Pavle, Patriarch of Serbia
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| Patriarch Pavle (Gojko Stojčević) |
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 Patriarch Pavle
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| Born | September 11, 1914 (age 92) |
His Holiness the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch Pavle (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле) was born Gojko Stojčević (Гојко Стојчевић) on 11 September 1914, in the village of Kućanci, near Donji Miholjac (then in Austria-Hungary, in Croatia). He was educated at a Belgrade high school, a seminary in Sarajevo and the Theological Faculty in Belgrade.
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[edit] As a religious leader
He was tonsured a monastic in 1948 and that same year he was ordained a hierodeacon. In 1954, he was ordained a hieromonk and elected to the rank of protosingelos. He was elevated to the rank of archimandrite in 1957 by Bishop Emilian of Slavonia. On 29 May 1957, the Holy Assembly of Bishops elected Archimandrite Pavle as Bishop of Raska-Prizen.
From that day to the present, he has faithfully shared in the plight of his people. He has written and warned of the present exodus of Serbs from Kosovo, the attacks of the Albanians on Serbian monasteries, the rape of nuns, terrorizing of pedestrians, the desecration of Serbian cemeteries and overall suffering of the Orthodox in Kosovo. In 1989, the then-bishop Pavle was beaten by several Albanian youths in Kosovo. The extent of his injuries required nearly three months of hospitalization. However, in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, he refused to press charges.[citation needed]
Pavle has been referred to by some as the "saint who walks" based on his simple lifestyle and personal humility. All of the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church have an automobile, which they use to travel through their dioceses, except Pavle. When asked why he never obtained an automobile, he replies: "I will not purchase one until every Albanian and Serbian household in Kosovo and Metohija has an automobile."
In his tenure as the patriarch he has healed the schism with the Free Serbian Orthodox Church, now known as the New Gračanica Metropolitanate, and he has made efforts to heal the current schism in Macedonia with the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which is considered uncanonical by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other Eastern Orthodox churches.
Currently Patriarch Pavle is the oldest Patriarch among all Patriarchs.
He is very fond of the words of the Apostle Paul (after whom he was named Pavle), whom he often quotes and expresses admiration for.
[edit] Controversy
Patriarch Pavle has been heavily criticized for his actions during the Yugoslav wars. He and the Orthodox church have been viewed as promoters of Serb nationalism and Greater Serbia by many Bosniaks and Croatians. Also, along with Radovan Karadžić, he rejected the Vance-Owen peace plan, [1] and even joined Karadžić in saying that there had been no rapes or rape camps conducted by Serbs during the war on Bosnian women, and even accused Bosnian Muslims and Croats of the same thing [2] (this was later found to be wrong.)
He was also criticized for his support of the unrecognized breakaway Serb republic in Croatia, the Republic of Serbian Krajina. When a swift Croatian offensive put the western Slavonia region back in Croatian control, he urgently telephoned Slobodan Milošević, asking if he will defend Serbia's "brethren in need." [3] Several months later on July 31, he traveled to the Krajina capital Knin with Ratko Mladić (currently indicted for war crimes and genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), to assure the rebel Serbs of military and religious support. [4] However, Krajina ceased to exist just several days later, following another military offensive by the Croatian army. Several years later, when invited to Zagreb by Croatian Archbishop Josip Bozanić for talks on peace, he was snubbed by several leading Croatian party members and Christian groups for his and the Orthodox Church's role with the rebel Serbs during the war. [5]
Patriarch Pavle had joined many nationalists in urging Belgrade not to give up Karadžić and Mladić, who have been indicted for war crimes, to the ICTY. [6][7]
[edit] References
[edit] External Links
| The Current Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs |
| Ancient Patriarchates |
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| Bartholomew I (Cons.) | Theodoros II (Alex.) | Ignatius IV (Hazim) (Ant.) | Theophilos III (Jeru.) |
| Autocephalous Churches |
| Alexius II (RU) | Ilia II (GE) | Pavle (RS) | Teoctist (RO) | Maxim (BG) Chrysostomos II (CY) | Christodoulos (GR) | Sawa (PL) | Anastasios (AL) | Christopher (CZ/SK) |
| Preceded by German Djoric |
Patriarch of Serbia 1990–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
