Dangerous parallels between Montenegro and Ukraine

A part of the public in Montenegro has assessed as dangerous the message of the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church Joanikije, that Montenegro is predicted to be a small Ukraine. This was seen by the opposition as a call for war in Montenegro.

The charge d’affaires of Ukraine has said that Joanikije was relying on Russian propaganda, while the British ambassador stated that the words of the metropolitan should be taken for granted.

According to historian Milos Vukanovic, Metropolitan Joanikije expressed the opinion of the head of the church in Serbia, and that the story about the “neutrality” of the Serbian Orthodox Church in relation to Ukraine is a cover under which ideological goals are hidden. “The Serbian Orthodox Church is conditioned by the policies of Aleksandar Vucic and in this story is neutral to the extent that is ordered by President Vucic,” he said.

Serbia condemned the threat to Ukraine’s integrity but did not impose sanctions on Russia, while other Western Balkan countries have linked their sanctions against Russia with the European Union.

 What did Joanikije say?

On March 13, Metropolitan Joanikije said that “events in Ukraine are the consequences of ingrained atheism” and that Montenegro is projected to be a “little Ukraine”, according to the Montenegrin Coastal Metropolitanate website.

“We must sympathize with the Orthodox people in Ukraine, above all we must pray to God for those people who unfortunately quarreled with each other.  And this does not seem unfamiliar to us: we also have a lot of disruption and disagreements. Montenegro is also projected to be a small Ukraine, “Joanikije noted.

He said the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is going through the most difficult time today.

“Our brothers, headed by Metropolitan Onufrije.  “It is the canonical Church which is in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate and all other Orthodox churches,” said Joanikije.

There are two Orthodox churches in Ukraine. The Metropolitan Onufrije is the head of the Kiev-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is loyal to the Moscow-based Russian Church. The second is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which gained independence from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2019 and is headed by Metropolitan Epiphanius.

In late February, Metropolitan Onufrije called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the fratricidal war.

The first reaction of the Ukrainian side

Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Montenegro, Natalia Fijalka, condemned Joanikije’s comments regarding the war in Ukraine.

“I can personally bring to Metropolitan Joanikije photos and images of those cities that were targeted, photos of children killed, thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed by Russian forces.  I think he relies on Russian propaganda channels, and based on them has his own conclusions about the situation in Ukraine. But the situation is not such that Russia protects the Orthodox. Orthodox Russians are killing Orthodox Ukrainians, whom they call “their brothers,” – Fijalka told Antenna M.

The Russian aggression against Ukraine began on February 24./RSE/