Patriarch Porfirije: Metropolitan Joanikije has the support of our entire Church, all our Orthodox people wherever they live and all the brethren hierarchs without a shred of reserve

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije: -Brothers and sisters, may this beautiful city be blessed, this God-gathered, beautiful country that has everything from God! He has the Divine thought inscribed in him, which only if we recognize, we will recognize also the God present here. Blessed be this land and all its inhabitants! Here, dear Bishop, Metropolitan, I entrust to you this flock, sure that you will take it in your arms and offer it to God with dignity. May you all be blessed and live for many years!

- I congratulate you on the new Metropolitan whom we enthroned this morning in the Cetinje Monastery, by the providence of God, the Holy Spirit, the prayers of the Holy Assembly Fathers and the prayers of all of you. Today, the entire Orthodox Church rejoices, both heavenly and earthly, but above all, St. Peter of Cetinje rejoices today, St. Basil of Ostrog and so many saints on the throne of the Metropolitans of Cetinje and Montenegro-Littoral rejoice, all the way to your unforgettable spiritual father, and our teacher and father of all gathered here, Metropolitan Amfilohije of blessed repose. They rejoice because of a worthy heir, and an honorable and worthy one, brothers and sisters, your intercessor before the Lord, are the words with which His Holiness Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch, addressed the people in the Cathedral of  Resurrection of Chrust in Podgorica upon his arrival from Cetinje, where he solemnly introduced to the throne the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, His Eminence Joanikije, whom the Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected as successor of Metropolitan Amfilohije of blessed repose, on September 5, 2021.

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral, and Bishop David of Krusevac were welcomed in front of the Cathedral church with exclamations: Worthy - Axios! Archbishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church and other local Churches: Archbishop Makarios of Qatar (Jerusalem Patriarchate), Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashin (Russian Orthodox Church), Metropolitan Gavril of Lovech (Bulgarian Orthodox Church), Metropolitan Demetrios of Gjirokastra (Albanian Orthodox Church), Bishop Barsanuphy of Siemiatycze (Polish Orthodox Church), Archbishop George of Kosice (Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia), Metropolitan Mark of Berlin (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia), Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary (Ukrainian Orthodox Church), Metropolitan Sergius of Ternopil and Kremenets (Ukrainian Orthodox Church), Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje Kyr Jovan, Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia, Bishop Vasilije of Srem, Bishop Nikanor of Banat, Bishop Lukijan of Buda, Bishop Dositej of Britain-Scandinavia, Bishop Justin of Zica, Bishop Jovan of Sumadija, Bishop Fotije of Zvornik-Tuzla, Bishop Atanasije of Mileseva, Bishop Grigorije of Dusseldorf and Germany, Bishop Teodosije of Raska and Prizren, Bishop David of Krusevac, Bishop Jovan of Slavonia, Bishop Andrej of Austria-Switzerland, Bishop Sergije of Bihac-Petrovac, Bishop Arsenije of Nis, Bishop Kirilo of Buenos Aires and South-Central America, Bishop of Zahumlje-Hercegovina, Bishop Isihije of Valjevo, Bishop Metodije of Dioclea and elected Bishop of Budimlje-Niksic, Bishop Antonije of Moravica, Bishop Stefan of Remesiana, Bishop Jerotej of Toplica, Bishop Joakim of Polog-Kumanovo, Bishop Marko of Bregalnica, retired Bishop Georgije of Canada, Elected Bishop of Marca  archimandrite Sava, elected Bishop of Hvosno archimandrite Justin, abbot of the Hilandar Monastery archimandrite Metodije and numerous priests and hieromonks.

The reception was also attended by Mr. Zdravko Krivokapic, Prime Minister of Montenegro, representatives of political and public life in Montenegro.

Metropolitan Joanikije also addressed the audience, saying that the enthronement is a biblical event when His Holiness and forty hierarchs from the holy Churches of God come:

-We know that it is our call to pray to God as much as possible, so that God's grace may be multiplied among us as much as possible through their prayers. And of course, there were a lot of temptations. We resisted this temptation in such a way that we prayed to God and did not allow ourselves to retaliate with the same measure, nor at any moment for hatred to enter our hearts, because we know that these divisions, which some people in Montenegro use, are artificially induced and that a lot of work has been done on it. Everything that happened around the enthronement burdened Montenegro and its citizens, and all of us in Montenegro feel that we are responsible for what we are not responsible for. It is not nice that Montenegro, especially the city of Cetinje, sends messages that someone is not welcome, not only me, but today it so happened that the representatives of our sister local Churches couldn’t come, and they came to increase our joy and to give support to Montenegro and to all of us.

-The church was looking to do everything to reduce the strife between the brothers. We all have temptations, but reason prevailed, but also a sense of honor and honesty, especially towards guests. And I am glad that our guests came because in that way love and togetherness permeate the whole of Montenegro. There were enough people in the Cetinje monastery to fill their souls and hearts, as well as here in this holy church, where the relics of my predecessor, Metropolitan Amfilohije of blessed repose, rest, where the brethren and hierarchs, who came to support us prayerfully, celebrated.

Congratulations to the newly enthroned Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral, was also sent by the representatives of the local Churches, who handed him appropriate gifts on that occasion.