Orthodox Churches Fight For Monastery

[Crvena zvezda]

http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=36438

MONTENEGRO -- Orthodox Churches Fight For Monastery

Riot police intervened to stop supporters of the Montenegrin Orthodox
Church from storming a monastery with Serbian church monks

Riot police intervened on Wednesday to stop supporters of the
Montenegrin Orthodox Church from storming a monastery where monks
from the rival Serbian Orthodox Church had barricaded themselves inside.

Montenegro's predominantly Orthodox population mostly follow the
Serbian Orthodox Church, which owns all ancient monasteries,
religious relics, and large tracts of land in the country.

Since the country left its union with Serbia last year, this
dominance has been challenged by the Montenegrin Orthodox Church,
which is not recognised by other Orthodox communities and holds
services in private buildings and a few new churches.

The head of the Montenegrin church, Metropolitan Mihailo, called on
his followers on Tuesday night to go to the historic Monastery of St
Peter in the town of Cetinje to assert their right to worship there.

Several hundred supporters marched to the monastery, waving the
red-gold Montenegrin flag and chanting 'Long Live Montenegro'.

But some 100 policemen at the gates prevented them from going into
the monastery, where the resident monks and some Serbian Orthodox
followers had barricaded themselves in.

"Let us in, please, or there will be bloodshed," Mihailo told
policemen as his supporters were being pushed back. "If there is no
Montenegrin Orthodox Church, you all are Serbs and Montenegro is a
Serbian state."

He later led his supporters to a nearby church that belongs to the
Montenegrin faction, and held the liturgy there.

Mihailo says his church is the rightful successor to the church which
was abolished when Montenegro was absorbed into Yugoslavia in the
early 20th century.

He has asked for his church to be given all the property currently
belonging to the Serbian church, but Montenegro's government has
largely been neutral on the dispute, saying only it would protect the
property rights of the Serb church.