Metropolitan Amfilohiy (1938-2020): life in the struggle for faith
At such a dramatic moment - when the first democratic government in Montenegro had not even been elected in accordance with the people's will - Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro-Litovsk left this world. The enormous authority the late Bishop enjoyed among the people is best demonstrated by the protest religious processions, which from time to time gathered a record number of participants. Perhaps these actions turned out to be the most massive not only in the history of the state, but throughout Europe (if we take into account the ratio of participants to the country’s population). Participation in majestic processions under the slogan “We will not give up the shrine!” received at least a third of the inhabitants of Montenegro, and neither snowstorms, nor rains, nor gusty winds stopped them.
Dmitry Lane
Restored the prestige of the Church
Metropolitan Amfilohije, in the world Risto Radovich, was born on Christmas Day, January 7, 1938, in the village of Bare Radovich in Lower Moraca (Montenegro). In his youth, when persecution of faith began in Yugoslavia, Risto decided to devote his life to serving God. In 1958, he graduated from the Theological Academy of St. Sava in Belgrade, then entered the Faculty of Theology at the University of Belgrade, from where he graduated in 1962. He continued his education in Bern and Rome, and received his doctorate in theology in Athens. He took monastic vows with the name Amphilochius on Holy Mount Athos in 1967. From 1974 to 1976 he taught in Paris at the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, where he brilliantly mastered the Russian language.
It is interesting that when Nikita Mikhalkov arrived at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica in May 2021, the bishop twice corrected the professional translator who was translating the film director’s address.
Returning to his homeland, Hieromonk Amfilohiy became dean of the Faculty of Theology, and at the end of 1985 he was ordained Bishop of Banat. After Metropolitan Danil Dajkovic retired, Amfilohije moved to Cetinje, where in 1991 he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Montenegro and Littoral.
From that moment, in less than 30 years, Metropolitan Amfilohije contributed to the restoration of more than 160 abandoned and destroyed churches, gave his blessing to the construction of magnificent cathedral churches in Bar and Podgorica, and contributed to a significant increase in the number of monks and priests - from thirty to seven hundred. Under him, the number of believers in Montenegro increased to several hundred thousand, as recent religious processions clearly showed us.
Ivan Petrovich-Ipe
Became the main defender of canonical Montenegro
If the enemy were foreign to us, we should not be afraid, I would be ready to laugh at him!... But woe to us - our enemy - home, half-blooded, yesterday's brother.
From the poem “Mountain Crown” by Petr Petrovich Njegos
Restored churches and monasteries, as well as new magnificent cathedrals, are not all that Bishop Amphilohius left behind. He turned out to be the only serious opponent of the domestic enemy, embodied in the insane ideology of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic. This ideology not only denies Orthodoxy, it calls into question the very origin of the Montenegrin people. While the leaders of the country's largest opposition forces accepted Djukanovic's heresy that the Serbs and Montenegrins were supposedly two different peoples, Amfilohije defended Njegosheva Montenegro with all his might. It was for this reason that Milo Djukanovic feared the late Metropolitan more than anything else. With the help of controlled media, he tried to discredit the ruler for decades before he began to settle scores with the Church and everything that Montenegro had lived through throughout its history.
Had unquestionable authority
Political leaders often accused Metropolitan Amphilochius of being involved in politics. He answered them that as long as politics interferes in church affairs, then the Church will interfere in political ones. On the eve of the last parliamentary elections in Montenegro, the authorities went so far as to not only deny the Church’s rights to its property and lands, but also, in principle, question its continued existence. As a result, the ruler was forced to make an unequivocal political statement. How it all turned out is clearly illustrated by the voting results in the country's capital. The parties that will form the coalition “For the Future of Montenegro” in 2021 received the support of only 16 thousand residents of Podgorica in 2018. Two years later, thanks to the weighty word of the Metropolitan, their result was 41 thousand votes (almost the same as the Democratic Party of Socialists of Milo Djukanovic).
BN TV
Openly opposed NATO and defended the Kosovo covenant
The Serbs will forever remember Amfilohija's act when in 1999 our army, police and state were forced to leave Kosovo and Metohija. The Metropolitan saw off hundreds of civilians on their last journey, and more than once he carried their bodies himself. He turned out to be the only one who was not afraid to go to the lair of Kosovo militants who were thirsty for Serbian blood.
The memoirs of Metropolitan Amfilohije, included in the four-volume Chronicle of the New Kosovo Crucifixion, will remain invaluable evidence of those times that the powers that be would prefer to forget today. Meanwhile, those who were not afraid of the guns and knives of Albanian terrorists were not afraid of their patrons from the North Atlantic Alliance.
One day I asked Metropolitan Amfilohiy for his blessing to organize an event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of NATO aggression. I not only received it: the Metropolitan expressed a desire to personally speak at this event.
He praised the presence of Russian troops in Kosovo in 1999. Exactly three years before his death, the bishop awarded the Order of St. Peter of Cetinje to Lieutenant General Yunus-Bek Evkurov, who was the commander of the group that occupied the Pristina Slatina airfield in June 1999.
“General Yevkurov will forever remain in the memory of our people, especially those living in Kosovo and Metohija. He became the successor to the work of Tsar Nicholas II, who in 1916 issued an ultimatum to those who bombed Kosovo in 1999,” Amfilohiy emphasized, handing over the order to Yevkurov.
