our state of Montenegro, both executive, legislative and judicial, to find ways to repeal this law. Only in this way will they restore the peace and tranquility of Orthodox believers, which were violated by government authorities at Christmas, the appeal says.
The Council recalls that last year the Church and its expert services submitted proposals to the Government of Montenegro and, in accordance with the recommendations of the European and Venice Commission, to amend this bill, but received no response.
On the night of December 27, the Parliament of Montenegro by a majority vote adopted the law “On freedom of religion and belief and the legal status of religious communities,” which provides for the confiscation of 650 Orthodox shrines. This sparked mass protests across the country.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.