This year's first regular session of the Diocesan Council (EC) of the Metropolis of Montenegro and the Littoral was held on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Bečići. The meeting began with a prayerful Holy Hierarchical Liturgy in the Church of the Holy Apostle Thomas, served by His Eminence Archbishop of Cetinje and Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, His Eminence Joanikije, and His Eminence Bishop of Diocletia, His Eminence Paisij, with the clergy and faithful.
After the Liturgy, a session was held in the parish hall next to the Church of St. Thomas. Having thanked the hosts from the Church Municipality and the Parish of Bečić for their love and hospitality, Metropolitan Joanikije greeted all the present members of the ES and the Diocesan Administrative Board (EUO).
After adopting the agenda, Metropolitan Joanikije acquainted the members of these church bodies with his archpastoral activities in the previous year. He listed numerous significant events in the past year that were organized in the Metropolis, among which the consecrations of new and renovated churches, ten new ordinations, as well as as many as 28 monastic tonsures stand out. He also highlighted the erection of a monument to the late Metropolitan Amfilohije in Kolašin.

Православна Митрополија црногорско-приморска

The Diocesan Council adopted the Final Account of the EUO for 2025, the Draft Budget of the EUO for 2026, as well as reports on the work of the Central Warehouse, the Information and Publishing Institution "Svetigora", within which the Svetigora radio and magazine operate, the Metropolis portal and publishing activities, the Seminary of St. Peter of Cetinje, the Catechetic Committee, the Economic Council, the Charity Fund "Covjekoljublje" with organizational parts, including the soup kitchen, the Pastoral and Advisory Center and the Pilgrimage and Tourist Agency "Odigitria", which has implemented dozens of pilgrimage trips to the Holy Land, Egypt, Mount Athos and Greece, Italy, Georgia, Russia, Romania and to numerous pilgrimage sites of our local Church. Trips to Kosovo and Metohija, as the cradle of our spirituality, are organized at least once, and often twice a month.
The Diocesan Council also had the opportunity to familiarize itself with the report on numerous property-legal issues and problems, as well as with the progress of the construction of the Saint Sava Gymnasium in Podgorica, which this year again received significant assistance for its construction and operation from the Government of Montenegro, as well as many other benefactors. The completion of the works is expected by the summer of this year, which means that students will move into the new, modernly equipped building as early as the next school year, that is, in September of the current year.
The Metropolitan particularly emphasized the importance of annual gatherings such as the numerous gatherings on Savindan, the gathering on the feast of the Venerable Simeon the Myrrh-Feller, and others. He particularly emphasized the beauty and importance of the Children's Assembly in Cetinje, when more than 1,500 children from about fifty religious schools in the Metropolis, as well as from other parts of Montenegro and guests, gather to attend religious education, which still has no place in the public education system of Montenegro.
It was noted that charitable work is quite developed through the "Civic Love" fund, as well as through the activities of the EUO and individual monasteries, among which the Ostrog Monastery stands out in particular.
It was noted that there is all kinds of progress in church life, but that even more can be done in the field of mission, the improvement of philanthropic and educational activities, as well as the protection of the property and legal interests of the Church, in which one of the main problems remains the unresolved issue of the restitution of unjustly seized church property in post-war Yugoslavia. It has been said that the reflex of such an attitude towards the Church and faith in general is, unfortunately, still visible in numerous institutions, other social factors and individuals.