Serbia Mourns Orthodox Church Patriarch

The Serbian government has proclaimed three days of mourning beginning on Monday, following the death of the Head of Serbia’s Orthodox Church, SPC, Patriarch Pavle.

The bells of Serbian churches rang out at noon to mark the death of Patriarch Pavle, who passed away at the age of 95 on Sunday morning. He died at the Belgrade military hospital, to which he was admitted on November 13, 2007, due to poor health. The church did not specify the cause of death.

The news of the patriarch's death was first announced by Bishop Amfilohije, who has carried out most of the patriarch’s duties during Pavle’s hospitalization.  

The patriarch's body was taken to the Patriarchy building in the afternoon, where the Holy Synod members served a memorial service. The body was then carried and displayed in an open coffin at Belgrade's Cathedral Church, with top officials and clergy attending the prayers. A large number of people lined up to pay their last respects to the patriarch.

The leader of the SPC was born Gojko Stojcevic in 1914 in the village of Kucanci, Croatia. In 1957, he was elected the Bishop of Ras and Prizren and held that position for 33 years. He was then elected the 44th Patriarch of the SPC, replacing the ailing Patriarch German.

Serbian President Boris Tadic said that the death of Patriarch Pavle represented a huge and irreparable loss to the Serbian people.

"There are people who connect the entire nation by their existence alone. Patriarch Pavle was like that. His passing away is my personal loss," Tadic said.

The Holy Synod met Sunday evening in Belgrade, where it was decided that the patriarch would be laid to rest on Thursday at the Rakovica monastery in Belgrade.