The Metropolitan once again demonstrated his support for Russia and the Russian people when he decisively condemned the intervention of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the church schism in Ukraine. Then he repeated many times: “If it weren’t for Russia, Montenegro would not exist at all.”
Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and Metropolitan Amfilohiy of Montenegro-Litovsk in Podgorica in February 2021
Amphilochius died on October 30 - exactly one day before the date when two rulers from the Petrovich family, Saint Peter of Cetinje and Peter II Njegos - the most outstanding personalities in the history of the country - passed away into another world. Obviously, in this way the Lord made us understand that the Metropolitan was a worthy guardian of the throne of Peter of Cetinje, and will now take his rightful place among the great intercessors of Montenegro.
Igor Damjanovic (Podgorica), especially for the Balkanist portal
"Montenegro Tomos"
Earlier, in an interview with TASS, the bishop of the SOC, Metropolitan Amfilohiy, said that the authorities first started talking about the so-called Montenegrin Church back in the 70-80s of the last century. However, according to him, the “Montenegrin Church” is not recognized by anyone except Ukrainian schismatics.
Djukanovic, for his part, accused the SOC of trying to maintain a religious monopoly in the country. He stated that he would seek autocephaly for the “Montenegrin Church” following the example of Ukraine. In turn, Amfilohije, commenting on Djukanovic’s statements, noted that the president “himself is trying to be the head of the church” and that “this is the first time in history that an atheist creates a church.”
In this regard, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic asked the Montenegrin government to once again consider the feasibility of the law, which “will inevitably worsen the good relations between Belgrade and Podgorica.” In response, a sharp comment was made from Podgorica, in which Belgrade was reminded of Montenegrin independence and pointed out that the Montenegrin authorities independently form their own legislative system and will not allow anyone to influence this process.
“In eternal memory there will be a righteous person...”
The news of the death of the Archbishop of Cetinje, custodian of the Pec throne, Metropolitan of Montenegro and Primorsky Amfilohije (Radović) (1938–2020), who was and remains one of the pillars of not only the Serbian St. Sabas Church, but of the whole, resonated with great pain in the hearts of Orthodox people around the world Ecumenical Orthodoxy. The scale of the personality of Bishop Amphilochius, an outstanding Orthodox theologian and highly educated thinker of our time, a fearless fighter for the Truth of God, a true patriot of his Slavic Fatherland, has yet to be fully comprehended.
The future archpastor was born on the day of the Nativity of Christ - January 7, 1938 in the village of Nizhnyaya Moraca in Montenegro into a patriarchal family, which during the difficult post-war years of Tito's communism remained faithful to the Orthodox faith and paternal traditions. Risto Radović (the secular name of the bishop) graduated from the basic school in the Moraca monastery, then from the seminary of St. Sava of Serbia in Belgrade, defended his diploma at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Belgrade in 1962, while simultaneously studying classical philology at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade. He studied in graduate school in Bern and Rome, where he defended his master's thesis in 1965. He took monastic vows and the priesthood in Greece. In Athens he defended his doctoral dissertation in Greek on the topic “The Mystery of the Holy Trinity according to the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas,” which attracted the attention of the then European theological community to this topic. The development of the future Bishop Amphilochius was greatly influenced by the modern luminaries of Orthodoxy in the Balkans: the Monk Justin (Popovich) and Elder Paisius the Svyatogorets. On December 30, 1990, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Montenegro and Littoral, Zeta-Brd and Skenderia.
The great role of Bishop Amphilochius was in the restoration of the spiritual life and numerous churches and monasteries of the Montenegrin-Litoval diocese, which was almost completely ruined during the reign of Joseph Ambrose Tito and Moshe Piyade. The strength and depth of his faith, his love for God and the people, wisdom, deep education and spiritual talent resurrected the Orthodox faith in the hearts of people. By his example, he inspired an entire generation of young people to choose the spiritual path. All of them today are wise, educated shepherds and bright preachers. In 1992, half a century after its destruction, through the labors of Bishop Amfilohije, the work of the Cetinje Theological Seminary was resumed, the magazine of the Montenegrin-Littoral Metropolis “Svetigora” and the publishing center of the same name and an Orthodox radio station were founded. He blessed and participated in the restoration of a huge number of churches and monasteries, which contributed to the resumption of active church life among the Serbian people. As a worthy follower and spiritual successor of Saint Sava, Saint Peter of Cetinje and many other outstanding shepherds and archpastors, Bishop Amphilohije was, in the words of a folk song, “of Serbian blood and tribe” and never separated his destiny from the destiny of his people. During the war in Kosovo in 1999, he went to this native Serbian region to share the pain of all Serbs, which forever entered his heart. The Bishop personally participated in the reburial of the tortured Serbs, whom he himself performed the funeral service and buried. The unique documentary evidence he collected of what was happening here at that time amounted to several volumes under the general title “Chronicle of the New Kosovo Crucifixion.”
At the beginning of this year, the Metropolitan Elder led the historic struggle against the atheistic law “On Freedom of Religion and the Legal Status of Religious Associations,” adopted by the Montenegrin government on December 27, 2021, at the behest of the American State Department. This law implied the confiscation and, in fact, desecration of the shrines of the canonical Serbian Church. The protest against this lawlessness was the religious processions of many thousands of the Serbian people, which took place in Montenegro and in many cities of Serbia and the Republika Srpska in order to defend spiritual freedom. In our apostasy time, they have served as an example of the amazing strength of the Orthodox faith, zeal for God and His truth. Assessing the amazing transformation that took place with his people, the bishop said in one of his conversations: “In our history, such popular unrest has always ended in very formidable events and upheavals. Today we are seeing how, for the first time in the 20th and 21st centuries, our people have returned to the true and authentic behavior of the people of God, in whose voice the voice of the Living and Eternal God is heard, and this is the main meaning of our religious processions. We will continue them until the voice of the people of God is heard by the rulers, if they are truly the people's rulers and not representatives of a demonocracy. And now there is a danger that demonocracy may - God forbid! – poison the European peoples. But our Christian folk soul remains healthy, unspoiled, and the spirit of love of truth, love of God, love of truth and love of the people remains in it and governs it. The law that our people are fighting against was born out of a sinful desire to indulge their passions - vanity and lust for power. And may such laws disappear throughout the world, and especially in Montenegro, whose existence from time immemorial was based on God's law, on freedom, on brotherly love and harmony. And we are now filled with the spirit of freedom, the bearer of which our people were and remain, which was especially evident during these religious processions. Such freedom opposes death and everything temporary and perishable, untruth and all uncleanness. It prepares people both for earthly dignity and for eternal and imperishable dignity.”
The inextricable unity of the blood and the spiritual has traditionally characterized all Serbian life since the time of St. Sava. All outstanding Serbian pastors and archpastors have always been distinguished by their fiery love for their land and its people, who, in the words of St. Nicholas of Serbia, “is the living Church.” This is exactly what Metropolitan Amphilohiy was like, who fully supported youth and old age, widows and orphans. He treated everyone without exception, regardless of rank and position, with unfailing respect as a person possessing heavenly dignity. This natural trait for Metropolitan Amphilochius also manifested itself during the days of his serious illness, when, according to doctors, he refused any special hospital conditions for himself, was keenly interested in the condition of all patients and prayed for them.
The ruler’s similar love extended to other nations, which again finds justification in the Serbian patristic heritage, for which love for Christ is integrally linked with the acceptance of the God-given values of national life. St. Nicholas (Velimirović) wrote about this best: “Serbian nationalism has always been universally Christian, it has never been narrow and stupid chauvinism. This is how one could define Serbian St. Sauvian nationalism: to serve Christ God on one’s own land and in one’s Fatherland, and, if possible and from an abundance of strength, to serve Christ God in other lands, near and far, even to the distant ends of the universe.” Undoubtedly, the same attitude was characteristic of Bishop Amphilochius. Sad that in our time millions of people in the world remain without the preaching of the Gospel, Metropolitan Amfilohije founded the diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Latin America, prepared and ordained many priests, mainly from among the local Spanish-speaking population, for the spiritual care of the newly baptized flock, which today also mourns his great loss.
The blessed death of Metropolitan Amphilochius providentially fell on the eve of the day of St. Peter of Cetinje (commemorated on October 31, according to the new style). You can see a lot in common in their fate and spiritual appearance. As the ruler of Montenegro, Saint Peter, during the battles with the Turks, led the Serbs in battles with a sword in one hand and a cross in the other. Like him, Bishop Amfilohije fulfilled a truly historical mission both for his native Montenegro and for the entire Orthodox world. He prevented the attempts of the “new Hagarites” to overthrow the faith of Christ in his people, and also laid the foundation for great positive changes. Like Saint Peter and other metropolitans of the Petrovic dynasty, Bishop Amfilohije, during the reign of the Djukanovic regime, always remained the real leader of Montenegro, whose spiritual authority also had significant political weight in the eyes of the entire society.
He left behind more than thirty books of profound theological works, sermons and messages, relevant and extremely significant both for the Serbs and for all Orthodox Slavs. It is no coincidence that Bishop was a Doctor of Theology honoris causa of the Moscow Theological Academy, the Institute of Theology of the Belarusian State University, the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, etc., spoke Russian, Greek, Italian, German and French and was the author of numerous translations from Serbian into Greek and from Greek into Serbian language.
A logical continuation of the traditions of St. Peter and his heir, Peter II Petrovich Njegos, was the poetic talent of Bishop Amfilohije, the author of wonderful poems about Kosovo and works of epic poetry. All these and other talents of the Bishop were measured by the height of his Orthodox spirit. According to his own conviction, spiritual development underlies the formation of personality as a condition for the best development in a person of one or another talent given to him by God. He wrote: “the true education system was and is based on eternal values and on the God-given purposes of human existence in time and space. It can only be based on the great truth that man is created “in the image and likeness of God” and, being such, is capable of infinity (Capax Infiniti) and endless perfection.”
Like Saint Peter of Cetinje, who left behind not only numerous archpastoral letters, but also a famous testament in which he conjures his flock to adhere to “pious and Christ-loving Russia,” Metropolitan Amphilochius invariably remained a sincere friend of Orthodox Slavic Russia, where he had the opportunity to visit several times. He did not leave the activities of the Russian-Serbian Friendship Society without his attention and spiritual guidance, giving his blessing to the chairman of this Society, Slavist and translator I.M., for the translation of Njegosh’s poem “The Ray of Microcosm”. Chislov. In 2018, the Bishop awarded I.M. Chislov received a high award for this translation - the Order of the Golden Face of Njegosh, the Mystic of Lovcen. In September of this year, he conveyed his archpastoral blessing to all participants and organizers of the competition of Serbian patriotic poetry and the song “Serbia in my heart...”, which became a special joy for all of us.
