During the SOC Parliament session in which a new patriarch is elected (VIDEO; PHOTO) – the Society

The bells at the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade rang around 3:40 pm, which is practiced to mark the election of the new patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

According to reporter Beta, “worthy” in Greek was also heard from the temple, which is pronounced after the election of the patriarch.

Parliament is expected to announce soon with an official announcement which of the bishops has been elected the new patriarch.

Abbot Matej, who was determined to take out a Gospel envelope bearing the name of the future patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, entered the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade shortly after 3 in the afternoon, where the electoral council is held.

According to unofficial information, the vote was in progress at the time.

The rules require that the names of candidates receiving more than half of the votes in Parliament be placed in three envelopes.

Then the abbot, especially determined for the occasion, comes to the temple and takes out an envelope with the name of the new patriarch of the Gospels.

After the morning liturgy, the working part of the session in which the new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church will be elected takes place in the crypt of the Temple of Saint Sava. The session, as on previous occasions, was closed to the public.

The procedure stipulates that the list of bishops eligible to be elected is determined first, on the condition that they administer the diocese for at least five years.

Subsequently, the voting begins to determine three candidates for patriarch with more than half the votes, and then one of the three envelopes with the name of the new owner is drawn by lot.

The session is chaired by the oldest Metropolitan, in this case Bishop Vasilije de Srem, because the Bishop of Sabac, Lavrentije, was prevented by health problems.

The Serbian Orthodox Church has more than 40 dioceses, that is, metropolises, but some are vacant.

It is necessary that more than two-thirds of the bishops be present in the Assembly, but a bishop who is justified in absentia may entrust his vote to another bishop.
The prayer part of the session of the Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), in which a new patriarch is being elected, began with a liturgy in the Church of Saint Sava this morning at 9 o’clock.

The liturgy is led by Metropolitan Chrysostom of Dabro-Bosnia, who is at the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church as the oldest member of the Synod until a patriarch is elected.

Bishops who cannot attend the Assembly will entrust their vote to another bishop to vote.

It is necessary that two thirds of the bishops and metropolitans personally attend the Assembly.

Today, Metropolitan Chrysostom of Dabro-Bosnia asked the bishops to elect the new patriarch in the parliamentary session as an expression of the unity and conciliarity of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

“This Council is unique and historic because it is celebrated for the first time in the Temple of San Sava,” said Metropolitan Chrysostom after the liturgy he led and with which the session of the Council began in prayer.

He said he hoped the Lord would answer prayers that the Council would be happy and blessed and that it would be an expression of the unity and conciliarity of the church.

“May Saint Sava inspire us with his prayers to act for the benefit of the unity and catholicity of our church,” he said.

Who are all the candidates?

According to Insider, the candidates for patriarch can be any of 30 archbishops with at least five years of diocesan service, and 39 of them have the right to vote, as many as the Council.

Metropolitans: Hrizostom Jević (Archbishop of Sarajevo, Metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia and Exarch of all Dalmatia), Porfirije Perić (Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana);
Bishops: Nikanor Bogunović (Bishop of Banat), Jefrem Milutinović (Bishop of Banja Luka), Irinej Bulović (Bishop of Novi Sad and Bačka, Sombor and Szeged), Sergije Karanović (Bishop of Bihać-Petrovac and Rmanj), Ignatije Midić (Bishop from Požarevac-Brač, Požarevac-Brač) Mićović (Bishop of Budva-Nikšić and administrator of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Litoral), Pahomije Gačić (Bishop of Vranje), Gerasim Popović (Bishop of Gornja Karlovačka), Justin Stefičkavić) Žičić Sladojević (Bishop of Bijeljina and Zvornik-Tuzla), David Perović Kruševac), Atanasije Rakita (Bishop of Mileševo), Jovan Ćulibrk (Bishop of Pakrac-Slavonia), Teodosije Šrenhi-Prizto-Prizto (Bishop of Krušili) Vasilivaje Vadi) (Vasilivaje Vadi) Bishop of Srem), Ilarion Golubović (Bishop of Timok), Lavrentije Trifunović Sabac and administrator of the Diocese of Valjevo), Jovan Mladenovic (Bishop of Sumadija and administrator of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovac)

Bishops in the Diaspora: Longin Krčo (Bishop of Novi Gračani-Midwestern America), Andrej Ćilerdžić (Bishop of Austria-Switzerland), Dositej Motika (Bishop of Great Britain and Scandinavia), Lukijan Pantelić (Bishop of Buda and Administrator of the Diocese of Timişoara), Monsignor Grigorije D, Maksim Vasiljevic (Bishop of Western America), Luka Kovacevic (Bishop of Western Europe), Irinej Dobrijevic (Bishop of East America), Mitrofan Kodic (Bishop of Canada)

Vicar Bishop: Antonije Pantelić (Vicar Bishop of Moravica, Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovac)
Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid: Jovan Vraniškovski (Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje and Vicar of Veles-Povardarje)

We remind you that yesterday it was announced that His Eminence the Bishop of Sabac and the Administrator of the Diocese of Valjevo, Mr. Lavrentije, was hospitalized at the Serbian Clinical Center in Belgrade.

As stated by the Serbian Orthodox Church, the presence of the media in this event is not foreseen, and once the session is over, an official press release will be issued.

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