Montenegro celebrates Saint Tryphon with traditional ceremony in Kotor

Saint Tryphon, the patron saint of the Diocese and the city of Kotor, Montenegro, was celebrated on Sunday for the 1,217th time with a central open-air ceremony, attended by a large number of pilgrims, citizens and faithful from the Bay of Kotor and the wider region.

During the ceremony held in front of the city’s main gate, and following the formal report and the presentation of the flag, detachments of the traditional Boka Navy from Tivat and Herceg Novi were welcomed, CE Report quotes HINA.

This was followed by the formation of a Boka Navy unit, which, accompanied by the city brass bands of Kotor and Tivat, the Marija Bistrica Brass Band and the Fužine Brass Band, proceeded towards the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon.

The Admiral of the Boka Navy, Mirko Vičević, conducted an inspection of the sailors, a ceremonial salute was fired, after which the Boka Navy performed the traditional Saint Tryphon’s kolo dance.

The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Monsignor Zdenko Križić, Archbishop of Split-Makarska.

The celebration was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Davor Božinović whose predecessors hail from the Bay of Kotor, the Mayor of Kotor, Vladimir Jokić, as well as numerous guests from public and cultural life, representatives of the Croatian community in Montenegro, and members of the diplomatic corps.

Also present were archbishops and bishops from the Catholic dioceses of Split-Makarska, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Šibenik, Hvar, Mostar-Duvno and Banja Luka and Sarajevo, and other dignitaries as well as many pilgrims from the region and Italy.

All brotherhoods of the Boka Navy 809 from Croatia attended the celebration, as did the Knights of the Sinj Alka.

Following the Holy Mass, a procession took place through the streets of the city.

"This is a day rich in symbolism; despite all historical challenges, we are also celebrating the fact that we have preserved our language, faith, customs and identity," Božinović briefly commented during the procession through the city.

The Saint Tryphon festivities conclude on 15 February with the lowering of the saint’s flag from the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon.

Saint Tryphon is liturgically celebrated on 3 February. By decision of the Diocese of Kotor in 2000, the celebration has been held as an open-air event with a procession through the city streets on the first Sunday after 3 February.

The Festivity of Saint Tryphon and the Kolo (chain dance) of Saint Tryphon, traditions of Croats from Montenegro's Bay of Kotor, were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022.