Mihailo Dedeić ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Михаило Дедеић; born 8 November 1938) commonly referred to by his birth name Miraš Dedeić ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Мираш Дедеић), was the second head of the non-canonical

Montenegrin Orthodox Church The Montenegrin Orthodox Church (, Црногорска православна црква; abbr. MOC, CPC or ЦПЦ) is a canonically unrecognized Eastern Orthodox Church. It was formed in 1993 and registered as a non-governmental organization. ...

Biography

He was born in 1938 in the village of Ramovo Ždrijelo on Durmitor. He graduated from the Faculty of Theology in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1969. He completed his postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1973 and later attended postgraduate studies at the Russian Theological Academy of St. Sergius in Zagorsk. 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 (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

and later served as a priest of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. His service with the Patriarchate of Constantinople ended in 1997, when Patriarch Bartholomew gave a statement saying that Dedeić had been dismissed for canonical offenses including adultery and embezzlement, that his priestly rank had been revoked, and that he had been reinstated as a

layman In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — 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. ...

. On 6 January 1997 in

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

, 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) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

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, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

a "Serbian city", while comparing Croatian President

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. During the 1992-1995

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, Dedeić had been fundraising to support the Army of Republika Srpska 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 "committed 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 () describes the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology of the creation of a Serb state which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group, inclu ...

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

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 Eastern Orthodox Church bodies People excommunicated by the Serbian Orthodox Church Clergy from Cetinje Montenegrin Orthodox Church