Montenegro plans to give land to the Vatican while the Serbian Orthodox Church still fights to reclaim its own property

The government of Montenegro is preparing to transfer several land plots in Podgorica to the Vatican — free of charge and without compensation. The proposal is officially presented as a “gesture of strengthening diplomatic relations” and envisions granting the Holy See property for the construction of an Apostolic Nunciature — the Vatican’s diplomatic mission in the country. This was reported by the Serbian news outlet IN4S.

The final decision on the land transfer is expected to be made on July 31. The plots in question are located in one of the most expensive areas of the Montenegrin capital.

This gesture toward the Vatican contrasts sharply with the unresolved situation faced by the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has been seeking for decades to reclaim its confiscated property, taken during the communist period and in the aftermath of Yugoslavia’s dissolution. The Church has yet to recover hundreds of hectares of land, dozens of buildings, and culturally significant sites — including Orlov Krš, Njegoš Park, and the Čepurci cemetery.

It was also previously reported that the head of the OCU, Epiphaniу Dumenko, criticized the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije. Epiphaniу accused the Serbian Patriarch of speaking favorably about Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Dumenko, such remarks show that Patriarch Porfirije “has submitted to the false doctrine of the Russian World.”