Podgorica, September 1, 2020
Met. Amfilohije embraces Krivokapić. Photo: YouTube screenshot
Sunday’s elections were a breath of fresh air for the Orthodox faithful of Montenegro, with the opposition coalition taking a majority of seats for the first time in 30 years and wresting power from President Milo Đukanović’s Democratic Party of Socialists.
While Đukanović and his government openly persecuted the canonical Serbian Orthodox Church in favor of the schismatic “Montenegrin Orthodox Church,” consisting of a handful of parishes throughout the nation, the first thing that opposition leader Zdravko Krivokapić did after learning of the election results was to go to church to thank God.
He later stated that the new ruling coalition’s first order of business would be to repeal the “Law on Religious Freedom” that aimed to deprive the Serbian Orthodox Church of its historical properties.
Explaining why he went to the Resurrection Cathedral in the capital city so late, Krivokapić explained in an interview with novosti.rs: “I had a need, first as a believer, and then I also had information that the Metropolitan [Amfilohije—OC] was there, and I expressed the desire to see him, even though it was already late in the evening.”
“I went again to ask his blessing for what we need to do after the victory,” the opposition leader said, referring to Met. Amfilohije as a “symbol of Montenegro.”
As can be seen in the video below, His Eminence joyfully embraced Krivokapić in the Cathedral, both rejoicing in the election results:
