page_title: Amfilohije Radović
section_title: Independent Montenegro
hierarchical_section_title: Amfilohije Radović / Biography / Independent Montenegro
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Дмитрий Медведев стал кавалером высшей награды Сербской православной церкви – ордена Святого Саввы. Орден вручил митрополит Черногорско-Приморский Амфилохий.
context_page_description: Amfilohije Radović is a Serbian Orthodox bishop, the current Metropolitan bishop of Montenegro and the Littoral, making him the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.
context_section_description: During the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, Amfilohije supported the continuation of Serbian–Montenegrin unionism and was an important figure in the campaign for unity. In Montenegro, Amfilohije was viewed as a more able articulator for the interests of Montenegrin Serbs than politicians of the time. Amfilohije protested an attempt in 2006 by the MOC to storm a church near Cetinje and stated that he thought the Montenegrin government were behind the actions of the MOC. A future unification of all Orthodox churches within Montenegro is opposed by Amfilohije. Montenegrin politician Ranko Krivokapić is a major rival of Amfilohije. During May 2011, Amfilohije was charged with hate speech and underwent a court trial in Podgorica due to comments made toward people who wanted to remove a church located at Mount Rumija. The trial lasted until November 2012 where Amfilohije rejected the charges against him and later at the conclusion of his case he received a caution from the court. During 2013, Amfilohije attempted to have Petar II Petrović-Njegoš declared a saint, yet those efforts were opposed by Montenegrin authorities and SOC synod. At the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection in Podgorica, the image of Amfilohije is featured among the frescoes.
  In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia and Amfilohije gave speeches where he said that Kosovo was "Jerusalem, the cradle of the Serbian nation". At the time Amfilohije criticsed the Serb Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić and President Boris Tadić as "traitors who did not want the army to defend Kosovo". Amfilohije also stated that Serbia needed to buy new weapons from Russia and get Russian volunteers to defend Kosovo. During a March 2008 interview, Amfilohije stated that for the Serbian elections he supported the Serbian Radical Party (SRP) and Democratic Party of Serbia (DPS).
  On November 13, 2007, after Serbian Patriarch Pavle (1914–2009) had been transferred to a clinical center due to his poor health, the Holy Synod of the SOC elected Radović to perform the duties of the Patriarch. Patriarch Pavle died on November 15, 2009, and Amfilohije continued his role as Guardian of the Throne. Amfilohije, portrayed as a compromise figure between nationalists and bishops, along with Vasilije Kačavenda and Irinej Bulović were the main candidates for SOC patriarch. He ceased to perform that duty after the election of Bishop Irinej of Niš as the new Patriarch on January 22, 2010.
  On 2, August 2014 at a church gathering on Ilindan (St. Elijah's day), Amfilohije stated that Muslims were "a false people with a false religion" and Islamic teachings a "spiritual death". He made comments on the Mountain Wreath, a 19th-century poem written by Petar Petrović Njegoš regarding what Amfilohije described as the "extermination of the Turkifiers". Amfilohije stated that killing people was "horrible, however more terrible is the spiritual death sown around by fake people with false faith." He further added that "Thanks to those victims, Bishop Danilo saved Montenegro. Otherwise, there would not have been a single Orthodox ear left in Montenegro."
  On 8, October 2014 at a church celebration in Kolašin, Amfilohije said "two evil and deadly diseases ravaged through this region, poturčenjaštvo and brozomora." The word poturčenjaštvo is in reference to Slavic people becoming Muslims or converting to Islam, the faith of the "Turks" (Ottomans) in the Ottoman era and brozomora (Broz disease) is in relation to acceptance of the communist ideology of Josip Broz Tito. Amfilohije also stated that the era under Tito resulted in the division of a unitary Serbian nation into four separate nations such as the "Bosniaks, Montenegrins and Macedonians". The Islamic Community of Montenegro responded by stating that Amfilohije's comments were "hate speech" and referred to the close relations the church and Amfilohije had with combatants and their "crimes against humanity" during the Yugoslav Wars.
  Amfilohije is well-known for his frequent statements against the LGBT rights and gender equality, and has been quoted cal
caption: Dmitry Medvedev receives the Order of St. Sava from Metropolitan Amfilohije.
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