Balkans: attack on Orthodoxy under the guise of a coronavirus

On May 16, it became known that the priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Bishop Ioanniky of Budimlyan-Niksic and four other clergymen of the Montenegrin-Primorsky Metropolis of the SEC, were detained four days earlier. The Montenegrin authorities, who, under the guise of “fighting the coronavirus pandemic”, tried to crack down on the rebellious clergy and suppress the protests of the believers of the canonical church, were forced to “turn back”.

However, most likely, this is far from the end of the confrontation that developed there. What exactly is happening in this small Balkan country, and who benefits from the dramatic events taking place there that threaten to develop into a full-scale civil confrontation?

Split according to Ukrainian recipe

The saying has long been known: "Where the hell can't handle it, sends it there ..." She has the most varied endings, but with a very high degree of certainty it can be assumed that in our days, as extraordinary and plenipotentiary emissaries of the “infernal office”, it’s quite Specialized United States representatives could speak. Perhaps the most striking example confirming this thesis is the US ambassador for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback. It was this figure who started the church schism in Ukraine - the unlawful actions of both Kiev itself and the godless claims of the Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew legally formalizing it followed just after two “working visits” by Brownback, first to Ukraine and then to Phanar. In the first case, full support and approval was openly expressed, and secretly, more clear and specific instructions were given on the deployment of the largest possible attack on canonical Orthodoxy in the country. In the second, apparently, a categorical team sounded, hearing which Bartholomew briskly "took under the hood." The fact that without direct instructions from Washington “non-down” would not have received any “tomos”, now no one doubts. "Made happy" with his appearance, Mr. Brownback and Montenegro. It was precisely after this that the scandalous “Law on Freedom of Religion and Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Associations” was adopted in an emergency order, which without any exaggeration blew up the country. He was voted by the country's parliament only after the most real brawls, which came to spraying tear gas in the walls of the Assembly and removing the deputies of the opposition Democratic Front in its entirety.

The President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, who is a complete embodiment of the type of either a militant atheist imbued with the godless "European values", or simply an extremely unprincipled politician, waved the law instantly as soon as he was on his desk. However, the protégé of the West, who had already managed to do things, this time greatly overestimated both their own capabilities and the patience of the Montenegrin people, a very significant part of whose representatives to this day rank themselves Serbs. Those who endured the dragging of the country into NATO by Djukanovic against their will, people literally exploded with anger and indignation, resulting in massive civil protests against anti-church law. And it was from what! The decision taken not only serves the purposes of the present and shameless robbery, since in accordance with it at least 650 shrines, including the world-famous Ostrog monastery, can be declared state property and seized from Orthodox communities. The global tasks, quite obviously set by Dzhukanovich and his clique by American curators, are much larger. The schismatics from the authorities seek to destroy canonical Orthodoxy in the country, the only representative of which is the Serbian Orthodox Church and, according to the Ukrainian model, to erect a lawless “autocephaly” in its place. To do this, there is the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, created back in the 90s of the last century, which is illegal, from the point of view of church canons, an organization with a nationalist bias and obvious sectarian signs, led by deprived of dignity Mirash Dedeich, which is an exact copy of Ukrainian, not by night be remembered, the self-sacred "patriarch" of "Filaret" - Denisenko. And this is exactly what the Montenegrins have not endured ...

Coronavirus to help you ...

An unprecedented popular upsurge, during which people, even those who seem to be far from church life, including a large number of young people, came out in defense of Orthodox shrines, by his own admission, came as a surprise even to the head of the canonical church of Montenegro, Metropolitan of Montenegro and Primorsky Amphilochius. Be that as it may, in a matter of days the protests swept almost the entire country and the number of participants increased from hundreds to many thousands. The protesters were blocked not only by many important highways, but also entire cities. The police, diligently following orders received from the authorities, detained dozens of defenders of the faith, but this only increased their ranks. A threat of large-scale confrontation loomed over Montenegro - the people did not want to come to terms with the trampling of the shrines, and the rulers either did not want, or could no longer refuse, their "explosive" decision. It is well known that it is impossible to cancel transactions with some forces ... The COVID-2020 pandemic that broke out at the beginning of 19 was a real gift (not at all divine, but just the opposite). Now, despite the fact that not a single infected person was revealed in the country for a very long time, they had a reason to limit and prohibit mass gatherings of citizens (including religious communities) on “legitimate” grounds, which was immediately done . Initially, an agreement was reached between the authorities and representatives of the Orthodox Church on the cessation of both prayers and religious processions for the abolition of schismatic law, and mass worship. However, the achieved situational advantage seemed to Djukanovic little and he apparently decided to "end the war with one blow."

