Amfilohije Radović

In October last year, at a celebration marking the 800th anniversary of the SPC's autocephaly, or ecclesiastical autonomy, Patriarch Irinej honoured Vucic with the Order of St. Sava 1st Degree, the Church's highest order.

As Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas Eve on Monday, tens of thousands of Serbian Orthodox priests, bishops and believers attended services and burned traditional Yule logs in the old capital of Cetinje and the current capital Podgorica.

In an interview for daily "Kurir", he at the same time called on the authorities in Montenegro to "reason and come to their senses", expressing the hope that reason would overcome the problems and that the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) holy places would not be seized in that country.

While MPs in parliament in Montenegro debated the controversial religious law, many citizens, opposition supporters and Serbian Orthodox priests took to the streets to express anger over what they call a plan to steal the Serbian Orthodox Church's property in Montenegro.

But, as he says, this is happening in the country where Djukanovic is president, which is why he has no right to interfere.

A legislative committee session is being held today in the building, on which the Government's Law on freedom of religion is on the agenda.
The Legislative Committee of the Montenegrin Parliament endorsed the majority vote by the government's Law on religious freedom.

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.

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 Montenegrin Movement, an NGO, has called on the authorities to ban the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, from entering Montenegro for celebrations marking 800 years of the Serbian Church's autocephaly, or ecclesiastical independence.

In its opinion, the Commission, which serves as the top legal advisory body to the Council of Europe, urged the government to consult more with the public, including religious communities, to ease tensions with groups like the Serbian Orthodox Church.

"In general we backed the law," Vermeulen, a Dutch professor of Education Law, recalled.