Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
September 15, 2003

PUBLIC STATEMENT
OF THE EPISCOPAL COUNCIL OF ORTHODOX BISHOPS OF MONTENEGRO OF THE SEBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

The Episcopal Council of Orthodox Bishops of Montenegro of the Serbian Orthodox Church, from their meeting held in th Epsicopal Palace of the Diocese of Budimlje-Niksic in Monastery Djurdjevi Stupovi, Berane, on the 12^th of September, 2003, on the feast of St. Alexander of the Neva, issued the following Public Statement:

1. After thorough talks concerning the current topics and problems from the life of the Church in Montenegro as well as the implementation of her evangelic mission, the Bishops express their joy and gratitude to God for the reason that the church life in Montenegro has become more dynamic and intensive during the recent years. The witness to this is not only the renovation of the St. Sava’s and the Petrovics’ Diocese of Budimlje-Niksic, in the see of which this present gathering is being held, as well as the renewal of the total ecclesial and missionary aspects of the Church. During the last ten years, quite a number of monasteries has been renovated and the life in them renewed, starting from Kumanica, Kaludra and the Holy Archangels on the Tara and going on to those of Beshka at the Lake of Skadar, Obod on Rijeka Crnojevica, Zanjica at the seaside, Podmajina and Stanjevici in Budva, Podmalinska and Bijele on the Durmitor, as well as those towards Zagradja above Scepan Polje. Numerous churches throughout Montenegro have been renovated, many of them have been built as new ones, amonf which a special place occupaies th Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection in Podgorica.What is specially important for the mission of the Church – a number of the workrs in the Lord’s Field has increased – of priests, monks and nuns as well as of the active members of the Lord’s people in the life of the Church. The renovated Theoplogical Seminary of Cetinje has during these ten years, although under difficult circumstances oflife, performed its exceptionally significant ecclesial-educational mission in Motenegro and outside; quite a number ofchurch choirs has been organized in all the dioceses, quite a number of the Circles of the Serbian Sisters have restarted their activity with their precious humanitarian service. A considerable number of those unbaptised in Montenegro – has been baptised, and in this way have returned to the Orthodox faith of their forefathers. The Church performs her mession also via a rich publishing activity (Svetigora, Vidoslov, Svevidje, Milesevac – these are the names of periodicals and publishich hoses of these dioceses). In the portion of the Diocese of Zaholm.Hercegowina and that of Mileseva, which partly belong to the Republika Srpska and Serbia respectively, Cattechism has been introduced in the public schools, whereas in the areas of Montenegro it has been started onle at church premises.
2. Without any doubt, this spiritual and moral renewal of Montenegro would be even more successive and intensive if there were not present atheistic and totalitarian heritage of recent times. Namely, a number of recent marxists and Kumrovec student, destorted in “democrats” and “Euiropeans” has continued their anti-Christian task: to create their devil’s gathering under the name “the Montenegrin church”, to obstruct a reintroduction of Catechism in schools, and with the aid of that tribal-police sect goes on with marring of the Church using abundantly radio, TV and other mass media.
3. The Orthodox Bishops of Montenegro state with regret that, beside the violation of the basic religious rights from the side of atheistic-oriented people, there exist some other serious problems which disturb the progress of the Church and promotion of spiritual and moral life in Montenegro as well as creation of solid relations between Church and state. At first place one has to mention here the unsettled relations between Church and State. Especially since the Ministry of religions was abolished the Church does not know to which institution to apply with the aim of solving the current problems. The Church, being separated from State by Constitution, has found itself in the position of isolation and juridical insecurity, on one side, and on the other side, just because of that insecurity everybody may unpunished violate her property and dignity. In this way it is quite possible that some political and party circles promote a police Para-church in Montenegro, which is given even property rights and other rights as if Montenegro had become a country without guaranteed rights and juridical system. Such a promotion and maintenance of an ecclesial and spiritual schism of such a sort for the first time in the history of Montenegro has opened another grave sore on the already wounde being of Montenegro, that the creators of that schism do not think of. Unfortunately, we live in the time when the state is mystificated with us, and the Church has lost elementary rights.
4. Referring to the church property, what makes us seriously concerned is the fact that the application of of the Law on the restitution of the property taken from the Church and citisens has been stopped, although this law was passed by the Parliament of Montenegro and signed by the President of the Republic. The property has not been only given back to their legal possessors, but it is being sold into private hands and stolen, abd thereby even the minimum of the church property left to it by the previous authority is being attacked. We are also concerned due the neglectance of our cultural heritage: our appeals at the Ministry for Culture usually remain without reply; The Institute for Protection of cultural monuments does not perform its responsibility conscienciously and expertly, and for all defects accuses representatives of the Church.
5. The above indicated legal insecurity and isolation of the Church as well as non-existence of an official body to which the Church might apply, is ereflected upon the matter of solving pension-social insurence of parich priests and other church workers. In former Yugoslavia that matter was regulated by law, so that the church bodies had to pay in 50% of the contribution, and the social community another 50%, whereas that question today has remained unregulated.
6. What also specially concerns is the ever present accusation of the Church for nationalism. Whoever knows even to some extent the nature, spirit and mission of the Church ist is clear that from her entire history taht she does respect national adeherence and orientation of every individual, and nevertheless according to ist nature, organisation and mission remains – catholis, universal. She has never lemited herself to the boundaries of any paople, nether it identifies herself with any people or nation because she would stop being what she has been, she would have lost her catholic, universal character and mission. The newest example of such an unjust accusation of the Church for nationalism are tha attecks on His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Pavle, the man who has never by any of his words, statement or action stepped out from ecumenical frameworks of Christ’s Gospel.
7. What specially concerns us as Bishops and men who perform educational mission in the people is a too quckly launching of a reform of education in Montenegro, whixh has been received by a rather great disapproval not only of us but also of both the parents and school children, as well as of many conscious and honest teachers and professors. Insted of a serious and responsible approach to this so complex job, which demand in the first place a disideologisation of the school and its true modernisation, as a matter of fact, they have launched a new ideologisation of the schooling system, one fears, of a more primitive and retrogradive sort than that which preceded in the times of the Marxist education. On the basis of that new ideologisation many of hakf-truths and un-truths have been broughht ito the educational system, especially when dealing with the fields of culture, history and language. Insted that the true achevements in the contemporary educatioal system of democratic be used, our reformers of chooling import in the West already neglected educational models and methods creating in this way a greater chaio in our educational system. What is our grevious concern is the fact that in this newly composed educational system no place has been reserved for the Science on Faith, although it has already been introduced in all surrounging former Ygolsav Republics, not to talk about the democratic countries such as Germany, Austria, Greece and other Europena states.
8. In spite of all these difficultis, problems and misfortunes the Church has been facing, she nevertheless continues her salvific and educationa sway through history, being full of unshakeble faith and trust in God and being able to illiminate and tranform the man bot as individual and as community both inMontenegro and in the contemporary world over.

Members of the Episcopal Council of Montenegro: