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	28 August 1930 (1930-08-28) (age 81) Vidova, Čačak, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serb
Denomination	Orthodox Church

Patriarch Irinej (from Ancient Greek: Εἰρηναῖος; Serbian Cyrillic: Иринеј, pronounced [irǐnɛːj]; 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 (Serbian Cyrillic: Мирослав Гавриловић, pronounced [mǐrɔslav̞ gav̞rǐːlɔv̞itɕ]). 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 (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]

Styles of Patriarch Irinej of Serbia
Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Patriarch
Posthumous style	N/A

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 will be formally enthroned to the ancient throne of the Serbian Patriarch in the Patriarchate of Peć monastery on 3 October 2010.^[10]

Irinej has been considered, both abroad and at home, as a moderate traditionalist, open to global inter-religious dialogue.^[11] 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][12][13]

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."^[14][15]

In October 2010, Patriarch Irinej said that international recognition of Kosovo was a "sin".^[16]

See also

• List of current Christian leaders

References

1. ^ B92: Vladika niški Irinej novi patrijarh (Bishop of Nis Irinej is the new Patriarch), 22 Jan 2010 (Serbian)
2. ^ ^{a b} Babic, Boris (22 January 2010). "Profile: Serbia's new Patriarch Irinej, a Traditionalist and Diplomat". http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1527595.php/PROFILE-Serbia-s-new-patriarch-Irinej-a-traditionalist-and-diplomat. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
3. ^ Eparchy of Niš: Нишка Епархија од пада у Турско ропство до данас (Diocese of Nis from falling into Turkish slavery to the present day) (Serbian)
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Episkop niški IRINEJ (Gavrilović)" (in Serbian). Serbian Orthodox Church. http://www.spcportal.org/index.php?pg=1278&lang=srl. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
5. ^ Barlovac, Bojana (22 January 2010). "Bishop Irinej Is New Serbian Orhodox Patriarch". Balkan Insight. http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/25173/. Retrieved 22 January 2010. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Bishop of Nis elected new Serbian patriarch". The Sofia Echo. 22 January 2010. http://www.sofiaecho.com/2010/01/22/846734_bishop-of-nis-elected-new-serbian-patriarch. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
7. ^ Stojanovic, Dusan (22 January 2010). "Irinej, a moderate, elected as Serbian Orthodox Church leader". The Canadian Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jxsx5C8r9mtAc31SVtHkpY5TsQdg. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
8. ^ Earth Times: Serbian church promotes Bishop Irinej to new patriarch, 22 Jan 2010
9. ^ Serbian Orthodox Church. "Enthronement of Patriarch Irinej of Serbia" (in Serbian). http://spc.rs/eng/enthronement_patriarch_irinej_serbia. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
10. ^ B92: Ustoličenje patrijarha 3. oktobra, 7 September 2010 (retrieved on 1 October 2010) (Serbian)
11. ^ "Moderate bishop Irinej elected as Serbian Orthodox Church leader". Daily News and Economic Review. Turkey. 22 January 2010. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/wires.php?id=3468101_serbia-patriarch-belgrade-serbia-moderate-bishop-irinej-elected-as-serbian-orthodox-church-leader. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
12. ^ B92: Irinej: Papa u Srbiji 2013. godine? (Irinej: Pope in Serbia in 2013?), 21 Jan 2010 (Serbian)
13. ^ Pope's visit would be welcomed by the SPC Beta, Tanjug. Retrieved 26 January 2010
14. ^ RTS: Србија је у Европи (Serbia is in Europe), 28 Jan 2010, retrieved 28 Jan 2010 (Serbian)
15. ^ Blic online: Patrijarh Irinej: Nema potrebe da zaziremo od Evropske unije (Patriarch Irenaeus: No need to shy away from the European Union), Retrieved 28 Jan 2010 (Serbian)
16. ^ "Serbian Patriarch Irinej calls Kosovo recognition a "sin" (SETimes.com)". 2010-10-11. http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/newsbriefs/2010/10/04/nb-04. Retrieved 2010-10-11. 

External links

• Serbian Orthodox Church

Religious titles
Preceded by Pavle	Patriarch of Serbia 2010–present	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Irinej Of Serbia
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	28 August 1930
Place of birth	Vidova, Čačak, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Date of death
Place of death