Irinej, Serbian Patriarch
Serbian Patriarch | |
---|---|
Native name | Иринеј |
Church | Serbian Orthodox Church |
Elected | 22 January 2010 |
Installed | 23 January 2010 (Belgrade) 3 October 2010 (Peć) |
Term ended | 20 November 2020 |
Predecessor | Pavle |
Successor | Porfirije |
Orders | |
Ordination | 24 October 1959 by Patriarch German |
Consecration | 1 May 1974 by Patriarch German |
Rank | Patriarch |
Personal details | |
Born | Miroslav Gavrilović 28 August 1930 |
Died | 20 November 2020 Belgrade, Serbia | (aged 90)
Buried | Church of Saint Sava, Belgrade |
Nationality | Serbian |
Denomination | Eastern Orthodoxy |
Residence | Niš (1975–2010) Belgrade (2010–2020) |
Previous post(s) | Bishop of Niš (1975–2010) Titular Bishop of Moravica (1974–1975) |
Alma mater | University of Belgrade |
Signature |
Styles of Serbian Patriarch Irinej | |
---|---|
His Holiness | |
Spoken style | Your Holiness |
Religious style | Patriarch |
Posthumous style | His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Blessed Repose |
Irinej (Serbian Cyrillic: Иринеј, pronounced [irǐneːj], English: Irenaeus; born Miroslav Gavrilović; 28 August 1930 – 20 November 2020) was the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 2010 until his death in 2020.
He had first been the
Early life
Irinej was born as Miroslav Gavrilović (pronounced
Titular bishop and the Bishop of Niš
Titular bishop of Moravica (1974–1975)
Irinej was elected
After one year, he left the position following his election for the
Bishop of Niš (1975–2010)
In May 1975, Irinej was elected bishop of Niš and enthroned in the Holy Trinity Cathedral on 15 June 1975 in Niš.[1][2] When the Prizren Seminary was displaced from Prizren due to Kosovo War in 1999, he made it possible that a new building of the Seminary was built in Niš, where the Seminary continued its work.[3] Irinej headed the Eparchy of Niš for 35 years.[4]
Bishop Irinej was elected to the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church as a member in May 2009.[5]
Serbian Patriarch (2010–2020)
Election and inauguration
Irinej was elected
Irinej was enthroned on 23 January 2010 in St. Michael's Cathedral in Belgrade.[12] The inauguration was attended by numerous government ministers of Serbia, representatives of churches and religious communities in Serbia, and various politicians including the Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, Apostolic Nuncio Orlando Antonini, Catholic archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hočevar, Serbian Mufti Muhamed Jusufspahić, and Crown Prince Alexander Karađorđević.[13]
Irinej held his formal enthronement to the ancient throne of the Serbian patriarch in the
Ecumenism and interfaith dialogue
Irinej was considered, both abroad and at home, as a
On 28 January 2010, at his first news conference, Irinej stated that "Islam’s philosophy was that Muslims, when they are in small numbers, can behave well and be fair, but that once they become superior, they start to exert pressure." The Islamic Community in Serbia (IZS) said that it found the remarks to be "insulting Islam" and responded with a letter to the Serbian Orthodox Church requesting an official interpretation of his statement. The Islamic Community in Serbia condemned what they called "insulting and false accusations".[18] On 29 January, he expressed regrets for his statement and its consequences, and to Muslims, as neighbours and brothers he extended apologies.[19] Hereupon his apologies were accepted.[20]
In 2010, Irinej indicated he would not oppose the first-ever visit by the
A visit by Pope Francis (deemed politically useful for Serbia's battle against the international recognition of Kosovo) was discussed again for May 2016, but Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić called it off after hearing the negative opinion of Irinej's Orthodox Church.[24] In July 2018, Irinej confirmed that it was still not the right moment for a visit of the Pope to Serbia, "because of everything that has happened in the past, and a huge number of [Serb] refugees from Croatia, a large portion of the nation is against it."[25]
In May 2019, Pope Francis stated that Irinej had helped in the reflection in the Catholic Church about the canonization of World War II Croatian Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac, which the Serbian Orthodox Church opposes due to his role in the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia (NDH). "I sought advice and I saw that I need to seek help from Irinej. He is a great patriarch. Irinej helped, we created a joint historic commission, and we cooperated," said the Pope. "The truth is both mine and Irinej's only interest."[26]
Construction of the Church of Saint Sava
After the Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque in July 2020, the Patriarch Irinej and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić on 20 August 2020 expressed their wish, that the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade might indirectly replace the Hagia Sophia after which it was modelled, and become a ″New Hagia Sophia″.[27][28]
During last three years of the Patriarch Irinej's tenure, the Serbian Government spent 43 million euro on renovating the church. Also, Gazprom Company donated 10.5 million euro towards the church’s construction.[29]
Response to allegations of sexual abuse in the Church
Irinej has been criticized for his lack of action in regards to allegations of pedophilia within the Serbian Orthodox Church, which were reported in the summer of 2012 and affected public opinion in Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The scandal, initially covered up, led to the resignation of the Tuzla and Zvornik bishop, Vasilije Kačavenda, who was accused of having abused children for decades.[30] A court in London ruled that the Serbian Orthodox Church was not guilty for the six reported cases of alleged pedophilia in the lawsuit filed by a group of citizens. The suit was rejected and the group had to pay 160,000£ to the Serbian Orthodox Church.[31]
Other
