Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral reposes in the Lord

Metropolitan Amfilohije (Radović). Photo: mitropolija.com

On October 30, 2020, Montenegrin-Littoral Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church Amfilohije (Radović) reposed in the Lord, according to the website of the Metropolitanate.

“On Friday, October 30, 2020 at 8.20 (10.20 Moscow time) in the Clinical Center of Montenegro, after receiving the Sacrament, His Eminence Archbishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral, Exarch of the Pécsi See, reposed in the Lord,” the Montenegrin-Littoral Metropolitanate reports.

Dr. Elena Borovinić Bojović, head of the KCCG pulmonary clinic (Podgorica), announced shortly after midnight that yesterday the state of health of Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral had deteriorated dramatically due to the development of pneumomediastinum as a result of bilateral diffuse pneumonia, as well as due to prolonged oxygen therapy.

After scanning the lungs and pulmonary arteries and the progression of respiratory failure, the Metropolitan was intubated and transferred to the invasive ventilation mode. At 8.20 am he died.

The hierarch was born on January 7, 1938 in the village of Bar Radović in Lower Morać. In 1958 he graduated from the Belgrade Theological Seminary, and in 1962 he graduated from the Theological Academy of Saint Sava in Belgrade. He also studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade with a degree in classical philology adn continued his education in Bern (Switzerland) and in Rome.

In 1967, in Athens, Metropolitan Procopius of Kefalonia was tonsured into monasticism with the name Amphilochios. In 1968 he was ordained a priest in the city of Argostoli (Greece), in the same year he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

On June 17, 1973 he defended his doctoral dissertation “The Mystery of the Holy Trinity according to the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas" (in Greek).

In May 1985 he was elected Bishop of Banats with a see in the city of Vršac.

On December 30, 1990, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Zeta-Brdsk and Skenderija and Exarch of the Holy See of Pécsi. In Cetinje in 1992, the Cetinje Theological Seminary, closed in 1945, resumed its acitvity. He founded the "Svetigora" journal, as well as the publishing center with the same name, renovated and rebuilt a large number of churches and monasteries in Montenegro, which contributed to a significant increase in the number of clergy and monks in the Diocese.

In a number of his speeches he condemned the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine. He led a movement against the controversial law on freedom of religion and the status of religious communities in Montenegro, which took citizens to the streets for mass prayers and processions in late 2019. The "We Will Not Give Up Shrines" movement united the opposition and led to the first election defeat in more than 30 years for the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, Milo Djukanović.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Metropolitan Amfilohije was tested positive for COVID, which is why he was sent to the clinic for treatment.

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