Upcoming Election of New Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch

The death of Serbia's Orthodox Church, SPC, Patriarch Pavle raises questions regarding a successor to the throne.

The Constitution of SPC envisions that the Church Assembly should meet within three months in order to elect a new patriarch. The Holy Synod, however, has not decided on a date for the Election Assembly session.

Bishop Irinej announced on Sunday that Bishop Amfilohije will serve as acting patriarch until the elections.

Candidates for the new patriarch are all those who have had five years of eparchy service. The names of the three bishops who receive the most votes are put into separate envelopes and placed inside the Holy Gospel. The Holy Gospel is then placed at the holy throne in the church.

A monk, who is appointed by the Assembly, takes out the envelopes from the Holy Gospel and draws one of them. The monk then hands it to the chairman of the Election Assembly to read the name of the new head of Serbia's Orthodox Church.

The Church shifted to this selection process in the 1960’s in order to avoid political influence. Patriarch Pavle was the first to be elected in this way.

Patriarch Pavle was admitted to the Belgrade military hospital on November 13, 2007, due to poor health. On October 2008, he filed a request for retirement to the Holy Synod, who had passed it to the Holy Bishops. The request stalled because a majority of bishops were against his withdrawal.

The bishops’ May Session in 2009 considered his retirement request and raised strong opposition. Twenty bishops voted against it while fifteen supported the patriarch's withdrawal and the request was denied.

Bishop Irinej said on the occasion: "After long and comprehensive discussions and an exchange of opinions considering the functioning of vital church institutions due to Patriarch Pavle long-term illness, the Assembly decided to stay with its decision from the previous session according to which the patriarch remains at the head of the SPC."