Today, September 5, on the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, it has been five years since His Eminence Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Joanikije, was enthroned in the Cetinje Monastery. He was elected by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church at its May session in 2021 as the successor to the blessedly deceased Metropolitan Amphilochius.
Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Joanikije, was solemnly installed on the ancient sacred throne of the Montenegrin and Littoral Metropolitans by His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Porphyrije.
Metropolitan Joanikije is the 56th bishop of this Holy Sava Diocese, which was established 800 years ago, later elevated to the rank of a metropolitanate, and the 41st metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral to be enthroned in the Cetinje Monastery.
The solemn act of enthronement of the newly elected Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Mr. Joanikije, began with the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy served by His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch, with the concelebration of the hierarchs, clergy and monastics.
After the conclusion of the Holy Patriarchal Liturgy, and with the blessing of the First Hierarch of our Serbian Orthodox Church, the decision of the Holy Council of Bishops on the election of Bishop Joanikije as Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral was read by His Eminence Bishop David, a member of the Holy Synod.
In his introductory speech, Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, His Eminence Joanikije, said that he would begin his metropolitan ministry with a gentle evangelical word, uniting the people entrusted to him around the throne of God in order to feed them with heavenly bread, teaching everyone how to govern themselves in the House of God, which is the Church of God, the pillar and stronghold of truth.
“The Gospel of Christ will be the foundation of all that I will do and build, knowing that I have come to build not an ordinary building but the living Church of God, of which Christ is the cornerstone. Performing his holy service, the Hierarch stands visibly before his people before the face of God, offering from all and for all, through Christ, gifts to the living God. The Hierarch is given by God to perform the ministry of reconciliation so that we may be reconciled with our conscience and with one another so that we may be reconciled with God, to be united with God and our neighbors. In this holy unity is our strength, salvation, and immortality.”
Addressing Metropolitan Joanikije, the Patriarch then said that the service of the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral is sublime and that it is a great honor and responsibility to come to the throne of Saint Peter of Cetinje and many saints to this day, and after the great father, the blessedly deceased Metropolitan Amphilochius.
“Your mission will be, this is what the Council of our Church expects of you, and the entire Orthodox Church, to blunt the edges, to build bridges, not to ask who is who, how they express themselves, to which people they belong, but to, by serving the Liturgy, bear witness to peace and give communion to every person, asking him only for his name by which he was baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and by which the living Lord Himself knows him. Because in the Church, as you know very well, there are no borders. There are no enmities, there are no divisions, because the Church is by its very meaning an ekklisia – a council! It gathers everything into itself through Christ and in Christ. That is your task, but I know that you will be crucified. And therefore always listen to the word of Christ, which says: When they curse you, bless. When they persecute you, endure, when they blaspheme you, pray. And when they speak against you, when they persecute you, and when they blaspheme you, always you will bless, suffer and pray for all. You have done this until now and you will continue to do this, certainly with the help of Saint Peter of Cetinje, with the help of Saint Basil of Ostrog, with the help of all the saints of God who arose in Montenegro, with the help of the prayers of your spiritual father, our common teacher, the blessedly reposed Metropolitan Amphilochius.”
May your Most Reverend Bishop live long and prosperous summers!