Orthodox Christians clash with police in Montenegro
Orthodox Christians in Montenegro staged mass protests against the law “On Freedom of Religion” adopted by the country’s parliament, which provides for the confiscation of ancient churches and monasteries from the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The temples are overcrowded. Protests are taking place in the cities of Berane, Bijelo Polje, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Bar, Budva, Kotor, Niksic.
In Podgorica, demonstrators blocked the road to the airport, knocking down a tree. They clashed with the police, during which four law enforcement officers were injured.
There, in Podgorica, equipped police tried to get through to the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection of Christ, but young people blocked their way. During the scuffle, smoke grenades were detonated.
On Friday night, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted by a majority vote the law “On Freedom of Religion and Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities” amid mass protests throughout the country. There were no votes against or abstentions, since the document was considered after the police detained all opposition deputies.
Mass protests are taking place in the cities of Berane, Bijelo Polje, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Bar, Budva, Kotor, Niksic. Over 55 people were detained, including opposition deputies. The Metropolis of the Montenegrin-Primorsky SOC reported that on the Djurdjevica Tara Bridge in the north of the country, police at night during a protest “cruelly beat Bishop Methodius and the believers who defended him with batons and kicked them.”
Earlier, President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic said that he would seek autocephaly for the “Montenegrin church” following the example of Ukraine. The Law “On Freedom of Religion and Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities” provides for the confiscation of 650 shrines, including the Ostrog Monastery, widely known in the Orthodox world.
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