Metropolitan Amfilohije also has his own will, who recently spoke about the need to restore historical justice by establishing an Orthodox chapel, previously destroyed by the communists, on the top of Mount Lovcen, where the remains of the great Njegos rest. We believe that this will certainly come true through his prayers.
On the day of the death of our dear Bishop, Archpriest John (Plamenats), one of his faithful companions, testified: “At the moment when Bishop Amphilochius reposed, we served the Liturgy in the Church of St. John Vladimir in the city of Bar [Montenegro – approx. E.O.]. At the end of the service, we leave the altar and see: the whole temple is crying. And one kid says: “The Metropolitan is not dead!” The child knows! In continuation of the words of Fr. John would like to recall the well-known thought of His Holiness Patriarch Paul of Serbia, who said that when a person comes into the world, everyone rejoices and only he cries, but we need to live in such a way that when we die, everyone cries, and we rejoice. Then sorrow will not be able to obscure from us the spiritual joy that in Heaven at this difficult time we have found an intercessor and intercessor before the Throne of the Lord for the entire Orthodox family.
Bishop Ioannikiy of Budimlya-Niksic (Micovich) (Note: Currently, according to the decision of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Bishop Ioannikiy has been appointed administrator of the Montenegrin-Litovian Metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church), a student and successor of the spiritual works of Metropolitan Amfilohije, noted in his speech: “ At this moment, I want to call on all the brother bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church and all other Orthodox Churches, where Metropolitan Amphilohije enjoyed great respect, to pray to God for the repose of his soul. I also call on all clergy and monasticism, abbots of monasteries and all Orthodox Christians to pray to the Lord for the soul of our Metropolitan, who all his life followed a thorny path and honestly carried his cross. He became like the Lord Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen. He was ill for a short time, but long enough for Christians and especially clergy and brethren of monasteries to realize that he was already preparing to leave. We hoped that he would return to us, that he would still be with us. But the Lord, on the eve of the feast of St. Peter of Cetinje, decided otherwise, numbering him among the sacred ranks of the Cetinje metropolitans (Note: Rector of the Cetinje Seminary, Fr. Gojko Perović, is confident in the significance of the coincidence of the date of death of the three most significant metropolitans in the history of Montenegro: St. Peter of Cetinje and Njegos rested on the day of the Apostle Luke (October 31, new style), and Metropolitan Amphilochius - on the eve of their memory). Believe, today is a day of sorrow. These days we will mourn and perform funeral services. However, I hope that this will gradually turn into his glorification, because the martyrdom, love and sacrifice, kindness and wisdom of Bishop Amfilohije will shine in the divine perspective and bring great blessing to Montenegro.
It is not at all by chance that he recovered from pneumonia and this contagious disease, it’s just that his body could no longer withstand this stress. But he defeated the virus. First of all, he defeated him spiritually, and his death is precisely a victory, since in it he confirmed all his virtues that distinguished the personality of Metropolitan Amphilochius throughout his life. His death is another glorification of the Name of Christ, for by his death he became like Christ on Calvary, Christ Crucified, and we believe that this is just a transition and union with the Risen Christ and all the saints in His eternal Kingdom.”
Elena Arkadyevna Osipova, Chairman of the Russian-Serbian Friendship Society
Hieromonk Amphilochius and Abba Justin
Metropolitan Amfilohiy (Radovich)
Meeting of Bishop Amphilochius in one of the Russian monasteries
Orthodox Life
Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) talks about personal meetings with Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro, his ministry and holiness.
– Vladyka, you have met with Bishop Amphilochius several times. What is the main impression?
- This is a holy man. Holy in all manifestations. It is probably difficult to find a more popularly recognized authority in the Church. A true national spiritual leader! His passing is a huge loss for the people of Montenegro, Serbia, and South America, which he cared for. And for many Orthodox Christians on all continents of our planet.
– Did you meet in Montenegro?
– I learned about Vladyka Amphilochia during my student years. He was one of the outstanding modern Orthodox theologians. We read his works, and when he came to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, we had the opportunity to communicate with him.
But a closer acquaintance took place when I was the rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy. Metropolitan Amphilochius was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Theology (which, by the way, we never had time to award to him).
While in Montenegro, I observed how he loved his people, how he worried about the situation in the country.
It is well known that Bishop Amphilochius was surrounded by the popular love of Montenegrins, young and old. He was called father, mother, grandfather and apostle. What is the secret of such recognition and veneration?
He was a real father of the people. Sermons by Vl. Amphilochia were always filled with such inner evangelical power and love, they were so relevant and timely that people perceived his words as addressed to them personally. He was close and dear to everyone.
Love for people and concern for his flock was constantly demonstrated.
A year ago, Vladyka invited me to celebrate the day of the Archangel Michael. The Serbian Church does not have traditional name days or namesake days in our understanding, but has its own holiday, the day of the Glory of the Cross - the day of the patron saint of the family. It is passed down from generation to generation. The patron saint of the Radovich family is Archangel Michael.
