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Montenegrin Orthodox Church
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church (Montenegrin: Crnogorska pravoslavna crkva, Црногорска православна црква; abbr. MOC, CPC or ЦПЦ) is a canonically unrecognized Eastern Orthodox Church. Formed in 1993 and registered as a non-governmental organization, Antonije Abramović was appointed as its first metropolitan. In 2023, after some controversy, the current metropolitan, Boris Bojović, succeeded Miraš Dedeić in the role. It claims succession to an older autocephalous Montenegrin Church, which existed until the unification of the Kingdom of Serbia and Kingdom of Montenegro, later to join the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918.
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church has been recognized as a religious organization by the Government of Montenegro since 2001. According to a 2020 poll conducted by CEDEM, approximately 10 percent of Montenegro's Eastern Orthodox Christians have opted for membership in the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, while approximately 90 percent have opted for or stayed with the Serbian Orthodox Church, in the canonical or widely-known Eastern Orthodox Church. Notably, the creation of the MOC has been opposed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Patriarch Bartholomew I has stated that "we will never give autocephaly to the so-called 'Montenegrin Orthodox Church'" and that its then-leader Dedeić was suspended by Constantinople for adultery and embezzlement.
According to the Montenegrin Orthodox Church itself, the idea of an autocephalous, independent Orthodox church in Montenegro dates back to 1603, with claimed recognition from the Russian Orthodox Church and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1766. Some historians, such as Živko Andrijašević support this claim of a Montenegrin Orthodox Church having existed for hundreds of years before being forcibly absorbed by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1920. However, this claim is contested by the Serbian Orthodox Church.
This notion of a free Montenegrin church was hardly discussed for many decades, but the creation of a special body for ethnic Montenegrins began to resurface outside Montenegro, at a time when Montenegrin fascists and collaborators led by Sekula Drljević gathered under the auspices of the Ustaša regime in the Independent State of Croatia. From 1943 to 1944, under the influence of the clerical-fascist ideology of the Ustaša movement, Drljević formulated a thesis on the diversity of Montenegrin Orthodoxy not only in relation to Serbian Orthodoxy, but also in relation to Orthodoxy in general. On that occasion, he coined the notion of crnogorоslavlje (Montenegrin Nationalism), putting it in opposition to svetoslavje . Looking at the Ustaša project of the Croatian Orthodox Church, Drljevic claimed that "the Montenegrin Church has not been in any dependence of any Orthodox Church for all centuries."
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church was founded in Cetinje on October 31, 1993, led by Antonije Abramović who was appointed as patriarch, initially with the support of the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro (LSCG), a pro-Montenegrin independence political party that existed at the time. At the time, Montenegro was part of the federal state with Serbia called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was formed a year earlier following a 1992 referendum. LSCG, a party with a pro-independence agenda, is claimed to have used the MOC as a tool in their campaign for Montenegrin sovereignty. At that time, the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) maintained close ties to Slobodan Milošević's administration in Serbia, and therefore the initial activities of the MOC were very sporadic.
After the death of Metropolitan Antonije, he was replaced by Metropolitan Dedeić. Most liberals disapproved of this change, and their support for the church soon started to fade. By 1997, the DPS administration in Montenegro led by Milo Đukanović began to distance itself from Milošević, and started supporting and financing the church, which received support from both the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro and the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro; however, after 2001 this support seemingly waned.[citation needed]
On January 17, 2001, the MOC was officially registered as a non-governmental organization at the local department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the absence of any other relevant and more current pieces of legislation, the registration was based on the Law on the Legal Position of Religious Communities from 1977, when Montenegro was still a socialist republic within SFR Yugoslavia.
In 2007, the MOC attempted to expand its activities beyond the borders of Montenegro. Serbia originally denied the MOC registration as an organization, as all canonical Eastern Orthodox churches have also refused to recognize the MOC. However, on appeal, the Serbian Supreme Court ruled this position unconstitutional, overturning the refusal and paving the way for a potential permission to register.
