Metropolitan Bishop
Saint John (Lipovac) was glorified in the rank of saints at the end of the 20th century. He was one of the first to raise his voice against the terror of the communists, which led to his martyr's death. He was born on February 16, 1890, on the shores of the Kotor Bay. He graduated from high school in Kotor and the Theological Institute in Zadar. In 1912, he was ordained to the diaconate, and later to the priesthood. Since 1922, he taught at the gymnasium and seminary in Cetinje.
On December 8, 1939, he was elected vicar of the Serbian Patriarch for Montenegro. On February 1, 1940, Metropolitan Joseph performed his monastic tonsure with the name John. On February 10, the naming took place, and on February 11 – the episcopal ordination. On February 20, 1940, he arrived in the city of Herceg Novi, where he was warmly welcomed by the people.
With the beginning of the war in April 1941 and the occupation of Montenegro, he found himself in a difficult position. He became a protector for refugees and the suffering, appealing to the occupying authorities with petitions. The Italians, although showing a benevolent attitude, ultimately supported the local separatists. In July 1941, a popular uprising began, but it led to harsh retaliatory actions by the occupiers.
The Metropolitan condemned the communists for their terror and called not to follow their ideas. On May 18, 1942, he sent an encyclical to the clergy requesting facts about communist terror. In 1944, during the advance of the partisans, he decided to leave Cetinje. In the first half of June 1945, he was killed in Arandjelovac.
The name of the holy martyr was forgotten until the 1990s, when his fate began to be studied. On May 22, 1998, the Holy Archierarchical Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church made the decision to canonize Metropolitan John. The solemn glorification took place on May 22, 2002, in the temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade.
