Serbian and Patriarch of Antioch in Montenegro

mitropolija.com

The Patriarchs of Antioch and all the East and the Serbian Orthodox Church, John X and Irinej served mass together on Monday at the Cetinje monastery in Montenegro.

Montenegrin and Serbian media reported that heavy security was in place for the visit by the two Patriarchs who prayed before the relics in the Cetinje monastery – the hand of John the Baptist and a piece of the Holy Cross.  

The Serbian Patriarch voiced satisfaction over the visit to Montenegro, saying that he is pleased to see “a living church”.  

The two patriarchs will visit the Ostrog monastery where Irinej served and the main church in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica.

Montenegrin media reported that the Montenegrin Bishopric recalled in a statement that this is not the first visit by a Patriarch of Antioch to the country, specifying that the head of the Antioch Greek Orthodox Patriarchate visited Montenegro at the time of King Nikola, before World War 1.

There was some confusion prior to the visit because of allegations that the Serbian patriarch had been placed on a persona non grata list following his statement that “the position of Serbs in Montenegro is worse than at the time of the (Nazi puppet) Independent State of Croatia and the Ottomans”.  The Montenegrin police said on Sunday that Patriarch Irinej would be allowed into the country.

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