Montenegro to Sign Agreement With Serbian Orthodox Church

PM Zdravko Krivokapic (left) during the Christmas procession in a church in Podgorica. Photo: Government of Montenegro

"I have been talking with Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch, Porfirije, and we will soon agree on the date of signing the agreement. This issue must not be the subject of politicization in order to score political points," Krivokapic wrote on Twitter.

His government was elected in December 2020 after three opposition blocs won a slender majority of seats in the parliamentary elections of August 2020, ousting the long-ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS.

On April 14, Minister of Justice, Human and Minority Rights Vladimir Leposavic said that the fundamental agreement was ready and would be signed by the representatives of the Church and government. He said the contract would correct past injustices and give the Church the same rights as other religious communities.

"We made a contract earlier but it's such a sensitive topic that one word could provoke a dispute and prolong the signing. Those negotiations weren't easy," Leposavic told the Serbian public broadcaster.

Media reported that on March 11 the draft was presented to the Serbian Orthodox Church Synod, which had some objections.

Montenegro has signed several "fundamental agreements" with smaller religious communities: with the Catholic Church in 2011, and the Islamic and Jewish communities in 2012, but no agreement has been reached with the Serbian Orthodox Church even though it is the largest religious community in the country.

According to the census from 2011, 72 per cent of Montenegrin citizens identify themselves as Orthodox Christians; about 70 per cent of this number follow the Serbian Orthodox Church and 30 per cent identify with the...