Extracts from:
Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis
Volume XXXVIII, No. 38
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Special Report
Montenegro’s "religious freedom" law has become part of a pattern of East-West rivalry which includes US and EU attempts to see Moscow’s influence in Orthodoxy curtailed.
By Dr Branko Mikasinovich, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs
It is probably fair to say that, even within the region — and certainly outside it — there is little real understanding of the nuance of political warfare underway in the Balkans.
On Monday, May 18th, 2020, His Grace Bishop Irinej of Eastern America of the Serbian Orthodox Church held a telephone conference with Mr. Matthew Palmer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs with responsibility for the Western Balkans and the Aegean.
In a friendly and constructive conversation, Bishop Irinej and Mr. Palmer discussed the current situation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. Special attention was paid, once again, to concerns regarding the 2019 Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Legal Status of Religious Communities. They discussed the possible negative consequences the law might have on the stability of Montenegro and the region if outstanding issues were not resolved in a fair and transparent manner.
The main subject of the Montenegrin law is ownership of religious property. Although every single article of the law has legal deficiencies, the most significant problems are presented in Articles 62 and 63. These two articles state that three categories of property and land owned by religious communities—1) those built with public revenue, 2) those owned by “Montenegro” prior to 1918, and 3) those built with joint investment of citizens—no longer belong to the religious communities themselves but are now considered to be “cultural heritage” of Montenegro and are, therefore, to be owned by the state.
May 16, 2020
The Honorable Mike Pence
The Vice President of the United States of America
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20501
RE: The Case of Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje and Nikshich in Montenegro
Dear Mr. Vice President:
It is with much consternation that we have learned of the intentions of the State Prosecutor in the city of Nikshich in Montenegro to, once again, bring charges and seek police detention and custody for the local bishop, His Grace Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje and Nikshich, and seven other priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Metropolitan Hilarion comments on the situation with the arrest of Bishop Joanikije of Budimlye-Niksic and seven clergymen in Montenegro
In his comment to RIA Novosti news agency, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, expressed the position of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the arrest in Montenegro of Bishop Joanikije of Budimlye-Niksic and seven clergymen from the cathedral in the city of Niksic. The archpastor noted:
May 14, 2020
New Rochelle, NY
On May 12, 2020, Bishop Joanikije of the Diocese of Budimlje and Niksich, together with seven of his priests, was arrested by the police in Niksich following a religious procession. The clergy have always endeavored to conducted services in compliance with all the laws and regulations related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
St. Sava Monastery, Libertyville, Illinois, May 14, 2020
The Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America expresses concern over the heightened situation in Montenegro. The joint struggle against the coronavirus and rejection of all things, which included also the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, has shown that peace and order can reign in this country. The recent celebration of the feast of St. Vasilije at the Ostrog Monastery, when the prayerful presence of the people was permitted, was a good example of cooperation between the state and the Church.
Cetinje, May 13, 2020 The Day of Saint Basil of Ostrog the Wonderworker – To his glory and mercy! – is, for centuries now, a day of а great gathering of the people in Montenegro. During the previous decades, itwas a celebration day of all religious kinds in the city of Nikšić gathering a large number of believers. In particular, there has always been a public mass (perhaps like nowhere else among Christian Orthodox) prayer procession, which has been led by the clergy on the streets of Niksic since 1996. On this year's Saint Basil Day people gathered as well, but this time spontaneously: first, in the Ostrog Monastery and then in city of Niksic with the blessing of St. Basil Himself, without the invitation of the bishop and the clergy.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Washington
February 24, 2020
His Eminence
Archbishop Elpidophoros
Chairman of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops
10 East 79th Street
New York, New York 10075
Your Eminence:
Thank you for your letter of January 16 sharing your concerns about Montenegro's Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities, which went into effect in February 2020. As you know, both President Trump and I are firm believers in the principle that individuals from every place on the globe have an inalienable right to peacefully and openly practice their faith.
January 17, 2020
Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Founder & President
Appeal of Conscience Foundation
119 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019-2401
Dear Rabbi Schneier,
It is a privilege to greet you, on behalf of our Bishops in the United States of America, members of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the beginning of a New Year and New Decade.
January 17, 2020
Dr William F. Vendley
Secretary General Emeritus
Religions for Peace
777 United Nations Plaza, 9th Fl.
New York, NY 10017
Dear Secretary General Emeritus,
It is a privilege to greet you, on behalf of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the beginning of a New Year and New Decade.
