Metropolitan Mihailo asks the EU and the Quint for equal rights for the Montenegrin Orthodox Church

The Archbishop of Cetinje and metropolitan of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, Mihailo, has sent an open letter to the ambassador of the European Union and the ambassadors of the Quint countries, in which he criticises the EU’s stance toward religious rights, Montenegrin identity and historical revisionism in Montenegro, as the Vijesti portal reports.

The metropolitan asked who in the European Union changed the policy, putting deadlines and membership above European values. According to him, the Montenegrin people and the faithful of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church feel disappointed by the EU’s stance toward what is happening in Montenegro. “For years we heard that we first had to build a state of equal citizens, and then become members of the European Union. Today the talk is mainly about deadlines and closing chapters. Who in the European Union has decided that the speed of enlargement is more important than freedom of belief, equality before the law and respect for the identity of the people who live in that state?” Mihailo writes.

Speaking about the stance toward the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, Mihailo claims that its requests for land and the construction of religious facilities remain without an effective answer. According to him, the possibility opened earlier for the Church to receive a plot for a temple was stopped by a decision of the state authorities, while the agreement that would regulate the state’s relations with this church has still not been signed. “We ask that public funds and property be accessible to religious communities according to equal and clear criteria. Today we do not see such equality,” Mihailo stressed.

He commented in particular on the European Commission’s 2025 Report on Montenegro, which states that freedom of belief is mainly respected. “We ask: did this assessment include our complaints, the decisions on land, the unanswered requests and the many years of refusal to regulate relations with us as with other religious communities? If not, how can this assessment be complete?” the metropolitan asked.

Mihailo also spoke about historical revisionism and the relativisation of war crimes, claiming that such phenomena pass without paying a political price. He referred to the European Parliament’s 2025 resolution on Montenegro, in which, according to him, political revisionism was warned against and the glorification of war criminals was condemned. “That is why we find it even harder to understand the silence toward those who deny Montenegrin identity and relativise crimes, while at the same time receiving political recognition through the European process. The European Union must not with one hand condemn such a policy, and with the other open the doors of partnership without clear conditions,” Mihailo said.

According to him, because of this stance, not only enthusiasm but also open support for EU membership is weakening among Montenegrins. The metropolitan asked the European Commission, the EU Delegation and the embassies of the Quint countries to announce publicly whether equality of religious communities, protection of Montenegrin identity and opposition to historical revisionism are truly conditions of Montenegro’s European path, also seeking that the Church’s claims be examined under Chapter 23. “We need a clear answer, not another principled expression of support for European values. The Europe we believed in begins from the rights of every person. If these rights for us can wait, then you are asking us to believe in a membership in which we would remain second-class citizens,” Mihailo concluded.