UOC bishops hold divine services in monasteries and churches of Montenegro

UOC bishops and the head of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the SOC. Photo: mitropolija.com

On September 13, 2020, the head of the Montenegrin-Littoral Metropolitanate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Amfilohije (Radović) and the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol, and the vicar of the Odessa Eparchy, Archbishop Diodor (Vasilchuk) of Yuzhne, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Holy Noble Prince Alexander Nevsky on the island of Sveti Stefan in Montenegro, reports the website of the SOC Metropolitanate.

At the end of the service, Metropolitan Amfilohije said that he was especially happy to serve at the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky – "one of the most important personalities of the Slavic peoples", "with two bishops of our Kievan Rus’ who brought us the blessing of St. Alexander Nevsky".

The hierarch recalled that King Alexander II Karađorđević, who built this temple, received tens of thousands of refugees expelled by the Bolsheviks in the country, among whom there were more than 30 bishops led by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kyiv and Galicia.

“His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Onuphry is the successor of Metropolitan Anthony,” Metropolitan Amfilohije added, after which Metropolitan Luke addressed the audience with a short speech.

Also, the press service of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral reported that the day before, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol visited the ancient Ostrog Monastery and, together with Metropolitan Amfilohije, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. John's skete of the monastery. On the same day, the Ukrainian bishop visited the Cetinje Monastery, where he venerated its famous shrines.

On September 11, on the day of commemoration of the Beheading of John the Baptist, Archbishop Diodor of Yuzhne chaired a festive liturgy at the Cetinje Monastery.

As reported earlier, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia expressed hope for a speedy abolition of the anti-church law that infringes on the rights of the Serbian Church in Montenegro.

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