Montenegrin Schismatic Leader Seeks Canonical Review from Phanar

“Metropolitan” Mihailo Dedeić, former head of the schismatic MOC. Photo: nftu.net

CETINJE, MONTENEGRO — The self-proclaimed Metr. Mihailo Dedeić has issued a formal petition to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, expressing support for Constantinople’s leadership while requesting a renewed canonical review of his own status and that of the self-proclaimed Montenegrin Orthodox Church (MOC).

In the letter, dated January 18, 2026, Dedeić condemns what he describes as “synchronized and perfidious campaigns” aimed at undermining the Ecumenical Patriarchate, linking such efforts to Russian political and church interests. He voices strong support for Patr. Bartholomew’s recognition of the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and calls for “a serious, canonically and historically grounded dialogue" regarding Montenegro’s church question. Dedeić defends his leadership of the MOC, calling it “the movement for the restoration of autocephaly” and labeling Serbian Orthodox influence “Greater-Serbian Svetosavlje ethnophyletism,” a “political instrument of forced assimilation.” 

Dedeić also challenges the grounds for his past exclusion from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, denying claims that he violated Serbian Orthodox Church jurisdiction. He asks to appear before a canonical court and proposes a multidisciplinary commission to examine the status of Orthodoxy in Montenegro.

Dedeić had led the non-canonical MOC since 1997, after previously serving as a cleric of the Ecumenical Patriarchate before being defrocked and excommunicated. In 2023, an MOC assembly voted to replace him with Boris Bojović, a former subordinate, though Dedeić rejects the decision despite its recognition by secular courts and the wider pseudo-ecclesial structure.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Abp. Elia denounced our reporting on his interaction with Bojović, as disinformation. 

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