Serbia's New Patriarch Brings Track Record of Peace-Building To Divided Nation

(ANALYSIS) On Feb. 18, 2021, bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected a new leader – Patriarch Porfirije, formerly called Prvoslav Perić.

The Serbian church was hit particularly hard by COVID-19. The former leader Patriarch Irinej died in November after contracting the virus. The Metropolitan in Montenegro, Amfilohije Radović, and Bishop Milutin Knežević of Valjevo also died with COVID-19.

On Feb. 19 in Belgrade’s Cathedral of Holy Archangel Michael, Porfirije was enthroned as the 46th Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovac and Serbian Patriarch.

During his first homily as patriarch, he said that his focus for the church will be greater dialogue and unity and that he will work on connecting people and building bridges, particularly between Serbs, Croatians and the people of Kosovo, a disputed territory with many historical Serbian Orthodox sites and today, many Albanian Muslims.

“The mission of the Church is to build peace,” he said.

Serbia’s new Orthodox Patriarch Porfirije. Creative Commons photo.

Brief biography

Patriarch Porfirije began his studies in Belgrade, Serbia and Athens, Greece. After that, he became a professor at Orthodox Theological Faculty University in Belgrade, teaching about pastoral psychology. But his primary work was in the monastery Kovilj, near Novi Sad, where he was abbot and later bishop.

During that time, Kovilj became a spiritual center for many young people: intellectuals, artists, popular actors and rock musicians, especially from Novi Sad and Belgrade. Porfirije particularly dealt with drug-addicted patients. For this purpose, he formed a therapeutic community in 2005 called “The Land of the Living,” which is recognized as the most successful project for drug addiction therapy and now has affiliates all over Serbia.

The Serbian government elected him as a representative of all churches and religious communities, to be a member of the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RBA), and in 2008 the RBA elected him its president.

The assembly of bishops entrusted Porfirije to establish a military chaplaincy in the Serbian Armed Forces in 2010. Later, Porfirije became metropolitan of Zagreb-Ljubljana, where he continued to build bridges between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Croatia.

Serbo-Croatian relations remain tense after a war in the nineties that resulted in Croatia’s independence from Yugoslavia, the socialist republic founded after WWII that included Serbia.

The best indicators that he is man of dialogue are some of the awards he’s won. In Stockholm, Sweden in 2016 the Theological Academy of St. Ignatius recognized him "for his contribution to the reconciliation of the people in the Balkans and his dedicated work on promoting unity among Christians."

In 2019 Porfirije was awarded by the Association for Religious Freedom in the Republic of Croatia for promoting a culture of dialogue and religious freedom.

Political connections

Many see Patriarch Porfirije as someone who is close (maybe too close) to the government. But Porfirije is widely known as a religious leader who has very good relations with everybody. He has a reputation as a moderate intellectual and has close ties with every major political and religious group.

During his first homily, Porfirije said that he refuses to pick any political party’s side; he wants to bring all sides together, to talk and discuss. It is true that he has been close to the Serbian authorities. It is also worth mentioning that Porfirije has good relations with the Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, who is the first woman and openly gay person to hold that office. 

What is more important today is the current situation for Serbia and the Balkan nation’s balance between its European Union membership bid and strong ties with Russia. Serbian authorities need support from the Serbian Orthodox Church, mostly on Kosovo policy. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia but remains a disputed territory in many diplomatic relations.  

On Serbia’s Statehood Day (Feb. 15), U.S. President Joe Biden said in a letter to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that the U.S. supports Serbia’s goal of European integration and wants Serbia to finalize an agreement with Kosovo over its status. This is the latest clear sign that Western countries expect Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s independence before becoming an EU member.

Porfirije is aware that Serbian Orthodox monasteries and Serbian people in Kosovo are living in a very difficult situation.  For him and many others, Kosovo is Serbia’s Jerusalem. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Serbian Orthodox Church built many monasteries and churches in Kosovo and Metohija, a region in Kosovo, that are now recognized as UNESCO world heritage sites. Throughout history, Turks, Albanians and others have destroyed Christian churches and holy sites and installed mosques.

Many Serbs feel God will help them preserve their Christian heritage sites.

“Kosovo and Metohija is a covenant for us [Serbs], and that Kosovo covenant is related to the New Testament, which is based on holiness,” Porfirije said during his Enthronement.

Moscow-Istanbul relations

Porfirije is a pro-Christian leader, over any political alliances. He has close ties with Russia but he is not pro-Russian. Today in the Orthodox world, Moscow and Istanbul oppose each other, mostly over how the Russian church rejected the newly established Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU), while Ecumenical Patriarchate (Istanbul) granted autocephaly to the OCU in 2019. The Serbian Orthodox Church is on the Russian side however. Porfirije has never mentioned the Ukraine issue as an Orthodox clash where he must choose one side. His diplomatic statements are always full of love, joy, respect and a call to bring peace.

“If we have the peace of God in us, we will reconcile with others, with nature and with ourselves, spread peace around us and be witnesses of peace and peacemakers,” he said in his homily.  

Patriarchal election’s procedure

The procedure for the election of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch is different than in other Orthodox churches. It’s known as an “apostolic lot.” 

First, the Holy Assembly of Bishops is gathered to the Election Assembly. By secret voting, they choose three names and three candidates. They place these three envelopes in a Bible. After praying to the Holy Spirit, the Assembly calls one official to pick an envelope, the winning one. Non-believers say the new patriarch is chosen by luck, but for Orthodox believers, he was chosen by the Holy Spirit.

Mladen Aleksic is a freelance journalist who covers the Orthodox Church as well as a theologian and elementary school teacher in Serbia. He writes for various Serbian media outlets as well as Balkan Insight, Global Comment and Christianity Today. Follow him on Twitter @MladenAleksic85.