Checkmate : Orthodox Diplomacy in Montenegro and Macedonia in the Shadows of the War in Ukraine
(2025) p.259-284- Abstract
- In 2022 the Serbian Orthodox Church managed to seal off two of its longstanding ecclesial conflicts in former Yugoslavia and put an end to open hostility. The end of the conflicts seems to have been prompted as a response to the War in Ukraine. This chapter explores the Orthodox diplomacy in Montenegro and Macedonia and how it relates to the geopolitical and ecclesial role of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In Montenegro, the former government was toppled in a democratic election by popular protests fuelled by the Serbian church. The change in government in Montenegro paved the way for a legal recognition and a series of privilege to the Serbian Church, which was heralded as a victory over the rivalling unrecognised Montenegrin Orthodox... (More)
- In 2022 the Serbian Orthodox Church managed to seal off two of its longstanding ecclesial conflicts in former Yugoslavia and put an end to open hostility. The end of the conflicts seems to have been prompted as a response to the War in Ukraine. This chapter explores the Orthodox diplomacy in Montenegro and Macedonia and how it relates to the geopolitical and ecclesial role of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In Montenegro, the former government was toppled in a democratic election by popular protests fuelled by the Serbian church. The change in government in Montenegro paved the way for a legal recognition and a series of privilege to the Serbian Church, which was heralded as a victory over the rivalling unrecognised Montenegrin Orthodox Church. In contrast in Macedonia the Serbian Church reached an agreement in 2022 with the local Macedonian Orthodox Church, which had broken away from the Serbian Patriarchate in 1968. The new agreement allowed the Macedonian Church to enter into the formal form of a recognised international Orthodox Church with strong ties to the Serbian Patriarchate. The two, longstanding conflicts in Macedonia and Montenegro thereby came to an end in 2022 after decades of infighting. The focus of this chapter is the ecclesial diplomatic interplay that led to the resolving of the conflict and comparative analysis of how the Serbian Church acted in Montenegro vis-à-vis Macedonia. Of particular interest are the diplomatic overtures between the Serbian Church and the Moscow Patriarchate, Ecumenical, and Ukrainian churches that played into the local conflict in Macedonia and Montenegro. These overtures and the dramatic shift caused by the war in Ukraine seem to have been the essential backdrop of the swift resolving of the local conflicts. (Less)
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- author
- Saggau, Emil Hilton LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-03-07
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Fault Lines in the Orthodox World : Geopolitics, Theology, and Diplomacy in Light of the War in Ukraine - Geopolitics, Theology, and Diplomacy in Light of the War in Ukraine
- editor
- Rimestad, Sebastian and Hilton Saggau, Emil
- pages
- 259 - 284
- publisher
- Palgrave Springer
- ISBN
- 978-3-031-81505-8
- 978-3-031-81504-1
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-031-81505-8_10
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b993aec1-deb0-47b9-8023-eb582f977022
- date added to LUP
- 2025-03-27 08:43:18
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 15:18:51
@inbook{b993aec1-deb0-47b9-8023-eb582f977022,
abstract = {{In 2022 the Serbian Orthodox Church managed to seal off two of its longstanding ecclesial conflicts in former Yugoslavia and put an end to open hostility. The end of the conflicts seems to have been prompted as a response to the War in Ukraine. This chapter explores the Orthodox diplomacy in Montenegro and Macedonia and how it relates to the geopolitical and ecclesial role of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In Montenegro, the former government was toppled in a democratic election by popular protests fuelled by the Serbian church. The change in government in Montenegro paved the way for a legal recognition and a series of privilege to the Serbian Church, which was heralded as a victory over the rivalling unrecognised Montenegrin Orthodox Church. In contrast in Macedonia the Serbian Church reached an agreement in 2022 with the local Macedonian Orthodox Church, which had broken away from the Serbian Patriarchate in 1968. The new agreement allowed the Macedonian Church to enter into the formal form of a recognised international Orthodox Church with strong ties to the Serbian Patriarchate. The two, longstanding conflicts in Macedonia and Montenegro thereby came to an end in 2022 after decades of infighting. The focus of this chapter is the ecclesial diplomatic interplay that led to the resolving of the conflict and comparative analysis of how the Serbian Church acted in Montenegro vis-à-vis Macedonia. Of particular interest are the diplomatic overtures between the Serbian Church and the Moscow Patriarchate, Ecumenical, and Ukrainian churches that played into the local conflict in Macedonia and Montenegro. These overtures and the dramatic shift caused by the war in Ukraine seem to have been the essential backdrop of the swift resolving of the local conflicts.}},
author = {{Saggau, Emil Hilton}},
booktitle = {{Fault Lines in the Orthodox World : Geopolitics, Theology, and Diplomacy in Light of the War in Ukraine}},
editor = {{Rimestad, Sebastian and Hilton Saggau, Emil}},
isbn = {{978-3-031-81505-8}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
pages = {{259--284}},
publisher = {{Palgrave Springer}},
title = {{Checkmate : Orthodox Diplomacy in Montenegro and Macedonia in the Shadows of the War in Ukraine}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-81505-8_10}},
doi = {{10.1007/978-3-031-81505-8_10}},
year = {{2025}},
}