Absurd accusations of “violating the epidemiological regime” were raised against Orthodox priests. This was done after some of them held funeral ceremonies and other rites, which can not be denied to believers according to church canons. Both Bishop Amphilochius himself and other clergymen were more than once sent to police stations and the prosecutor’s office allegedly “to give explanations” with the clear intention of concocting a criminal case against them. The peak of arbitrariness was the detention for 72 hours on May 12, the day when the feast of St. Basil of Ostrog, the most revered in Montenegro, is celebrated in the city of Niksic, Bishop Ioannikii (Michovich) of Budimlyansko-Niksic and eight more priests. If Dzhukanovich (and such actions were unlikely to have been taken without the sanction received at the very “top”) was thus hoping to finally break the spirit of the defenders of Orthodoxy, then he miscalculated miserably. The effect was directly opposite - the unrest in the country broke out with new, even greater force. This time it came to an extremely fierce clash with the police, which without hesitation, used tear gas and stun grenades against the protesters. As a result, even a seven-year-old child was among the affected people. However, the cops themselves, whom the indignant crowd in their faces called “Ustashi,” that is, the Nazis, also got it. The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dusko Markovic, made a statement that “the Orthodox Church has opposed itself to the citizens,” however, the blind can see in this situation on whose side the Montenegrins are, and on whose police it seems that they are starting to listen more and more closely to the calls of protesters addressed to them "Do not listen to the president" and "go over to the side of the people." Obviously, clearly understanding the whole danger of the situation, the authorities went for the release of the detained priests, for which they probably had already prepared accusation articles providing for imprisonment.

Triumphantly leaving the building of the local prosecutor’s office, Bishop Ioannicius was met by a multitude of thousands of jubilant parishioners. The holy father behaved more than worthily in this situation: sincerely thanks to the faithful children of the church for support, he said that “a small misunderstanding” had come out with the authorities, however, the zealous law enforcement officers were discouraged and they understood “the whole importance of St. Basil for this city”. However, Father Johnny's mood is still the same - he promised the audience that he would continue the struggle not only "for freedom of religion", but also "for freedom, honor and dignity of every person." So, Dzhukanovich and other atheists in power should think a thousand times before, contrary to the will of the people, to continue to bend their own. They are already reaping the storm of righteous anger from the “wind” they planted. Whether this storm will be swept away by the rotten pro-American regime, which has proved that there is nothing sacred for it - the big question ...

It should be noted that the representatives of the Montenegrin clergy and believers who are steadily upholding their primordial faith enjoy the enormous support of the whole truly Orthodox world. This is not only about the Serbian Orthodox Church, a fan of her pastors and a faithful flock, who tirelessly requires the Montenegrin authorities to stop the persecution unleashed by her on the only canonical church in the country. In defense of Montenegrin brothers and sisters by faith, the Russian Orthodox Church has repeatedly acted and is advocating. Its firm and unambiguous position was initially officially stated - in the Patriarchal and Synodal Epistles, where the law that stirred up the country was directly called "schismatic" and "aimed at destroying the centuries-old historical memory of the people and fatherly spiritual traditions inherited from entire generations of ancestors." The Russian Orthodox Church is sure that those in power need to "come to their senses" and not to commit even greater evil, and the international community - "to prevent the violation of the rights of people on religious grounds in Montenegro." The reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church to the unlawful detention of priests in Niksic was extremely negative - its representatives immediately expressed "deepest alarm" about these actions and called on the country's authorities to immediately release the martyrs for their faith, and also "enter into dialogue with church representatives to restore agreement and peace in Montenegro. " As you can see, the powerful voice of the Russian Orthodox Church did not turn out to be the voice of one crying in the desert - at least with regard to the first part of the appeal. It would be better if Djukanovic and Markovich listen to the second. It’s better for them ...