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Photo: Marina Lopicic, Nemanja Nikolic, Ana Paunkovic
The electoral assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church will be held on February 18, and the best chances, as Kurir learns in church circles, to be among the three candidates from which the new patriarch is chosen, are Bishop Irinej (Bulović), Bishop Jovan of Šumadija and Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb-Ljubljana. . According to our newspaper sources, almost all the bishops confirmed their arrival at the assembly, with the exception of the bishops of Australia and New Zealand.
Process
The patriarch is elected by Assembly vote and the names of the three candidates with the highest number of votes (see box) are placed in envelopes, which are then drawn by one of the monks. As our newspaper previously reported, it should be the abbot of the monastery of San Sisoje Matej. – There were negotiations within the Church on whether to hold the assembly in May, when it is regular, and violate the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church, or whether it would be as it should be, within three months, now in February. Almost all the bishops have confirmed that they will be able to come, the only one who cannot come is the bishop of Australia and New Zealand, so it was decided that the electoral assembly will be in about a month and a half – says a source in Kurir.
He adds that this decision was also influenced by the situation on the ground, the fact that several bishops had to leave their dioceses to take up new duties in Belgrade after the death of the patriarch.
– Suddenly we have too many acting. The metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia, Chrysostom, the guardian of the throne, assumed the patriarchal functions, as did Bishop Jovan, who was appointed administrator of the archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovac. Everything had to go back to the old way, says the source.
According to our source, when it comes to bishops who have the opportunity to be shortlisted by three candidates from whom the patriarch is then elected, 15 of them meet the basic criteria: having at least five years in the management of the diocese in order to vote for him. . – Irinej (Bulović) can count on the highest number of votes in Parliament, only if he wants, Bishop Jovan of Šumadija and Porfirije, Metropolitan of Zagreb. Bishop Irinej (Bulović) could count on the support of up to 80 percent of Parliament, reveals Kurir’s source.
Criteria
Religious analyst Draško Đenović says that lobbying in the Church never stops: as soon as the patriarch is elected, the regrouping begins the next day. – The lobbying began while Patriarch Irinej was alive and well. They are divided: into Serbian and Bosnian lobbies, between Russians and Greeks, more modern and conservative, members of the LGBT population and those who are not, and then within those lobbies there are again mixtures, groups and subgroups … – he explains Djenovic, and when asked who has the best chance of entering the elections of one of the three candidates for patriarch, he says:
– I don’t think there is anyone younger, the Church is not willing to point out someone who can be there for 30 or 40 years. Many are targeting Porfirio, I doubt it due to age.
How to choose a patriarch
The apostolic tie in the election of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, prescribed by the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was introduced by the German Patriarch in 1967.
A patriarch can be anyone who has been a “diocesan bishop for at least five years”
Candidates (for patriarch) cannot be retired bishops
The procedure requires that the three candidates be chosen by secret ballot by the Holy Synod of Bishops.
When the names of those who received more than half of the votes are known, the election by lot begins, that is, to the “apostolic path”.
Three names are placed on separate envelopes, and those of the gospel
In a specific part of the service, one of the monks chosen by the Council takes out an envelope under the cover of the Gospel with the name of the new patriarch.
The other two envelopes are opened at the same time. This is done so that all bishops are individually convinced of the regularity of the elections, as well as so that this is expressed in the minutes.
Jefrem, Bishop of Banja Luka, Chrysostom, Metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia, Joanikije, Bishop of Budva-Niksic and Administrator of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, and Gregory, Bishop of Dusseldorf and Germany, also appear in Parliament.
Commemoration of the Patriarch in the Temple, liturgy and memorial service
A liturgy and memorial service (11 am) will be served at St. Sava Church in Vracar on Tuesday, December 29 at 9 am on the occasion of the 40th day since Patriarch Irinej’s death. The patriarch died as a result of the coronavirus in the hospital.
Messenger / Katarina Blagović
Photo: Ana Paunković, Nemanja Nikolić, Marina Lopičić
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