Metropolitan Amfilohije served in Machagai in the Argentinian province of Chaco

His Eminence Archbishop of Cetinje and Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Amfilohije, the administrator of the newly-formed Diocese of Buenos Aires and South America of the Serbian Patriarchate, served on Sunday, November 13, 2011 the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the church of St. Nicholai in Machagai in the Argentinian province of Chaco, with the concelebration of presbyter Bosko Stojanovic, parish priest of Buenos Aires and protodeacon Nikola Radis, born in Machagai, now the president of the Church community in Buenos Aires.

Metropolitan met with the members of local Church communuty and discussed a future cooperation on the improvement of the church life in Machagai and in a whole province, which had become the home to many emigrants from Montenegro and Herzegovina.

This church was built by emigrants from Montenegro in the cooperation with local priest Aleksandar Kovalenko, at the end of the thirties of the last century. Recenlty it has been restored by the Government of the province of Chaco, by the personal devotion of the governer of Chaco Mr. Jorge Capitanich, originating from Banjani, a very influential Argentinian politician.

In the province of Chaco many Montenegrin emigrants live as well as those from other parts of former Yugoslavia and mostly in: Machagai, P. R. Saenz Pena and Resistencia. Furthermore, Chaco means a place of hunt - hunting ground in the language of the native population.  

Later in the evening Metropolitan participated the solemn dinner in the Yugoslav cultural and sport society in Sáenz Peña, prepared in the honour of his visit.

On behalf of the all present, Mrs. Marta Capitanich, the president of the Yugoslav Society in Sáenz Peña and the honorary consul of the Republic of Serbia in the province of Chaco greeted His Eminence Metropolitan.

Metropolitan next day in towns of La Tigra and San Bernardo met with members of local church boards and expressed his readiness to help spiritual and material restoration of their churches. In La Tigra and San Bernardo there are many emigrants from our region and many locals from Montenegro participated in founding of these towns.

Later that afternoon Metropolitan visited local Montenegrin cemetary in the colony of La Montenegrina, where our first emigrants in Argentina were buried and which are still used today. At first, here were buried seven founders of this colony: Marko and Petar Capitanich, Lazar Kosanovic, Petar and Mitar Malovic, Mitar Micunovic and Danijel Svorcan. Metropolitan in the presence of few local residents, held a commemoration for the dead on this honorable cemetery.

After the visit to the cemetary, Metropolitan with his host visited a building of the old Charitable society  "Durmitor", whose reconstruction is being expected.

Source: Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral