Joanikije stated in his Easter epistle that he was happy “that calls for national reconciliation are being heard from many sides” from Montenegro.

According to him, an important step towards reconciliation is the signing of the Basic Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).

“General freedom of religion and equality of all churches and religious communities are important prerequisites for the internal stability and harmony of every state, especially Montenegro, which inherits a rich heritage of different religions and cultures,” he said.

The signing of the contract with the SPC provoked strong reactions from the public in Montenegro and in August led to a loss of confidence in the Government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazović.

In his Easter epistle, the Metropolitan of the SPC referred to the war in Ukraine and announced that he was praying for an end to the war, but also accused the government of that country that “in the interest of a schismatic and non-canonical group of dubious religious identity, they are stealing the ancient and famous holy places of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.” .

Ioannikije called it “state terrorism” and an attempt to “suppress the original Orthodoxy in Ukraine.”

“We watch with great concern how the Ukrainian authorities, in the interest of a schismatic and non-canonical group of dubious religious identity, are taking away the ancient and famous holy places of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, Mr. Onufrije. This is not only a violation of religious rights and freedoms, but, unfortunately, state terror and an attempt to suppress the original Orthodoxy in Ukraine,” he said.

The SPC Metropolitan compared the events in Ukraine, the status of the Orthodox Church there and its believers, with the Serbian Orthodox Church and the “suffering” of the Serbs in Kosovo.

“The suffering that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is suffering today, our holy church has suffered many times in its history. The same kind of suffering, if not worse, was suffered by the Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, at the hands of Albanian terrorists from 1999 to 2004.” , said Joanikis.

He assessed that “at the same time, the entire Serbian people are becoming more and more attached to their crucified brothers and holy places” in Kosovo and that “especially young people from Montenegro regularly go and visit the Nemanjic Kosovo-Metohija holy places”.

“All the faithful know that Kosovo is our holy and unshakable throne. The closer we are to it, the closer we are to God. If we always have him in our hearts, if we do not renounce him, regardless of threats and pressures, we will have a worthy place under the cap of heaven, shoulder to shoulder shoulder to shoulder with other historical and enlightened peoples”, stated, among other things, the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Easter message.