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Montenegrin Orthodox Church
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church (Montenegrin: Crnogorska pravoslavna crkva, Црногорска православна црква; abbr. MOC, CPC or ЦПЦ) is a canonically unrecognized Eastern Orthodox Church. Formed in 1993 and registered as a non-governmental organization, Antonije Abramović was appointed as its first metropolitan. In 2023, after some controversy, the current metropolitan, Boris Bojović, succeeded Miraš Dedeić in the role. It claims succession to an older autocephalous Montenegrin Church, which existed until the unification of the Kingdom of Serbia and Kingdom of Montenegro, later to join the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918.
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church has been recognized as a religious organization by the Government of Montenegro since 2001. According to a 2020 poll conducted by CEDEM, approximately 10 percent of Montenegro's Eastern Orthodox Christians have opted for membership in the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, while approximately 90 percent have opted for or stayed with the Serbian Orthodox Church, in the canonical or widely-known Eastern Orthodox Church. Notably, the creation of the MOC has been opposed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Patriarch Bartholomew I has stated that "we will never give autocephaly to the so-called 'Montenegrin Orthodox Church'" and that its then-leader Dedeić was suspended by Constantinople for adultery and embezzlement.
According to the Montenegrin Orthodox Church itself, the idea of an autocephalous, independent Orthodox church in Montenegro dates back to 1603, with claimed recognition from the Russian Orthodox Church and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1766. Some historians, such as Živko Andrijašević support this claim of a Montenegrin Orthodox Church having existed for hundreds of years before being forcibly absorbed by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1920. However, this claim is contested by the Serbian Orthodox Church.
This notion of a free Montenegrin church was hardly discussed for many decades, but the creation of a special body for ethnic Montenegrins began to resurface outside Montenegro, at a time when Montenegrin fascists and collaborators led by Sekula Drljević gathered under the auspices of the Ustaša regime in the Independent State of Croatia. From 1943 to 1944, under the influence of the clerical-fascist ideology of the Ustaša movement, Drljević formulated a thesis on the diversity of Montenegrin Orthodoxy not only in relation to Serbian Orthodoxy, but also in relation to Orthodoxy in general. On that occasion, he coined the notion of crnogorоslavlje (Montenegrin Nationalism), putting it in opposition to svetoslavje . Looking at the Ustaša project of the Croatian Orthodox Church, Drljevic claimed that "the Montenegrin Church has not been in any dependence of any Orthodox Church for all centuries."
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church was founded in Cetinje on October 31, 1993, led by Antonije Abramović who was appointed as patriarch, initially with the support of the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro (LSCG), a pro-Montenegrin independence political party that existed at the time. At the time, Montenegro was part of the federal state with Serbia called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was formed a year earlier following a 1992 referendum. LSCG, a party with a pro-independence agenda, is claimed to have used the MOC as a tool in their campaign for Montenegrin sovereignty. At that time, the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) maintained close ties to Slobodan Milošević's administration in Serbia, and therefore the initial activities of the MOC were very sporadic.
After the death of Metropolitan Antonije, he was replaced by Metropolitan Dedeić. Most liberals disapproved of this change, and their support for the church soon started to fade. By 1997, the DPS administration in Montenegro led by Milo Đukanović began to distance itself from Milošević, and started supporting and financing the church, which received support from both the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro and the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro; however, after 2001 this support seemingly waned.[citation needed]
On January 17, 2001, the MOC was officially registered as a non-governmental organization at the local department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the absence of any other relevant and more current pieces of legislation, the registration was based on the Law on the Legal Position of Religious Communities from 1977, when Montenegro was still a socialist republic within SFR Yugoslavia.
In 2007, the MOC attempted to expand its activities beyond the borders of Montenegro. Serbia originally denied the MOC registration as an organization, as all canonical Eastern Orthodox churches have also refused to recognize the MOC. However, on appeal, the Serbian Supreme Court ruled this position unconstitutional, overturning the refusal and paving the way for a potential permission to register.
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