He was consecrated Bishop of Banja Luka in 1980, and before the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars he spoke for peace and tolerance.

In 1978, at the St. Michael Cathedral in Belgrade, he was elevated to the rank of bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

He became bishop of Banja Luka in 1980,[2] Milutinović experienced a more favorable situation than his predecessors, Vasilije Kostić and Andrej Frušić.

During much of his 26 years of hierarchical work, Milutinović invested in the restoration of what was destroyed in the Second World War.

The Hieromartyr Platon Jovanović of Banja Luka was canonized during his bishopric.