Mihailo Dedeić ( cyrl, Михаило Дедеић; born 8 November 1938) commonly referred to by his birth name Miraš Dedeić ( cyrl, Мираш Дедеић), is the second and current head of the non-canonical

Montenegrin Orthodox Church , image = , imagewidth = , type = Eastern Christian , main_classification = Independent Eastern Orthodox , scripture=Septuagint, New Testament, theology = Orthodox theology , polity ...

. Since 6 January 1997, he has been styled as ''His Beatitude the Archbishop of

Cetinje Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...

and Metropolitan of

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

''.

Biography

He was born in 1938 in the village of Ramovo Ždrijelo on

Durmitor Durmitor ( Montenegrin: Дурмитор, or ) is a massif located in northwestern Montenegro. It is part of the Dinaric Alps. Its highest peak, Bobotov Kuk, reaches a height of . The massif is limited by the Tara River Canyon on the north, the ...

. He graduated from the Faculty of Theology in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

in 1969. He completed his postgraduate studies at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1973 and later attended postgraduate studies at the Russian Theological Academy of St. Sergius in

Zagorsk Sergiyev Posad ( rus, Се́ргиев Поса́д, p=ˈsʲɛrgʲɪ(j)ɪf pɐˈsat) is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Sergiyev Posad'' (unt ...

. After finishing his studies he worked in the state archives of SFR Yugoslavia, Soviet Union and Italy in the Roman representation of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

and later served as a priest of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. His service with Patriarchate of Constantinople ended in 1997, when

Patriarch Bartholomew Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''pr ...

gave a statement saying that Dedeić had been dismissed for canonical offenses, that his priestly rank had been revoked, and that he had been reinstated as a

layman In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

. On 6 January 1997 in

, he was proposed and elected head of the

. On 31 October 1998 in Cetinje, he was enthroned as Metropolitan of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church.

Political views

At the beginning of

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

Dedeić gave a statement to the Italian media saying that the war started because of the "desire of the Croatian leadership to take over Serbian territories". He called

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

a "Serbian city", while comparing Croatian President

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. During the 1992-1995

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, Dedeić had been fundraising to support the

Army of Republika Srpska The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...

under Ratko Mladić's command during his plight to support the Serbs fighting the Bosnian Muslims and Croats. In a Croatian TV show "Bujica", Dedeić stated that Serbia "commited genocide" in Montenegro in 1918 and 1920 and that Serbs are a "disruptive factor in the Balkans and that they should land a little, because there is no longer

Greater Serbia The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia ( sr, Велика Србија, Velika Srbija) describes the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology of the creation of a Serb state which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to S ...

". He also added that Croatia has the right to form the

Croatian Orthodox Church The Croatian Orthodox Church ( hr, Hrvatska pravoslavna crkva) was a religious body created during World War II by the Fascist Ustaše regime in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). It was created in order to assimilate the remaining Serb mino ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dedeic, Miras 1938 births Living people People from Žabljak University of Belgrade Faculty of Orthodox Theology alumni Archbishops of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church Clergy removed from office Scandals in Eastern Orthodox organizations People excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church People excommunicated by the Serbian Orthodox Church Clergy from Cetinje Montenegrin Orthodox Church