A rare photo of Patriarch Irinej has been published since his youth, this shows how much he was attached to Kosovo

Patriarch Irinej, Photo: AP Darko Vojinovic

Patriarch Irinej repeated “that Serbia must not surrender Kosova, because then it is irretrievably lost, while what was stolen can be returned once and for all ”, comparing it, in a symbolic sense, with Jerusalem.

A part of you young Irinej It happened in Kosovo, more precisely in the Prizren seminary, which the patriarch himself used to say was the spiritual cradle of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

There are not many published photos of the patriarch of that period, but today a 1960 in Peja appeared on social networks, of the enthronement of the German Patriarch, which is one of the testimonies about the time that the patriarch spent in Kosovo.

The photo shows a representative of an Albanian family with their child in her arms, an Albanian family that has been guarding the patriarchy for centuries.

Patriarch Irinej, Photo: Facebook printescreen

At the far right of the photo is the then 30-year-old Hieromonk Irinej, the future Serbian patriarch.

The patriarch often repeated that Kosovo has the most important Serbian shrines, the pearls of Orthodox spirituality, Serbian culture and the Christian and world spiritual heritage in general.

Vest or the repose of Patriarch Irinej It was received with sadness and regret in Kosovo, whose citizens said that the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church had always been their support and hope.

“He was always with us, especially with me as bishop, the clergy, the monks, but also those believers, a people who persevere all this time and do not want to leave these holy places. He really had understanding for everything we went through and felt sorry for of all. one man, “Bishop Teodosije of Raska and Prizren said yesterday.