On this day, 26 years ago, on June 3, 1999, His Eminence Archbishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Mr. Joanikije (Mićović), was ordained to the rank of bishop in Cetinje.

He was ordained by Serbian Patriarch Pavle, with the concelebration of Metropolitan Amfilohije and twelve other diocesan bishops.

On that occasion, Bishop Joanikije delivered an introductory sermon, which we present in full.

Your Holinesses,
Your Most Reverend Metropolitans and Bishops,
Venerable Clergy and Monasticism,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Allow me, at this sacred moment, to thank the Lord God, who at this today's assembly under the leadership of His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch, Mr. Pavle, successor of our holy father Sava, with the merit of the Most Reverend Metropolitans and Most Reverend Bishops of the Serbian Church, by invoking the Holy Spirit, has made my unworthiness a Bishop of the Church of Christ.

We thank the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which at this year's regular session unanimously decided to elect me as Vicar Bishop of Budimlje, so that today I may receive this gracious gift not only for my own comfort but for the comfort of the Church we serve.

Our crucified people, today more than ever, need God's gift and power to strengthen them with the power of His Holy Cross and the most holy faith in order to overcome the difficulties that befall them, and preserve their Christian name and image.

I am grateful to God for allowing me to be born and raised in the pious family of my parents, the late Sava and my mother Vidosava, who is present here, among brothers and sisters, where I received my love, which can be obtained in a family, and an education in the Kosovo Vow and the "Mountain Wreath".

I thank the Lord for directing me, at the transition from youth to adulthood, to my spiritual father, then hieromonk Amfilohije, and now the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, and to my teachers in the Holy Spirit, then hieromonks, and now His Eminences Bishops Athanasius and Irinej. However, I have always looked with my inner eye to His Holiness the Patriarch of Serbia, G. Pavle, and here, with joy, I will repeat the words of one of the great Metropolitans of Montenegro and the Littoral, who said that from the Patriarch of Serbia and his holy throne, Divine light shines and illuminates the Serbian lands. Indeed, today, light has shone upon us too, through the arrival and priestly activity of His Holiness and the patriotic Serbian Hierarchs.

I thank the brothers, the monks of the Cetinje Monastery, and my spiritual brothers who, in every difficulty or weakness of mine, knew how to comfort me and guide me in the right direction. I thank my predecessor in the position of rector, the Most Reverend Protopresbyter Momčilo Krivokapić, and all the teachers of the Cetinje Theological Seminary who supported me in everything worthwhile, and admonished and corrected me for my bad actions. I also thank all the students of the Cetinje Theological Seminary, who respected and served me with love, and tolerated my shortcomings and weaknesses, until I myself realized that I was sinning in my work.

I know, Your Holiness, that by handing over the Pastoral Staff, you have actually given me a cross that I should bear. Therefore, I do not look at my high place and position at this moment, but rather at the responsibility that I accept today with fear. But by the grace of God I accept, and by the grace of God I will serve the Church, first of all for its glory and its unity, and after that, I will work on the advancement of education in the spiritual nursery of Saint Peter of Cetinje — the Cetinje Theological Seminary. I will continue to perform the sacred service of preparing new messengers in the Field of the Lord with the hope that good future priests will emerge from this school, who will spiritually renew and comfort our suffering Serbian people.

I want to say to our faithful and again crucified people that their hearts should not be afraid and that they should first find their peace in the Lord and their Church, that they should be healed in it from sin and from all injustice, and when they are reconciled with God, we hope that they will receive their earthly peace that we so need. And to the defenders of our homeland, our borders and our sky, I remind you of the gospel commandment that no one has greater love than to lay down one's life for one's neighbor.

I wish that those who are on the path to fulfilling this commandment of God, if only they accept it with faith and vow not to commit violence against the innocent and weak, would, in this historical moment, follow the example of the holy great martyr Prince Lazar and our holy father Peter of Cetinje, who first fought a spiritual war and won it, and then, with God's grace and help, won the historical one as well, preserved the image of the people and left an example for all of us.

Serving the Lord, for the gift I have received today, looking to my own salvation, through the service of the salvation of my neighbors and all those for whom the Lord will ask me at the Last Judgment, I desire with all my soul that my joy should not be in being proud only of my hierarchal dignity, but that I should rejoice, listening to the voice of the Lord and that I should rejoice even more in that and that the spiritual flock, the people of God, should rejoice and be delighted with it, that they should always listen to it and glorify the Consubstantial, Indivisible and Life-giving Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Bless, Your Holiness, both me and my future ministry and all the people present here, who in faith and love have gathered and prayerfully participated in my ordination, singing “Axios”.

Thanks to all, to the living God and to the entire Church of God. Amen.