January 16, 2020
The Honorable Michael R. Pompeo
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington D.C. 20520
Dear Mr. Secretary,
As Chairman of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the United States of America, I have the particular honor of bringing to your attention our concerns as Orthodox Christians in this country for our brothers and sisters in Montenegro, who are suffering a violation of their religious freedom after the recent passing of the "Law on Freedom of Religion or Beliefs and the Legal Status of Religious Communities" by the Parliament of Montenegro.
January 10, 2020
Rev. Kyoichi Sugino
Secretary General ad interim
Religions for Peace
777 United Nations Plaza, 9th Fl.
New York, NY 10017
Dear Secretary General ad interim,
It is a privilege to greet you, on behalf of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the beginning of a New Year and New Decade.
January 10, 2020
Commissioner Tony Perkins
Chair, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
732 N. Capitol Street, N.W., Suite A714
Washington, D.C., 20401
Dear Commissioner Perkins,
It is a privilege to greet you, on behalf of our Bishops in the United States of America, members of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the beginning of a New Year and New Decade.
January 10, 2020
Ms. Elizabeth K. Cassidy
Director of International Law and Policy
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
732 N. Capitol Street, N.W., Suite A714
Washington, D.C., 20401
Dear Director Cassidy,
It is a privilege to once again greet you, presently on behalf of our Bishops in the United States of America, members of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the beginning of a New Year and New Decade.
January 10, 2020
CONGRESSMAN GUS BILIRAKIS
Member, Caucus on International Religious Freedom
2227 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Bilirakis,
It is a privilege to greet you at this time of Epiphany, on behalf of our Bishops in the United States of America, members of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the beginning of a New Year and New Decade.
January 10, 2020
The Honorable Sam Brownback
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
United States Department of State
Washington, DC
Dear Ambassador Brownback,
It is a privilege to greet you on behalf of our Bishops in the United States of America, members of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the beginning of a New Year and New Decade.
January 7, 2020
His Holiness Irinej
Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Patriarch of Serbia
Краља Петра 5
Београд 11000, SERBIA
Your Holiness, Dear Brother, Concelebrant in the Lord’s Mysteries,
In the midst of the joyful celebration of our Lord’s Nativity and Theophany, we find ourselves writing to you with sadness due to the troubles befalling our Orthodox brethren in Montenegro.
December 31, 2019
TO ALL CLERGY AND ORDAINED MONASTICS
OF THE DIOCESE OF EASTERN AMERICA
THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
SUBJECT: LITURGICAL GUIDELINES CONCERNING RECENT EVENTS IN MONTENEGRO
Very Reverend, Reverend, and Venerable Fathers,
Due to the recent events in the Republic of Montenegro and the great suffering these affairs have inflicted on our Orthodox Church in Montenegro, we hereby request that the following prayers and petitions be integrated into the Holy Liturgy in all our parishes of the Eastern American Diocese:
December 30, 2019
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
It is a privilege to greet you at Christmastide on behalf of the Bishops in the United States of America, members of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America, praying that this appeal finds you well at the dawn of a New Year and New Decade.
December 30, 2019
Serbian American
Leadership Conference
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
On behalf of the Serbian American Leadership Conference, a newly formed non-profit created to inspire the next generation of Serbian-American civic engagement, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Christ is born!
Libertyville-Chicago, December 27, 2019
Concerning the latest developments in Montenegro, regarding the adoption of the draft Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Legal Status of Religious Communities, the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America forwards its support to the Orthodox Church in Montenegro, headed by its hierarchs.
Belgrade, December 25, 2019.
As regards the latest developments in Montenegro relating to the announced adoption of the draft Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Legal Status of Religious Communities, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church hereby expresses its support to the archbishops, clergy, monasticism and faithful people of the dioceses: Montenegro and the Littoral, Budimlje-Niksic, Mileseva and Zahumlje-Herzegovina, to continue defending their religious rights in Montenegro, encouraged by the power of the Holy Spirit and the prayerful representation of the saints of our own kin.
December 12, 2019
The Serbian Orthodox Church says Pope Francis shares its concerns about the controversial law being pushed by Montenegro’s government.
As the battle continues in Montenegro over a controversial new law on religion, the country’s largest faith body, the Serbian Orthodox Church, has claimed that Pope Francis asked the Prime Minister not to adopt the law before obtaining the consent of all religious communities in Montenegro.
The Church’s official website quoted the Pope’s response to a letter from the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch, Irinej, stating that the Vatican had contacted PM Dusko Markovic.
December 9, 2019
Council of Europe
European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
Mr. Gianni Buquicchio
Strasbourg
November 13, 2019
Orthodox Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
Legal Council
to
Government of Montenegro
Prime Minister Duško Marković
Podgorica