Amfilohije Radović

Amfilohije
Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral
Metropolitan Amfilohije
Native name Амфилохије
Church Serbian Orthodox Church
Diocese Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
Installed 1991
Personal details
Birth name Risto Radović
Born (1938-01-07) 7 January 1938
Bare Radovića, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Nationality Yugoslav, Montenegrin
Denomination Eastern Orthodoxy
Residence Cetinje Monastery
Alma mater University of Belgrade Faculty of Theology
Sapienza
University of Athens

Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović (Serbian Cyrillic: Амфилохије Радовић; pronounced [amfilɔ̌xijɛ râːdɔv̞itɕ]; born January 7, 1938) is a Serbian Orthodox bishop, the current Metropolitan bishop of Montenegro and the Littoral, making him the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.

Early life, education and personal life

Amfilohije was born Risto Radović (Ристо Радовић) in Bare Radovića in Lower Morača, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Montenegro).[1] He is a descendant of vojvoda Mina Radović who participated in the unification of the Morača tribe with the Principality of Montenegro in 1820.[1] He graduated from the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade in 1962.[1] He also studied classical philosophy at the University of Belgrade.[2] He completed his postgraduate studies in Bern and Rome, and then moved to Greece where he lived for seven years, took monastic vows and worked as a hieromonk of the Greek Orthodox Church.[2] In Athens, he completed his doctoral thesis on Saint Gregory Palamas and earned a doctor of theology degree.[2] After spending one year at Mount Athos, he moved to Paris and worked as a professor at the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute. In 1976 he became a docent and later professor of Orthodox catechesis at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. He is an honorary doctor of the Moscow Theological Academy since 2006 and of the Institute of Theology of the Belarusian State University since 2008.[2] He also speaks Greek, Russian, Italian, German and French.[1] He is a member of the Association of Writers of Serbia and Montenegro.[1]

Offices

Named Bishop of Banat in 1985, he held the title until 1991. That year, he was picked to be the Metropolitan of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, a position he holds to this day. On November 13, 2007, after Serbian Patriarch Pavle (1914–2009) had been transferred to a clinical center due to his poor health, the Holy Synod of the SOC elected Radović to perform the duties of the Patriarch. Patriarch Pavle died on November 15, 2009, and Amfilohije continued his role as Guardian of the Throne. He ceased to perform that duty after the election of Bishop Irinej of Niš as the new Patriarch on January 22, 2010.

Political views

Dmitry Medvedev receives the Order of St. Sava from Metropolitan Amfilohije.

Radović wrote an essay which was included in the 1996 book The Lamb of God and the Beast from the Abyss. He was a supporter and close friend of Bosnian Serb political leader and war criminal Radovan Karadžić, and in 2005 urged Karadžić, who evaded capture from the ICTY indictment, to give himself up.[3] Radović supported continued Serbian–Montenegrin unionism amid the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum.

Radović has denounced NATO, calling it a "militaristic, totalitarian, terrorist, international organization".[4] The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro has called for a referendum on Montenegro's NATO accession. Protests have been held, organized by the Montenegrin opposition, made up of the mainly Serb community. Radović has publicly criticized Montenegro's "separation from Mother Russia".[5]

Radović is well known for his frequent tirades against the LGBT rights and gender equality, and has been quoted calling the Pride a "parade of death, self-destruction, murder and homicide". He was also elected as "homophobe of the year by the NGO Queer Montenegro in 2014.[6] He was also publicly warned by the Ombudsman for hate speech and discrimination of the LBGT minority.[7]

Works

  • Tajna Svete Trojice po učenju Grigorija Palame (1973), study in Greek, doctorate dissertation.
  • Smisao liturgije (1974), study in Greek.
  • Tumačenje Starog zaveta kroz vekove (1979), Belgrade.
  • Sinaiti i njihov značaj u Srbiji XIV vijeka (1981), study.
  • Filokalijski pokret XVIII i početkom XIX vijeka (1982), study in Greek.
  • Osnove pravoslavnog vaspitanja (1983), studies.
  • Duhovni smisao hrama Svetog Save (1987), Belgrade.
  • Vraćanje duše u čistotu (1992), Podgorica
  • Istorijski presjek tumačenja Starog zavjeta (1995), Nikšić.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Stamatović 1999.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral official site: Његово Високопреосвештенство Архиепископ Цетињски Митрополит Црногорско-приморски и Егзарх Пећког Трона Амфилохије (Радовић) (His Eminence Archbishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral and Exarch of the Throne of Peć Amfilohije (Radovic))
  3. ↑ "Support dwindles for fugitive Karadzic".
  4. ↑ "Mitropolit Amfilohije: NATO je teroristička organizacija".
  5. ↑ "Serbian Church Urges Montenegro NATO Referendum".
  6. ↑ "Amfilohije zasad u vrhu liste uzbora za homofoba godine".
  7. ↑ "Baković: Amfilohije da se uzdrži od izjava o LGBT zajednici".

Sources

  • Stamatović, Aleksandar (1999). "Mitropolit Amfilohije Radović i naše vrijeme". Kratka istorija Mitropolije Crnogorsko-primorske (1219-1999). Rastko. (in Serbian)
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