Three days of mourning have been declared in Serbia for the death of Patriarch Irinej of Serbia.
The funeral of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church will take place on Sunday. Patriarch Irinej fell asleep in the Lord this morning, at the age of 90, after losing battle with COVID-19.
The bells in the Orthodox churches in Serbia are ringing in mourning and since the announcement of his death thousands of believers have come to light a candle in his memory. Patriarch Irinej was battling Covid-19 since November 4th, when he was tested positive for the virus and was admitted to a military hospital in Belgrade.
Until yesterday, his health condition was stable and there was no cause for concern. Yesterday, however, his health condition deteriorated rapidly and the Patriarch was intubated. Despite the efforts of the doctors, including Russian doctors who arrived in Serbia especially for this reason, Patriarch Irinej could not be kept alive and fell asleep in the Lord, according to the official announcement, at 7:07 local time, in the morning.
Until the election of a new head of the Serbian Church, the oldest hierarch, Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia, will serve as Patriarch.
Condolences were expressed by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Zdravko Krivokapić, as well as the ambassadors of the United States, China and other neighboring countries.