 The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro reemerged as a spiritual and political force during the late 1980s following the appointment of Amfilohije as metropolitan.In his role as metropolitan he initiated a programme to construct new churches, monasteries and rebuild old churches.Other initiatives by Amfilohije resulted in more monks, nuns, priests and people into the church and an increase of Montenegrins baptised into Orthodoxy during a time when his relations with the Yugoslav Montenegrin government were strained.