Both the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and the canonically unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church (CPC) lit yule logs this Christmas eve in what was the capital of the kingdom of Montenegro just a few hundred meters from each other, while SPC Patriarch Irinej led the same ceremony in Belgrade.

The SPC Montenegro Littoral Bishopric will light its yule logs in a ceremony in from the Cetinje Monastery while the CPC will hold its ceremony in front of the building that was King Nikola’s palace, both ceremonies being scheduled at 03:00 pm on Monday.  

The SPC and CPC have held separate ceremonies in Cetinje since the 1990s when a former SPC monk decided to set up the CPC claiming continuity with the Orthodox church in Montenegro before 1918 when it joined with Serbia in what would become the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.  

Protests by SPC faithful have been ongoing for days across Montenegro following the adopting of a new law on religious communities which critics claim would allow the authorities to seize all church properties. The Montenegrin authorities have rejected those claims saying that only those properties whose ownership prior to 1918 can’t be documented will be taken over by the government.

In the meantime, the European Union refused to comment on the protest, saying that religious legislation was the issue of domestic politics.

The ceremony in Belgrade was held outside the St. Sava Temple and was attended by the SPC Patriarch Irinej and the member of Bosnian tripartite Presidency from the Serb nation Milorad Dodik.

Although announced, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic did not show up.