Russian intelligence launches special church operation targeting Montenegro

Russian intelligence has stepped up efforts to destabilise Montenegro by fuelling a church-related controversy, accusing Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of preparing to grant autocephaly to the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, despite the fact that he has not publicly expressed such an intention.

Around one third of Montenegro’s 620,000 citizens identify as Serbs, while many Serbian nationalists deny that Montenegrins constitute a distinct national identity.

The Serbian Orthodox Church remains the dominant religious institution in Montenegro, but it is frequently accused by Montenegrins of serving the political interests of Belgrade. Alongside exists the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which has a very limited following and is not recognised by the Orthodox world.

The Russian Orthodox Church harbors deep hostility toward Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew primarily because of his decision to grant autocephaly (independence) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and a geopolitical betrayal aligned with Western interests against Russia. This led the Moscow Patriarchate to sever Eucharistic communion with Constantinople in 2018, accusing Bartholomew of canonical violations and pursuing neo-papal ambitions to dominate global Orthodoxy. The rift has only deepened since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with ongoing Russian accusations portraying Bartholomew as collaborating with Western intelligence, sowing discord in the Orthodox world (including in the Baltic states), and supporting anti-Russian nationalist agendas.

The Russian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church maintain an exceptionally close and brotherly relationship. Both churches today align closely in opposing Western liberal influences, resisting perceived threats to traditional Orthodox values, and strengthening ties through frequent high-level meetings between their patriarchs.

In a public statement, Russian intelligence claimed that Patriarch Bartholomew’s alleged intention to recognise an independent Montenegrin church is perceived “in certain church circles as tearing apart the living body of the Church”.

The statement goes further, suggesting that the actions of the Constantinople Patriarch are comparable to those of the “false prophets” mentioned in the Gospels, invoking the biblical message that intentions and deeds are known “by their fruits”.

“The Ecumenical Patriarch relies on his ideological allies, represented by local nationalists and neo-Nazis, in an attempt to wrest the Orthodox Churches of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from the Moscow Patriarchate, luring their priests and worshippers into artificial religious structures created by Constantinople,” Russian intelligence claims.

Patriarch Bartholomew is also described by Russian sources as the “Antichrist of Constantinople”, whose ambitions, they argue, extend well beyond Ukraine and the Baltic states.

Montenegro currently faces renewed risks of political destabilisation following an ultimatum issued by the pro-Russian and pro-Serbian coalition For the Future of Montenegro, led by Milan Knežević. He has conditioned his coalition’s continued participation in the country’s executive branch on a series of demands, including constitutional amendments to declare the Serbian language an official language of the state.

In 2016, Montenegro was the target of an attempted coup aimed at diverting Podgorica from its path towards NATO and European Union membership.

Two Russian nationals – Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov – eight Serbian citizens, as well as Serbian political leaders Milan Knežević and Andrija Mandić, were accused of preparing a violent overthrow of the government, with the active support of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Mandić is today the president of the Parliament and is described by Western diplomats in Podgorica as the most powerful politician in the country.

According to Montenegro’s Special Prosecutor’s Office, the plot targeted then-prime minister Milo Đukanović, who was to be removed from office and assassinated.

Russian security services have clear reasons to hold grievances against Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and “first among equals” in the Orthodox Christian world, primarily because of his role in Ukraine.

After Bartholomew formally recognised the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as an independent church, Moscow severed ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, while the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was recognised by several other local Orthodox churches, including the Alexandrian, Greek and Cypriot churches.

Following the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the authorities in Kyiv initiated proceedings against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), which was later outlawed.

Caption: Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (C), spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox world, throws the wooden crucifix during the Epiphany Day service in Istanbul, Turkey, 06 January 2026. Swimmers participate in the annual race to retrieve the crucifix thrown into the Bosphorus waters at the Golden Horn. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN