At its session on February 18, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church adopted a decision, on the basis of the 74th Canon of the Holy Apostles and Articles 70(1), points 20 and 35(b) of the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church, to relieve Archbishop and Metropolitan of Žiča, Justin, of the administration of the Diocese of Žiča until the regular session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops in 2026. At the same time, the Synod initiated proceedings to determine his canonical responsibility.
The Holy Synod also appointed Archbishop and Metropolitan of Niš, Arsenije, as Locum tenens of the Diocese of Žiča until the forthcoming session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops.
The decision followed regular inspections of the material and financial management of dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church, carried out on the basis of a decision of the Patriarchal Administrative Board dated October 24, 2023. The Commission of the Patriarchal Administrative Board, and subsequently the Commission of the Holy Synod of Bishops, collected material evidence which established that Metropolitan Justin committed numerous canonical and other ecclesiastical violations in the governance of the Diocese of Žiča.
According to the findings, Metropolitan Justin allegedly established three commercial companies without authorization (“Trifora LLC,” “JEŽ LLC,” and “Studenica Monastery Winery LLC”), concealed their operations, and registered himself as the beneficial owner of these entities. It was also determined that he carried out the unauthorized sale of 34 church properties (apartments, commercial premises, and others) in Kraljevo and Čačak, concluded harmful multi-million-value contracts with legal and natural persons in violation of church regulations, granted unauthorized multi-million loans to various companies in Serbia, and committed financial abuses unprecedented in the Serbian Orthodox Church, which may also entail criminal liability before state authorities.
The Holy Synod expressed regret that, in an attempt to avoid ecclesiastical and canonical responsibility, Metropolitan Justin and his associates repeatedly misled the public by claiming that he was being “politically persecuted” due to the current social and political situation in Serbia—an assertion the Synod firmly denied. As emphasized by the Synod, in this and similar cases involving the determination of canonical responsibility of hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the matters concern exclusively internal canonical and ecclesiastical issues, over which only the Holy Synod of Bishops and the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church have jurisdiction.
Source: Patriarchate of Serbia