And after the Divine Liturgy, I observed a picture of how, at 82 years old, Vladyka was on his feet all day, surrounded by constantly coming people who wanted to congratulate him. We said goodbye briefly then, because people came and came... As we were later told, he accepted congratulations for the rest of the week.
He was part of his Montenegrin people. The Orthodoxy of the Montenegrin land is inseparably linked with Bishop Amphilochius. He became its bishop when the socialist regime fell and through his efforts church life was revived: churches were built, monasteries were opened. More than 700 churches and monasteries have been restored after such destruction and desolation.
Moreover, monasteries were opened not just as buildings or architectural complexes, but as real monasteries. Knowing his spiritual way of life and love for monasticism, many people came to Montenegro from different parts of the world to take monastic tonsure from his hands. He tonsured each and every one personally. There were many immigrants from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
His monastic path is also unique in that he communicated with saints who today have already been canonized by the Church. He was a spiritual disciple of St. Justin (Popovich) and St. Paisius of the Svyatogorets. They were united by spiritual friendship, unity of spirit.
The ascetic of our time. A brave and sincere opponent of any church schism. Of course, as a human being, I wanted such courageous people, strong, authoritative, and he was one of the most authoritative theologians and hierarchs in the entire Orthodox world, to be with us longer. His words in defense of the canonical system, especially regarding our Ukrainian situation, have always been very weighty and accurate. Many hierarchs of other Local Churches were guided by him.
In this regard, his departure is sad for us, but I think that he will be the defender of the Orthodox Church already there, in Heaven, when he prays at the throne of God and asks the Lord to enlighten us all and send down unity, and correct understanding, and responsibility for the fate of the Orthodox Church.
– Vladyka, you were at the funeral service for Metropolitan. Amphilochia. Share your impressions.
“It felt like the whole country was at a funeral.” Nationwide love was also manifested in this sorrowful hour, when the Lord accepted his soul.
Mournful from the point of view of earthly life. The Lord Himself knows when to give us life and when to take it away. The main feeling at a funeral is the connection of the incompatible. On the one hand, there is a crying crowd of thousands, and everyone is crying - children, adults, young men. But there is no despondency from this crying. Crying from hopelessness, tearing apart the soul is one thing. And here there was a bright cry, filling with hope.
Bishop Amfilohiy managed to educate the Montenegrin flock with the correct attitude not only to life, but also to death. This cry was an inner spiritual joy and triumph for the Montenegrin land when it saw off its son and its father on their last journey. Vladyka Amphilochius became the father of a people who were not afraid to endure anything for the sake of the Church and gave all of themselves in order to revive it so that it would flourish.
A mass of people came to say goodbye - the entire square was filled in front of the Cathedral that he built. Vladyka did everything thoroughly and with spiritual meaning. And the cathedral too.
– What exactly was the meaning behind the construction?
– If you look at the beautiful large Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica, you will notice that the lower part of the temple consists of rough cobblestones, above is processed stone, and at the very top you can see thin tiles of jewelry-made stone. Stones for the construction of the cathedral were brought, by the way, from all over Montenegro.
The lower rough stones are like people who have just come to the Church: unprocessed, rough, with corners, irregularities, roughness and roughness. The stones above are people who are gradually being transformed in the Church by the grace of the Spirit of God, which cuts off all the unevenness and irregularities. The stones at the very top are those who truly grow in the Church and already become a work of art.
– The Orthodox world today is terribly divided. What can be done to unite?
– Courageously adhere to the Truth. As St. Mark of Ephesus said: “Never, O man, what pertains to the Church is corrected through compromises: there is nothing in between truth and falsehood.”
This is a difficult page in the history of the Church. Both the Ukrainian and Montenegrin Churches are experiencing persecution and seizures. Let us remember how Metropolitan behaved. Amphilochius all this time.
When the previous Montenegrin government decided to seize the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the bishop courageously stood up in defense. And the people heard his voice. Uplifting the spirit of hundreds of thousands of people for their faith and the Church. A real miracle!
When the bishop found out that someone had been arrested, he came to the police and said: arrest me, and let them go, I am the instigator of all this.
Despite his years and illnesses, he did not hide, but was ready to go to prison if only those people would be released.
Courage and purity are examples to follow. Kind and firm. A true Warrior of Christ!
Let us prayerfully remember him with the hope that he too will soon pray for us at the Throne of the Lord.
Interviewed by Natalya Goroshkova
Who overthrew the dictator: who was the Metropolitan of Montenegro during his lifetime
Amphilochius is a worthy heir to his holy ancestors.
In Montenegro, Serbia and Republika Srpska, on the morning of October 30, one of the most tragic days began not only in 2021, but in the entire new Serbian history. Metropolitan Amfilohije Radovich of Montenegro and Littoral presented himself to God, a man who, with his contribution to the restoration of Orthodoxy in Montenegro, defeated the 75-year-old political regime in Montenegro and the 30-year power of the last dictator of southeastern Europe, Milo Djukanovic.
Serb believers considered him the most authoritative bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) and the second most influential person within the SOC, after Archbishop Irinej Bulovich of Novisad.
Amfilohije Radović was born on January 7, 1938 in the village of Bare Radovića in Lower Moraca (Kolašin community in Montenegro) to father Cir and mother Mileva (née Bakić); At baptism he received the name Risto.