As the Patriarch, Irinej headed the Bishops' Council and the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Following his death on 20 November 2020, Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia, a senior member of the Holy Synod, became the acting Guardian of the Throne until the election of new patriarch.[32]
Positions on morality and politics
Abortion
Irinej was firmly against abortion. In 2017, he stated in a local newspaper that it is "a woman's duty to give birth in order to regenerate the nation".[33] In 2019 he condemned a performance by women's rights activists, which placed an apron saying 'Abortion is a Woman's Right' on a monument to his predecessor Patriarch Pavle in Belgrade. "Doing something like this is shameful, whatever the reason. It’s not nice," he said, recalling that the church and Patriarch Pavle were opposed to abortion.[34]
Homosexuality
Irinej was openly against of the freedom of expression of the LGBTI community in Serbia. In 2011, Irinej labelled the planned pride parade in Belgrade a "pestilence" and a "parade of shame".[35]
In October 2012, Irinej wrote to
In 2014, in an interview for Nedeljnik, he stated: "I feel sorry for those people who belong to the so-called gay community. It is a disorder or deviation of human nature. I can understand them, as well as their problem, but I cannot understand what they impose on us and what they show in public."[4] He denounced the Belgrade Pride as "immoral" and "imposed by the homosexual lobby and their mentors from Western Europe".[33]
In 2017, when
Domestic relations
Irinej and the Serbian Orthodox Church were considered very close to the political leadership of Serbia under
In January 2013, Irinej openly advocated for the restoration of the Serbian monarchy, after the liturgy commemorating the transfer of the remains of King Peter II to Serbia from the United States.[36]
Kosovo
On 4 October 2010, Patriarch Irinej said that international recognition of Kosovo was a "sin".[37] Speaking about the Orthodox monasteries in Kosovo, Irinej said in 2015 that "if force is deployed" to deprive Serbia of its cultural and historical heritage, "we will do all we can to defend them, by peaceful means or by force."[33]
In 2018, in multiple occasions Irinej publicly supported Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, stating that he was "fighting like a lion" to maintain Kosovo as a part of Serbia.[38] The same year, Irinej suggested that the Serbian Orthodox Church could rename itself as the Serbian Orthodox Church – Patriarchate of Peć, to highlight the links with Kosovo, in a move that was interpreted as in opposition to the government's participation in the EU-facilitated normalisation dialogue with Kosovo.[39]
International relations
European Union
Regarding the
In 2018, Irinej claimed that the European Union is not actually "very eager" to accept Serbia as a new member State "because of our
Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 10 November 2010, Irinej stated in an interview that "the
In January 2012, Irinej referred to
In November 2017, he called the
Irinej often attended Serbian Orthodox Church and public events of the
Syria
In June 2019, Irinej visited
Death and funeral
Illness and death
On 4 November 2020, Irinej tested positive for COVID-19 after attending, as well as presiding over,[49] the 1 November funeral of Metropolitan Amfilohije, who also tested positive and had died from COVID-19.[50][51] The large crowds at Amfilohije's funeral did not practise social distancing or wear masks and Amfilohije's casket was open during the service.[49][52] On 14 November, it was reported that his health condition was "stable and under control during hospitalization" in the military COVID hospital in Belgrade.[53] On 19 November, he was intubated.[52] Some media outlets reported that Irinej had died; the Serbian Orthodox Church issued a statement refuting these claims, but said that Irinej was in worsening health at a military hospital in Belgrade.[54] Some members of the press still insisted that the news of Irinej's death had been confirmed by reputable sources.[55]
Irinej's death was officially announced on 20 November at 7:07 am
The
Aftermath
External videos | |
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Transfer of the Patriarch Irinej's body to the Church of Saint Sava, Tanjug News Agency | |
LIVE — The funeral of Patriarch Irinej, Tanjug News Agency |
On 21 November, Irinej's body was brought to
His funeral was held on 22 November at the Church of Saint Sava.[70] After the Holy Liturgy, speeches were given by Protoiereus-Staurophore Petar Lukić, Bishop Irinej of Bačka, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, and Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik.[71] In his speech, President Vučić said that love was the basis of the faith of the late patriarch, and his Serbia was the one he created himself - a Serbia of peace, a Serbia that understands and brings people together.[72] Irinej is the first Serbian Patriarch to be buried in the crypt of the Church.[73]
Funeral service was also attended by numerous
Bishop David of Kruševac who led Irinej's funeral service tested positive for COVID-19 following the funeral.[76] At the time, Bishop David is one of the four remaining members of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Awards and honours
- Grand Collar of the Order of the Eagle of Georgia, Bagrationi dynasty (2011)[77][78]
- Order of the Republika Srpska, Republika Srpska (2011) [79]
- Karađorđević dynasty (2013)[2]
- Order of Saint Nikolaj, Eparchy of Šabac[80]
- Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, honorary degree[81]
- Honorary citizen, Zemun[80]
See also
References
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Od Vidova do poglavara: Ko je bio patrijarh Irinej?". B92.net (in Serbian). 20 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ "Почасни докторат Патријарху српском Иринеју | Српска Православна Црква [Званични сајт]". spc.rs. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
External links
- Patriarch's Biography Archived 18 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine at spc.rs