Pope greets newly-elected
Patriarch of Serbia
The Vatican released the text of the letter sent Friday by the Holy Father to the new Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Irinej of Pec. The letter is in English.
To His Holiness Irinej
Archbishop of Peč
Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci
Patriarch of Serbia
I was glad to learn of your election as Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church and I pray that the Lord may grant you abundant gifts of grace and wisdom for the fulfilment of your high responsibilities in the service of the Church and the people entrusted to you.
You succeed Patriarch Pavle, our brother of happy memory, who was a Pastor both fervent and esteemed, and who bequeathed to you a spiritual inheritance that is rich and profound.
As a great pastor and spiritual father, he effectively guided the Church and maintained its unity in the face of many challenges. I feel bound to express my appreciation of his example of fidelity to the Lord and of his many gestures of openness towards the Catholic Church.
I therefore pray that the Lord will grant Your Holiness the inner strength to consolidate the unity and spiritual growth of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as to build up the fraternal bonds with other Churches and ecclesial communities.
Let me assure you of the closeness of the Catholic Church and of her commitment to the promotion of fraternal relations and theological dialogue, in order that those obstacles which still impede full communion between us may be overcome.
May the Lord bless our common efforts in this regard, so that the disciples of Christ may again be united witnesses before the whole world to his salvific love.
From the Vatican
22 January 2010
Serbian Orthodox Church
enthrones new Patriarch
The powerful Serbian Orthodox Church enthroned a new patriarch Saturday in Belgrade's Cathedral Church, a move that could lead to closer ties with the Vatican.
Irinej Gavrilovic, 80, was elected patriarch on Friday and is considered a moderate, especially compared to some other high-ranking clergy in the church. He succeeds Patriarch Pavle who died last month.
Earlier in the week, he raised the prospect of a visit to Serbia by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 [to mark the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's Edict of Milan; Constantine was born in what is now the Serbian city of Nis] and has called for closer relations with Roman Catholics, which have been strained in recent years.
In Rome, the Pontiff offered Irinej assurance "of the closeness of the Catholic Church" and proposed dialogue "in order that those obstacles which still impede full communion between us may be overcome."
Despite his moderate reputation, Irinej has said the church's top priority should be supporting the Serbian state in its efforts to recover the breakaway state of Kosovo.
Kosovo held its first elections since independence last November.
"Our first duty as a church is to safeguard our Kosovo, a holy and martyred land, to help our state to defend it from those who wish to seize it," Irinej said. "Kosovo is our holy land, our Jerusalem."
Saturday's ceremony in Belgrade was only the first part of the enthronement ritual. Part two is planned to take place at a historic church in the western Kosovar town of Pec, although a date has not yet been set.
Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence nearly two years ago and some 65 nations have so far recognized its sovereignty.
Most Serbs reject Kosovo's independence and see the region as their cultural heartland.