We most strongly protest the shameful and unconstitutional Decision by President Milatović to posthumously award the highest state decoration to Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović. State decorations are not mere protocol acts – they are the moral seal of the state, an expression of its fundamental values and a message to future generations about whom and why Montenegro takes as a role model. If orders lose their moral meaning, then the distinction between honor and shame, between service and abuse of faith, between truth and propaganda is erased.

Moral and Spiritual Meaning of State Recognition – Orders and state recognitions must celebrate peace, justice and universal service to humanity, not ideological divisions. At the heart of Christian ethics stands a clear call to peacemaking and love of neighbor:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Mt 5:9)

“Whoever says: I love God, and hates his brother, is a liar” (1Jn 4:20)

In this light, the awarding of the highest state order to a figure whose public statements and actions during the nineties often inflamed national and religious divisions, cannot be considered an act of reconciliation. This is an act that relativizes moral and historical responsibility and wounds the trust among citizens of Montenegro.

A state aspiring to a European future must learn the lesson from the past: a reward must not become a tool of forgetting. Reconciliation without truth is not reconciliation – it is abandonment of justice.

Canonical Condemnation of Ethnophyletism and Ethical Incompatibility – Christian teaching clearly condemns ethnophyletism – the identification of the Church with one nation – which was canonically proclaimed a spiritual heresy at the Council of Constantinople in the 19th century. Rewarding a legacy marked by this ideology is not an act of religious respect, but a violation of the very essence of the Gospel and the spirit of secular, civic and European Montenegro.

A spiritual leader who through public statements denied Montenegrin identity, called Montenegro a “false state,” and its citizens “re-baptized Serbs,” cannot be a symbol of state peace nor a builder of a European future. Such action stands in direct opposition to Christ’s commandment of unity:

“He who sows discord among brothers is hated by the Lord” (Proverbs 6:19)

Violation of Rights and Dangerous Institutional Precedent – According to legal provisions, the Order of Montenegro on the Grand Collar is awarded exclusively to “presidents or sovereigns of states and leaders of international organizations.” The awarding of such an order to a domestic religious dignitary, and posthumously at that, exceeds legal boundaries and undermines the dignity of the highest state recognition.

This act creates a dangerous precedent – the Serbian Orthodox Church is symbolically elevated to the level of a quasi-sovereign institution within Montenegro, thereby undermining the constitutional principle of secularism and the equality of all religious communities. Such an act does not strengthen the state, but makes it hostage to one ideological narrative that denies its independence and identity.

This violates not only the spirit, but also the letter of the Constitution of Montenegro, which clearly prescribes that the state and religious communities are separate and equal.

Ethics, Truth and the Danger of Historical Revisionism – The official explanation that the late Metropolitan was a “builder of social peace” stands in complete opposition to his warmongering, anti-Western and anti-European actions.

How can a state based on anti-fascism, secularism and European values reward a figure who publicly denied these same principles? A reward for such a legacy becomes a revision of truth and “amnesia in metal with a ribbon” – an attempt to turn responsibility into merit, and intolerance into alleged virtue. The Christian ideal and state ethics require commitment to a vision of peace:

“Swords into plowshares… nation shall not lift up sword against nation” (Is 2:4b)

Moral Amnesia and Injustice Toward Anti-War and Civic Montenegro – This decision represents a deep act of moral amnesia and institutional betrayal toward anti-war, civic and ecumenical Montenegro – toward all citizens, activists, media and non-governmental organizations who, over the past decades, have bravely and dedicatedly built peace, tolerance and the European path of our state.

Rewarding an ideology that led to divisions sends a dangerous signal that the moral courage of those who built peace in the most difficult moments is less valuable than the politics of exclusivity.

At the same time, this marks the culmination of decades-long institutional and moral injustice toward the Montenegrin Orthodox Church (MOC). The MOC has, since its restoration, consistently stood as a defender of peace, state identity, secularism and European orientation. Ignoring this historical and ethical stance, while rewarding an institution that systematically denies its identity and right to exist, is an act of discrimination that the state of Montenegro must not practice or tolerate.

Call for Truth and Justice – We call upon you, Mr. President, to reconsider this decision in light of moral and historical responsibility and to direct Montenegro with the authority of your office toward genuine reconciliation grounded in truth, not toward symbols and figures who permanently divide society.

We call upon all Orthodox believers, and especially Montenegrins, to gather around our Montenegrin Orthodox Church – the Church of peace, dignity and spiritual freedom – and to together renew and strengthen faith in truth, in justice and in a state that respects every citizen without exception.

For Montenegro can be just only if it is free, and free only if it is truthful and just.

In Cetinje, October 20, 2025

Archbishop of Cetinje and Metropolitan of Montenegro

† M I H A I L O s.r.