Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Remembered in Rakovica

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the repose of Patriarch Paul (Stojcevic) of Serbia of thrice blessed memory. The day was marked at Serbia's Rakovica Monastery of the Trinity, where Patriarch Paul was buried, with a memorial Divine Liturgy led by Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) and attended by the Serbian president and prime minister as well as other hierarchs and prominent Serbs. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Illinois Monasteries

Patriarch Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) of Pech has made a pastoral visit to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Midwestern America, stopping at both the patriarchal Monastery of St. Sava in Libertyville and the region's diocesan seat, the Nova Gracanica Monastery of the Protection in Grayslake. During his time at Nova Gracanica the patriarch stressed the unity of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the former Yugoslavia and worldwide. More here and here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Western United States

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech has undertaken a pastoral visit to the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Alhambra and Western America, celebrating the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple at St. Sava's Church in Phoenix, Arizona, and also visiting the Monasteries of Sts. Paisius and Anthony in Safford and Florence respectively. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Halki

As part of his recent visit to Turkey Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of the Serbian Orthodox Church paid a visit to the campus of the Halki Theological Seminary near Constantinople accompanied by Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople and the closed seminary's rector, Metropolitan Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of Brusa. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Supports Northern Kosovar Roadblocks

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of the Serbian Orthodox Church has spoken in defense of the right of northern Kosovo's Serbs to maintain their political and economic ties with Serbia in the face of opposition from the Kosovar government and the international community, which want the borders between Kosovo and Serbia to be placed under the control of KFOR and the Kosovar government. Patriarch Irinej expressed his support for Kosovo's Serbs after festal services in honor of the Protection in Pech, Kosovo. More here and here.

Serbian Patriarch, Czechoslovak Metropolitan Mark Anniversary in Belgrade

Metropolitan Krystof (Pulec) of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church has visited Belgrade to concelebrate the festal Divine Liturgy for the Cross on the 90th anniversary of the enthronement of St. Gorazd of Prague by the Serbian Orthodox Church as diocesan hierarch of the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia. The festal services were concelebrated by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech and clergy of the Russian, Serbian, Czechoslovak, and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. More (in Greek) here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Leads Jajinci Memorial in Belgrade

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech led a memorial today at Jajinci in Belgrade for the victims of the mass executions in Serbia during World War II that resulted in the deaths of 80,000 Serbs, Roma, and Jews. The commemorative events were attended by Serbian President Boris Tadic, other prominent Serbian officials, and veterans and survivors of the Holocaust in Serbia. More (in Serbian) here.

New Bishop of Lipljan Consecrated in Pech

This past Sunday Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) and several other hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Jovan (Culibrk) as Bishop of Lipljan at the seat of the Patriarchate in Pech, Kosovo. More (in Serbian) here.

Bishop Jovan of Nish Enthroned

Bishop Jovan (Puric) of Nish has been enthroned in his eparchy by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech and twelve other hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church. More here. Bishop Jovan's homily at the enthronement services can be found here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Opposes Partition of Kosovo

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) has rejected calls for the partition of Kosovo between an independent Albanian-controlled state and the Serb enclave in northern Kosovo, which would remain part of Serbia. The patriarch's opposition was not based on the hope of guaranteeing the freedoms and security of Serbs in an independent Kosovo, but rather on the reincorporation of all of Kosovo into Serbia. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Visiting Montenegro

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech has begun a pastoral visit to Montenegro today, which will be his first to the country's Eparchy of Budimlje and Niksic. More here.

New Bishop of Krusevac Consecrated

This past weekend, during the Sunday Liturgy at St. George's Cathedral in Krusevac, Serbia, Bishop-elect David (Perovic) of Krusevac was consecrated to the episcopacy by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech and other hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church and then enthroned as the first ruling bishop of the recently restored Eparchy of Krusevac. Axios! More (in Serbian) here. More pictures can be found here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Begins Visit to Serbia, Montenegro

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has begun a 3-day visit to Serbia and Montenegro, meeting with Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech, members of the lesser Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the Serbian minister of foreign affairs shortly after his arrival today in Belgrade. More on that here.

During his visit to Montenegro Metropolitan Hilarion is expected to work to reconcile the Montenegrin government with the Orthodox Church in Montenegro, with meetings scheduled with the Montenegrin president and prime minister and with Metropolitan Amfilohije (Radovic) of Cetinje. More on that here.

Patriarch Irinej Receives Representatives of Serb Refugees from Croatia

Representatives of associations representing Serb refugees from Croatia have visited the seat of the Pech Patriarchate in Belgrade to bring their concerns to the attention of Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Since the end of the conflict between Croatia and its Serb minority in the 1990s the Croatian government has failed to restore the property of its Serb citizens, identify the remains in unmarked graves across the country, or to establish an impartial system of courts to try those involved in war crimes during the period. More here.

Queen Maria of Yugoslavia Remembered in Belgrade

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of the Serbian Orthodox Church served a memorial earlier today for Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, who reposed 50 years ago on this date. The anniversary of Queen Maria's death coincides with the opening this year of an exhibition in her honor in the former royal palace in Belgrade. Crown Prince Alexander Karadjordjevic and other members of the Yugoslav royal family were in attendance at the memorial, which was served in the royal palace's Church of St. Andrew. More here.

Patriarch Irinej Protests NATO Conference

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of the Serbian Orthodox Church has protested the holding of a NATO conference in Belgrade, saying that the wounds inflicted by NATO on Serbia have not yet healed. (As is evidenced by the damaged state of buildings in Belgrade bombed by NATO during Lent in 1999.) More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Commemorates Prince Mihailo Obrenovich

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech earlier today served a memorial for Prince Mihailo Obrenovich of Serbia at the latter's tomb in Belgrade's Cathedral of St. Michael. Prince Mihailo was the third ruler of newly independent Serbia. Today's memorial marked the 143rd anniversary of his death and was attended by state dignitaries and local faithful. More (in Serbian) here.

Sremski Karlovci Cathedral Celebrates 250th Anniversary

This past Sunday the cathedral of Sremski Karlovci in the Serbian Banat, formerly the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Austria-Hungary, celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding. The festal services in honor of St. Nicholas, the cathedral's patron, were concelebrated by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech and eleven other hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Assembly of Bishops Begins

The Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church has opened in Belgrade, Serbia, with a Divine Liturgy served by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech together with his brother hierarchs. More here.

Update (1:07pm): Reportedly on the agenda of the current session of the Assembly is a decision on the excommunication of the schismatic former Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren and the creation of new eparchies. More here.

Patriarch Irinej Visits Bosnia

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech has made a visit to a historic monastery of the Metropolitanate of Sarajevo and Dabar-Bosnia in Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb Republic. More here.