Patriarch Irinej of Serbia

Irinej Иринеј
His Holiness the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch
Church	Serbian Orthodox Church
See	Belgrade
Enthroned	23 January 2010
Predecessor	Patriarch Pavle
Orders
Ordination	1959
Consecration	1974
Personal details
Birth name	Miroslav Gavrilović
Born	(1930-08-28) 28 August 1930 (age 81) Vidova, Čačak, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serb
Denomination	Orthodox Church

Patriarch Irinej (Serbian Cyrillic: Иринеј, pronounced [irǐneːj]; born 28 August 1930 in Vidova near Čačak, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is the 45th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Serbs, since 22 January 2010.^[1][2] His full title is His Holiness the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch Irinej. He has served as the Bishop of Niš since 1975.^[3]

Biography

Early life

Irinej was born Miroslav Gavrilović (Мирослав Гавриловић, pronounced [mǐroslaʋ ɡaʋrǐːloʋitɕ]). After graduating from high school, he enrolled and completed Orthodox seminary in Prizren. He then enrolled the University of Belgrade's Theological Faculty and served in the army after graduating. After military service, he was tonsured a monk in 1959 in Rakovica monastery, receiving the monastic name of Irinej (from Greek: Εἰρηναῖος; Irenaeus).^[4] He was a professor at Prizren Seminary, and completed postgraduate studies in Athens. In 1969, he was appointed a head of the monastic school at Ostrog monastery. He later returned to Prizren, where he was appointed Rector of the Prizren Seminary in 1969.^[4]

As a religious leader

In May 1974, Irinej was elected Vicar Bishop of Moravica and consecrated by Patriarch German. In May 1975, he was elected Bishop of Niš and enthroned in the Holy Trinity Cathedral (in Niš) on 15 June 1975.^[4] Irinej headed the Niš eparchy for the next 35 years.

On January 22, 2010, he was elected the 45th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church,^[5][6] after the death of previous Patriarch Pavle. He was one of the three candidates with the most votes from the 45 bishops eligible in the Serbian Orthodox Church, along with former locum tenens (interim leader) Amfilohije Radović and Irinej Bulović.^[7] In the final phase, his name was pulled from a sealed envelope. In this way, the Serbian Orthodox Church believes the patriarch is elected by divine intervention, sidelining human interests.^[8] He was enthroned on 23 January 2010 in Belgrade's St. Michael's Cathedral.^[9] Irinej was formally enthroned to the ancient throne of the Serbian Patriarch in the Patriarchate of Peć monastery on 3 October 2010.^[10]

On January 28, 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 of Serbia (IZS) responded and sent a letter to the Serbian Orthodox Church requesting an official interpretation his statement and found the remarks to be "insulting Islam". The Islamic Community in Serbia (IZuS) condemned what they called "insulting and false accusations".^[11]

On October 4 2010, Patriarch Irinej said that international recognition of Kosovo was a "sin".^[12]

On November 10 2010, Irinej stated in an interview that "the Drina River [between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina] is not a border but a bridge that connects us. Although, in a way, we are one even today, God willing, we will soon really be one." Irinej elaborated that for now "it is enough that we are one as a nation, as the Orthodox Church, and that we are on the same path of St. Sava and Christ". He praised the Serbs of Banja Luka stating that "[they fight] to preserve the Serb name. Although this is not at all an easy task, they are succeeding."^[13]

Irinej has been considered, both abroad and at home, as a moderate traditionalist, open to global inter-religious dialogue.^[14] In an interview, Irinej indicated he would not oppose the first-ever visit by the Roman Catholic Pope to Serbia in 2013 as part of celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, the law under which Roman emperor Constantine, who was born in Niš, ended the persecution of Christians. Irinej said that "there is the wish of the Pope" for a meeting in Niš and that it would be a chance "not just for a meeting, but for a dialogue".^[2][15][16]

Regarding the accession of Serbia to the European Union, Irenej said that: "Serbia should not look with suspicion at the EU, if the EU respects the Serbian identity, culture and religion. We believe that we are an historical part of Europe, and we want to be in this family of nations. In the accession we will accept everything, that is not in contradiction with our cultural and historical identity."^[17][18]

In January 2012, Irinej referred to Republika Srpska, one of two entities comprising Bosnia and Herzegovina, as "the youngest Serbian state". The Office of the High Representative (OHR) responded and stated that Rebuplika Srpska is not a state but rather an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. The OHR noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitution "left no room for any kind of the entity’s sovereignty" and that "the entity’s jurisdiction was not an indication of any sort of statehood."^[19]

See also

• List of current Christian leaders

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Patriarch Irenaeus of Serbia

• Serbian Orthodox Church

v t e Current Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs, Metropolitans and Archbishops Patriarchates Ancient Patriarch Bartholomew I (Cons.) Patriarch Theodoros II (Alex.) Patriarch Ignatius IV (Ant.) Patriarch Theophilos III (Jeru.) Other Patriarch Kirill (RU) Patriarch Irinej (RS) Patriarch Daniel (RO) Patriarch Maxim (BG) Patriarch Ilia II (GE) Autocephalous Churches Archbishop Chrysostomos II (CY) Archbishop Ieronymos II (GR) Archbishop Anastasios (AL) Metropolitan Sawa (PL) Metropolitan Christopher (CZ/SK) Metropolitan Jonah (OCA)