On the public debate on Sunday as a mandatory non-working day

Cetinje, February 11, 2026

The current debate on Sunday as a mandatory non-working day for a significant part of the economy and employees in a certain way also concerns the religious rights of a large number of citizens of Montenegro, especially those who are Christians.

Sunday is a day of obligation in the Christian faith and every Christian is expected to participate in the divine service - the Holy Liturgy on that day. Since the earliest days of Christianity, this day, as the day on which our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected, has been considered a day to be dedicated to prayer, the study of the Holy Scriptures, and fellowship. Our ancestors, after six days of hard work, especially abstained from any activity on Sunday that would separate them from this.

The provision of the Internal Trade Act, which established Sunday as a mandatory weekly rest day for employees in trade, was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, but by adopting that provision, these employees were essentially only equated with a large number of other employees who certainly do not work on Sundays – for example, with the majority of employees in state administration and local governments, education, etc.

Aware of constitutional categories such as the right to work, employee rights, special protection of the family, and having in mind, on the other hand, the freedom of entrepreneurship guaranteed by the Constitution, we call on the authorities to carefully consider all the reasons for and against and find a constitutional and legal way for Sunday to remain the day on which employees should use the weekly rest day provided for by the Labor Law.

Given that the issue of Sunday off falls within the jurisdiction of individual states, even in those that are members of the European Union, and that several EU states have very strict restrictions on Sunday work, maintaining this solution, and even expanding it, would not hinder the ambitions of the state administration and a large number of citizens to join that community.

In a world and time in which the alienation of man from God and from people among themselves is becoming increasingly visible, we believe that it is useful for the majority of employees to have a single day in which our daily activities can slow down and quiet down, as much as possible, and to dedicate ourselves to God and each other.

From the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral