PATRIARCH OF SERBIA: PRAYERS THAT PROBLEM IN MONTENEGRO WILL BE RESOLVED WITHOUT HARMING CHURCH

The Patriarch of Serbia, His Holiness Irinej, addressed the Orthodox faithful in Montenegro over the weekend, saying in a sermon that he prays that the contentious issue facing the Orthodox Church in the small Adriatic country will be resolved without harming the Church.

The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, an eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, has charged that a law passed in the country’s Parliament by the Montenegro government threatens to confiscate much of its property and relics, which date to before WWI.

In a statement, Irinej noted that «… we gathered here today to save the Serbian Orthodox Church and the people of Montenegro. We have decided to turn to God, because the problem is so great that we cannot resolve it with our own means.»