Moraca graduated from primary school at the monastery. I studied in a small Montenegrin town (however, all the towns there are small) Bar at the Moraca monastery. In 1958 he graduated from the Belgrade Theological Seminary. In 1962 he graduated from the Theological Academy of St. Sava in Belgrade; studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade, specializing in classical philology, then in Bern (Switzerland) and in Rome.
© AP/TASS
In 1967, in Athens, Metropolitan Procopius of Cephalinia was tonsured a monk with the name Amphilochius. In 1968, he was ordained a priest in the city of Argostoli (Greece), and in the same year he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. In 1968-1973 he carried out pastoral service in the parishes of Spata and Koropion (Greece).
On June 17, 1973, he defended his doctoral dissertation “The Mystery of the Holy Trinity according to the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas" (in Greek).
He spent a year on the Holy Mountain, from where he was sent to teach in Paris at the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute. Archimandrite Justin (Popovich), theologian and confessor, and the Svyatogorsk elder Paisius Svyatogorets had a great influence on him.
Since 1976, he has been a teacher at the Department of Orthodox Pedagogy at the Belgrade Theological Academy of John the Theologian.
In May 1985 he was elected Bishop of Banat with a see in the city of Vršac. On June 16 of the same year, his episcopal consecration took place, which was performed by: Patriarch Herman of Serbia, Metropolitan Procopius of Cefallinia (Hellenic Orthodox Church), Bishop Stefan (Botsa) of Zhich, Bishop Savva (Vukovic) of Shumadia, and Bishop Nicholas of Dalmatia (Mrdja).
On December 30, 1990, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Montenegro and Littoral, Zeta-Brd and Skenderija and Exarch of the Holy Throne of Pecs. In Cetinje, in 1992, the work of the Cetinje Theological Seminary, closed in 1945, was resumed. He founded the magazine “Svetigora”, as well as the publishing center of the same name. He renovated and rebuilt a large number of churches and monasteries in Montenegro, which contributed to a significant increase in the number of clergy and monks in the diocese.
On May 6, 2006, by special invitation, he arrived at the IV All-Diaspora Council of the ROCOR, which opened the next day. On May 9, without waiting for the end of the council, he left for his diocese, citing the difficult situation of Orthodoxy in the Balkans.
Due to the hospitalization of Patriarch Pavlo since November 13, 2007, the Council of Bishops of the Serbian Church, which opened on May 15, 2008 in Belgrade, decided to temporarily transfer the functions of the primate to the Holy Synod, headed by Metropolitan Amfilohije.
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On the day of the death of Patriarch Pavlo, November 15, 2009, at an emergency meeting of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Church, he was elected locum tenens of the Serbian Patriarchal Throne.
From May 21 to November 18, 2010, he was the temporary administrator of the Rasha-Prizren diocese.
He called the gay pride parade in Belgrade on October 10, 2010 “a poison that is spilling through the streets of Belgrade,” adding that it is “more terrible than uranium.” The Metropolitan also said that Sodom had infected “modern civilization” and “risen to the pedestal of deity,” and therefore called for a boycott of the procession. LGBT representatives accused Metropolitan Amfilohije of homophobia: a member of the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Sexual Minorities of Serbia, Nevena Petrusic, demanded an apology, otherwise threatening legal action. The Metropolitan refused to apologize.
On May 26, 2011, the Diocese of Buenos Aires was formed, which includes parishes in South and Central America. Metropolitan Amfilohiy was appointed administrator of the newly created diocese.
For the phrase “whoever destroys the church, may God destroy him and his descendants”, he was accused of trying to incite hatred and curse the government of Montenegro, and therefore on June 23, 2011 he was summoned to court, which, at the request of the Metropolitan, was postponed to a later time. If the court's decision is positive, the metropolitan faces a fine.
On February 11, 2015, in the academic assembly hall, the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archbishop of Peterhof Ambrose (Ermakov), presented Metropolitan Amphilochius with a doctoral cross and a diploma conferring the degree of honorary doctor of the St. Petersburg Orthodox Theological Academy.
In October 2015, in Chambesy, he led the delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church during the Fifth Pan-Orthodox Pre-Conciliar Meeting.
According to analysts, was behind the decision of the Serbian Church to ultimately take part in the Pan-Orthodox Council in Crete in June 2021. In 2021, he criticized the non-participation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Pan-Orthodox Council.
In a number of his speeches, he condemned the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine, in particular, stating: “His [Patriarch Bartholomew’s] lust for power led to great troubles in Ukraine, to division, which is catastrophic for the future of not only Ukraine and all Slavic peoples, but at the same time time for all Orthodoxy”, “The Patriarch of Constantinople does not have the right to call himself the head of the Orthodox Church, as is written in the Ukrainian tomos. The Church has only one head, and that is Christ.”
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In January 2021, the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) condemned Metropolitan Amfilohije for “primitive and obscene attacks” with which, during his sermon before the Podgorica Resurrection Cathedral on the Nativity of Christ, in the opinion of the DPS, he insulted and humiliated “the believers of the Montenegrin Church, himself himself, and above all the high ecclesiastical rank of metropolitan"; DPS appealed to the government authorities of Montenegro, calling on them to establish the presence of elements of hate speech in the incident (among other things, Metropolitan Amfilohije in his speech condemned the government of Montenegro for “creating a false church,” recognizing Kosovo and joining sanctions against Russia). Petitions to initiate a criminal case against him under Articles 169 and 370 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro in connection with this incident were also submitted to the Prosecutor's Office of Montenegro by other public organizations in Montenegro.
Archbishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan of Montenegro and Exarch of the Holy See of the city of Pecs, Amfilohije, after receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ, rested in the Lord in the central clinical hospital of Montenegro on Friday, October 30, at 8:20 am, on the eve of the feast of St. Peter of Cetinje.
Many who met Amphilochius saw that he was a very unusual person. Actor Jeremy Irons commented on the meeting with Metropolitan Amphilochius: “The meeting with Metropolitan G. Amphilochius was such that I forgot about the film and everything connected with it. This meeting became one of the most exciting events in my life. I may be a famous actor, but spiritually I am a very ordinary person, and meeting such a person as your Metropolitan in Montenegro is something unusual. The moment he entered the office, I realized that this was a rare man in front of me. It doesn’t happen so often, maybe two or three times in my life I had the honor of meeting such a person...” After the meeting, Jeremy leaned his head on the Metropolitan’s chest and began to cry.
Bishop Amphilochius died as a winner
Twice Metropolitan Amfilohije was in a narrow circle - among the three bishops from whom the Serbian Patriarchs were elected. For the first time, His Holiness Paul became Patriarch by lot. During the illness of Patriarch Paul, Metropolitan Amphilochius was the locum tenens of the SOC. Your humble servant witnessed how, during the consecration of a new church in the part of Belgrade, Zemun, which was led by Metropolitan Amfilohije, this bishop cried like a child when the deacon conveyed to him the news of the repose of Patriarch Paul. After the death of Patriarch Paul for the second time, Metropolitan Amfilohije received the majority of the votes of the Serbian bishops, but the lot fell on Bishop Irinej of Niš...
Russian believers remember that a similar situation occurred in the Russian Orthodox Church - when, after the repose of Patriarch Pimen, Filaret, Metropolitan of Kiev, became locum tenens. He expected to become Patriarch, but it didn’t work out, and he went into schism. Thank God, Metropolitan Amfilohiy did not follow this path, and we must give him his due. Contrary to the official policy of Montenegro, which has been shaped in Washington and Brussels for the past few decades, the Metropolitan has managed to maintain the unity of the SOC, and Miraš Dedeić's sect, the so-called "Montenegrin Orthodox Church", has a bad reputation.
Many of the Metropolitan’s decisions inspired the Serbian patriotic hearts, but sometimes these hearts were seized by a cold trembling. For me personally, the fact that the SOC participated in the so-called Cretan Council was a disappointment, and the role of the Metropolitan in making the decision to participate there was great. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand that Bartholomew is an ordinary puppet, a US mercenary, a CIA protege. After all, Metropolitan Amphilochius was also a Greek student. This was a serious mistake of the SOC; without the SOC, the schismatic Bartholomew would have miserably failed the Cretan Council. But I must say that immediately after the terrible step and recognition of the OCU by Bartholomew, Metropolitan Amphilohius called this recognition a very harmful step and a big mistake.
Perhaps in Russia this was then interpreted as a step hostile towards Russia, but, in fact, his love for Russia was never in doubt. More than once he pointed out to the pro-NATO Russophobic rulers of Montenegro the terrible oath of his great predecessor, Saint Peter of Cetinje: “Cursed be the one who tries to excommunicate you from allegiance to pious and Christ-loving Russia, and anyone who is a Montenegrin among you goes against the same tribe and the same faith to us in Russia, God forbid that the meat falls off his bones while he’s alive, and there would be no good for him either in this life or in the next.”
Unfortunately, politics and diplomacy do not always act as the majority of the population wishes. Orthodox Serbs certainly do not welcome virtually any point of the shameful “Washington Agreement,” but the president signed them. Unfortunately, sometimes we feel ashamed because of the steps of Russian diplomacy. I am sure that a huge part of the Russian people do not approve of what the Russian ambassador in Zagreb did, exalting Franjo Tudjman, an open follower of the kleronazi NDH and the man who initiated the largest ethnic cleansing in Europe since the Second World War, when several hundred thousand were expelled from their homes Serbs.
It is impossible to write about Metropolitan Amfilohija without talking about his concern for the Serbian Orthodox people in Kosovo and Metohija. His “Chronicle of the New Kosovo Crucifixion” in 4 volumes became evidence of the time when the sons of hell took up arms against the defenseless Serbian people on the crucified Kosovo... This fight and uncompromising position on the Kosovo issue cost him dearly. Not everyone was ready to so openly criticize the government because of its creeping betrayal of the Serbian cradle.
Let others write about his other books, but here I would like to emphasize several more areas in which Metropolitan Amphilohius left a bright mark.
— Unlike some Serbian bishops, who on the issue of “non-traditional” have an opinion close to the opinion of the Roman heretic, the Metropolitan did not hesitate to speak and fight against the “cult of death”, gender ideology and the imposition of sodomy...
