Montenegrin Metropolis of the SOC calls on the authorities to keep Sunday a day off

In Montenegro, an active public debate continues on the status of Sunday as a non-working day. The Montenegrin-Primorian Metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church has called on the country’s authorities to find a legal solution that would allow Sunday to remain a day of rest for the majority of workers. This is reported by the official website of the Metropolis.

The statement, published on the official website of the Metropolitan Church of Montenegro, emphasizes the special religious significance of Sunday for Christians, as it is the day of the Resurrection of Christ and participation in worship. The Church expresses its conviction that the preservation of a single day off contributes not only to the protection of the rights of believers, but also to the strengthening of the institution of the family and social solidarity.

The occasion for renewed discussion was the decision of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro of January 28, which abolished the ban on the operation of stores on Sundays. This norm, introduced in 2019, guaranteed mandatory weekly rest for employees in the trade sector. Following the lifting of the ban, the future of the «non-working Sunday» has once again become the subject of fierce public and political debate. In response, a group of deputies requested an extraordinary session of parliament for February 16, while the Minister of Economic Development urged retailers to hold off on opening on Sunday until a political agreement on the issue is reached.

The metropolis also recalled international experience, pointing out that many countries in Europe have restrictions on Sunday trading. In particular, in Germany and Austria, stores are generally closed on this day, while in Poland, an almost complete ban on Sunday trading has been gradually introduced since 2018, albeit with a number of exceptions.

In their appeal, the Church representatives emphasized the need to consider the balance between the right to work, freedom of enterprise and the protection of the family, which are enshrined in the country’s constitution. They called on the authorities to carefully weigh all the arguments and develop a solution that will ensure respect for labor rights and preserve Sunday as a day of rest for the majority of Montenegrin citizens.

Recall, earlier we published an analytical material about the fact that Montenegro may become the next place of invasion of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The country has long had an unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which enjoys special attention of the state and is a de facto counterbalance to the Montenegrin Metropolitanate of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is possible that the Patriarch of Constantinople may do the same in Montenegro as in Ukraine, granting the Tomos on autocephaly to local schismatics.