According to sources from the office of Prime Minister Krivokapic, Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic used his influence to prevent the procession from being held kneeling, as previously announced.

Brano Mandic

Today the Montenegrin Government will hold the first liturgical procession session, which will start in the centre of Podgorica and end in the settlement of Doljani, on the ruins of the local church from the time of Emperor Justinian.

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic is expected to lead the Government procession, while twelve ministers will follow the prayer file in pairs.

The topic of the session is the current economic situation and the upcoming tourist season. Drivers of cars and horse-drawn carriages are asked to give right of way to the government during the ‘world’s first liturgical procession session’.

‘This will be our brand, let it be known that Montenegro has both a healthy body and a healthy spirit. We sold a million and a half euros worth of limousines from the Djukanovic era, but that is not enough. We have to move forward, spiritually, and on foot!’ Krivokapic tweeted.

According to sources from the office of Prime Minister Krivokapic, Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic used his influence to prevent the procession from being held kneeling, as previously announced.  Krivokapic openly states that paired-up kneeling, or a double-kneel, would truly make the Ministers spiritually connect and rise to the occasion of serious decision making.

The Government Statute stipulates that should a vision appear to any of the  Ministers during the liturgical session, the procession will stop and form a prayer circle. If the Prime Minister himself is presented with a vision, the Statute requires that the place be marked and registered as state property.

The timing chosen by the Montenegrin Government for the liturgical procession session is not ideal, as the Serbian Orthodox Church is currently deciding on the canonical recognition of the so-called auto-processions. One gets the impression that the Government is choosing sides, and uniting against the so-called New Creators who welcome auto-processions, provided unleaded fuel is used.

‘We do not interfere in church issues, nor are we under the influence of the clergy. We pray to God to put his trust in us, just as we trust in Him’, said Krivokapic in an informal conversation with journalists of Radio Holymountain.

The Podgorica procession will be opportunity to test the equipment procured by the Government in order to provide in-depth transcription and more efficient keeping of official notes. It is a Russian electromagnetic spectrometer that measures invisible waves suspected to occur every time someone pronounces the full title of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.

A non-partisan expert with at least two years of experience in the army will receive the expensive device, popularly called SecretOpticum, which Krivokapic will use to map non-verbal prayer patterns during his decision making.

At the end of the working day Krivokapic and the ministers will perform the liturgy in the Zlatica monastery in Doljani while Abazovic, as the only member of the team belonging to the Islamic religion, will coordinate the reading of the first SecretOpticum records and address journalists in the monastery residence.

If procession management is proven successful, and SecretOpticum a good investment, the government plans to open negotiations with the Church on copyright and the formation of a joint think tank, which would be aimed at the international political market.

 

Brano Mandic, journalist and writer, one of the most-read columnists in Montenegro