Metropolitan Amfilohije (Photo: Dragan Gojic)
Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Amfilohije (Radovic), who died at the Clinic and Hospital Center in Podgorica early on Oct. 30, was born on Jan. 7, 1938 in Donja Moraca, Montenegro, and was an influential figure in the top echelons of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Metropolitan Amfilohije was one of the most influential figures in the Church, an opponent of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's policy on Kosovo and so an opponent to Church head Irinej.
"Grandfather," as his admirers had dubbed him, led months-long processions in Montenegro to protest the Law on religious communities, considered discriminatory by the Serbian Orthodox Church, and many believe the protests had bled votes from the ruling party of Milo Djukanovic at a parliamentary election.
His detractors accused him of meddling in politics and trying to turn Montenegro into a religious state, while his devotees defended him by saying that Djukanovic wanted "a partisan Church."
The Synod of the Church is expected to appoint an administrator to the metropolitan soon. Customarily, the choice falls on a neighboring bishop, while the new metropolitan must be elected at the Church Assembly, whose operation is suspended due to COVID-19.
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