Montenegrin Government, Serbian Orthodox Church Seek Compromise on Religious Property

Dusko Markovic (Beta/Milos Miskov)

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and Metropolitan of the Montenegrin Littoral Amfilohije met on church property on Sept. 24.

This was the first meeting since the Montenegrin Cabinet passed a bill on the freedom of religion which the Serbian Orthodox Church strongly criticized and which has raised tensions between Belgrade and Podgorica.

Markovic's office said that it was arranged at the meeting for the dialog to continue after the Venetian Commission of the Council of Europe issued recommendations for the bill.

The bill states that all religious communities, including the Serbian Orthodox Church, needed to prove that they were the owners of church property before 1918, under threat of seizure.