In Montenegro, protests against the new metropolitan. Nationalists riot

In the old capital of Montenegro – Cetinje – protesters against the Metropolitan of Montenegro-Primorsky Ioanniki broke through the police cordon and blocked the entrances to the city from the side of Podgorica and Budva, not allowing him to be ordained. About it reported national TV channel TVCG.

“Citizens have blocked the entrances to Cetinje from Podgorica and Budva in order to prevent the passage of the Patriarch of Serbia Porfiry and the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the enthronement of Metropolitan Porfiry,” the message reads.

The protesters create barricades of tires and stones. It also became known about clashes between citizens and the police, security officials used special means to disperse the protesters.

The ceremony of enthronement of Metropolitan Ioannikiy is to take place on September 5 at the Cetinje Monastery. At the same time, the believers were not invited there in order to avoid unrest. The Metropolitanate of Montenegro-Primorsky decided to refuse to hold a church-people meeting.

In the evening of September 4, a solemn meeting of the Serbian Patriarch Porfiry is also planned in front of the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica.

The accession to the throne of the new Metropolitan from the SOC caused discontent among nationalists, who believe that a Pro-Serb policy is being pursued through the clergy in Montenegro. At the end of May 2021, the Synod of the SOC elected Bishop Ioanniky (Michovich) Metropolitan of Montenegro-Primorsky. After the death of the previous Metropolitan Amphilochius on October 30, 2020, he served as administrator of the metropolis.

On the eve of the Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapich appealed to citizens with an appeal not to be provoked by “political and criminal structures”. The UN office in the country expressed concern about the aggravation of the situation in connection with church events.