The disruption of a Serbian Orthodox religious service at the site of a 1,000-year-old church in Montenegro by ethnic Albanian villagers has sparked ethnic tensions.
The Serbian Orthodox Church said on Monday that its top bishop in Montenegro, Amfilohije, was prevented by a group of mainly ethnic Albanian residents of the village of Svac, near the coastal town of Ulcinj, from holding a service at the ruins of a medieval church.
The church also criticised local media and some politicians for allegedly raising ethnic tensions over the incident, which has again highlighted the disputed issue of the property that the Serbian Orthodox Church’s claims to own in Montenegro.
Some local politicians alleged that the Serbian priests came to ‘occupy’ the site.
The church insisted that the service at the ancient site was intended to be a “regular, peaceful event” as it has been when staged several times before since 2004 in the same village, which is mostly inhabited by ethnic Albanians.
“It was a service on the remains of an ancient Christian temple… and journalists who, without efforts to investigate the event, uncritically reported on their [politicians’] statements added to the raising of tensions about this quite peaceful and regular event in church life,” it said.
Videos of the incident showed Metropolitan Amfilohije being pushed away by a group of local Albanians, including some councillors for the local ruling party.
A press release issued by the Serbian Orthodox Church on Monday said the protest was led by Albanian Haxhi Sulejmani, a member of the local council in Ulcinj and of the ruling Democratic Party.
The locals tried to stop Amfilohije, Orthodox priests and dozens of worshippers from attending the liturgy on the foundations of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Ulcinj, near the border with Albania.
They argued that the Serbian Orthodox Church should not be allowed to hold a service on a site owned by the state. According to the Montenegrin government and the municipality of Ulcinj, the state owns the remains of the medieval church.
Police intervened, preventing the clergy from entering the monastery, saying the service was not announced in advance as a public gathering, as it should be according to local laws. Police however allowed the service to be held near the monastery.
The incident again raised questions about ownership rights to some Christian sites in the country at a point when the government is set to propose a law which would for the first time regulate the issue of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s property.
Ulcinj’s mayor Ljoro Nrekic told Radio Free Europe on Monday that the site had been undergoing preservation work since 2015 and the service was held near the church’s walls as the building itself is registered as an archaeological site.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
