Serbian Church to Rally in Montenegro Against Property Law

Tensions in Montenegro could be heightened after the Serbian Orthodox Church holds an assembly and a protest rally in Niksic on Saturday against a controversial new law on religion.

Clergy led by Metropolitan Amfilohije announced that they would expose the relics of a revered saint, St Basil of Ostrog, at the assembly, while calling again on the government to withdraw the controversial law.

The Church has said it expects tens of thousands of supporters to attend the rally in Niksic held after the service.

Bishop Amfilohije earlier told a TV station in Bosnia that civil war could break out in Montenegro if the law is passed. "A civil war could happen … People will not allow churches in Montenegro to be stolen and desecrated," he told FTV on December 11.

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, on Wednesday urged the Montenegrin government to withdraw the law, claiming it was trying to rob the Serbian Church in the country of than 650 churches.

"They should give up passing the law … We hope and pray that they give up and that our saints will not be endangered," Irinej told the daily Kurir.

Russian appeal

Ahead of the Church's council on Saturday and what is expected to be mass gathering of believers, Russin government has intervened, saying the proposed law could "seriously endanger" the Orthodox church in Montenegro.

The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zaharova, said in Moscow on Wednesday that Moscow hopes Montenegro will not jeopardize the rights of the Orthodox Church when considering the Freedom of Religion Act.

"This topic goes beyond national boundaries and touches on the issue of the unity of the Orthodox world, the preservation of its...