“The Metropolitan showed the whole world in Montenegro that the Church does not need and cannot be apolitical if there is a threat of destruction of the shrine and if the foundation of Christian morality is under threat. Of course, not by political protests, as politicians did, but by the church way of resistance - peaceful processions of the Cross. It turned out that the procession of the Cross passes not only through cities and villages, but also directly through the hearts of people. The religious processions created a new beautiful temple - the temple of the transfiguration of the Serbian people in Montenegro. Only thanks to this it was possible to remove the godless and godless power of Djukanovic. Thanks to this, we can say that Bishop Amphilochius died as a winner...
“This lesson is significant not only for the Serbian people in Montenegro, but for the Serbian people in general. This is a signal to Vucic - what awaits him in the event of Kosovo’s betrayal...
There is also one connection, full of symbols, that connects Metropolitan Amphilochius with his predecessors. Saint Peter of Cetinje and Petar II Petrovich Njegos ended their earthly lives on the day of Saint Luke, Metropolitan Amfilohije - on the eve of the feast of the great apostle. It is interesting that the Apostle Luke preserved the right hand of the Baptist of the Lord, which St. Petar Cetinje and Njegoš rested in St. Luke and that after the fall of the Russian monarchy, the right hand of the Baptist ended up in Cetinje, near the relics of St. Peter of Cetinje and not far from the ashes of Njegoš. What can I say, the special connection between the holy Apostle of Christ and the Cetinje rulers...
“The Metropolitan was a national fighter in the good sense of the word. 4-5 years ago I was together with RNL editor-in-chief Anatoly Stepanov at the liturgy for the feast of the Holy Archangel Michael in a large shrine on the Serbian Adriatic coast - in the Miholska Prevlaka monastery. During the Liturgy at the Great Entrance, Metropolitan Amfilohije, reading the names of health, read out the names of all those detained by the anti-Serbian court in The Hague. This was further evidence of his Serbian gene and the words written by the great Herzegovinian poet Aleksa Šantić: “All the wounds of my family cause me pain...”
I developed a special personal relationship and veneration for the Metropolitan as the chairman of the Council of the Orthodox Foundation. The day after the publication of my Report on the first year of work of the “Orthodox Fund”, all of us on the board of this organization were deeply shocked by the sad news of the death of Metropolitan Amphilochius of Montenegro and Primorye. It was with the blessing of His Grace Metropolitan Amphilochius that the “Orthodox Foundation” was founded on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in 2021 and, thank God, has done a lot in one year.
The Lord called him to a better place. Members of the Council of the “Orthodox Foundation” express sincere condolences to all the clergy of the Primorsky-Montenegrin Metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church, all their spiritual children in connection with the enormous loss that befell them, and all of us, believers, and our mother, the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your servant Metropolitan Amphilochius, forgive his sins, voluntary and involuntary, and settle him in the Villages of the Righteous, where there are no illnesses, sorrows and sighs...
Ranko Gojkovic, publisher, chairman of the “Russian Assembly in Serbia”, general secretary of the “Pan-Serbian Slavic Movement”
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Metropolitan Amfilohiy (Radovich) of Montenegro and Primorsky reposed in the Lord
October 30, 2020
On October 30, 2020, in the central clinical hospital of Montenegro, having received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and Primorye (Serbian Orthodox Church) reposed in the Lord.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' expressed his condolences on the death of the outstanding hierarch.
Metropolitan Amfilohije, in the world Risto Radovich, was born on January 7, 1938 in the small village of Bare Radovich in Lower Moraca (Montenegro). After graduating from high school in his native village, he came to Belgrade, where he entered the Theological Academy of St. Sava. Having received his diploma in 1962, he continued his studies at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade, specializing in classical philology.
Father Justin (Popovich) and the Athonite elder Paisius had a huge influence on the spiritual life of the future archpastor.
After completing his studies in Belgrade, the future metropolitan continues his studies in Bern (Switzerland) and Rome, from where he goes to Greece. He spends seven years there and becomes a monk. In the Greek Orthodox Church he is ordained a priest. During his stay in Greece, he defended his doctoral dissertation on St. Gregory Palamas (in Greek). He spends a year on the Holy Mountain, from where he is sent to teach in Paris at the St. Sergius Institute, and since 1976 he becomes a teacher at the Department of Orthodox Pedagogy at the Belgrade Theological Academy of St. John the Theologian.
In May 1985, after being elected bishop of the Banat diocese, he moved to Cetinje. On December 30, 1991, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Montenegro and Littoral, Zeta-Brd and Skenderia.
He spoke Russian, Greek, Italian, German and French. He was a member of the Writers' Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Author of many translations from Serbian into Greek and from Greek into Serbian, essays and sermons.
Metropolitan Amfilohije managed to restore a large number of churches and monasteries in Montenegro and build new ones. The number of priests and monastics increased. Since 1992, the theological academy, closed in 1945, has been revived in Cetinje.
Due to the hospitalization of His Holiness Patriarch Paul of Serbia since November 13, 2007, the Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which opened on May 15, 2008 in Belgrade, decided to temporarily transfer the functions of the Primate to the Holy Synod, headed by Metropolitan Amfilohije. From November 15, 2009 to January 22, 2010, Bishop Amphilohiy was Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne.
In 2008, Metropolitan Amphilochius visited the Belarusian Orthodox Church. On January 11, he was elected honorary doctor of the Institute of Theology of the Belarusian State University. Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeev, now Honorary Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus) awarded the Bishop the Order of St. Cyril of Turov.
