Several bishops, without shame or modesty, prepared to fight for the throne

Patriarch Irinej, Photo: Tanjug / Sava Radovanovic

Although the state of health of Patriarch Irinej, who has been in the hospital since November 4 due to a coronavirus infection, is stable and good, and he was informed of all events in the Church through his vicar, whom regularly allocates assignments over the phone, several bishops have already terminated him. !!

According to our information, a group of bishops raised the question of the urgent appointment of Deputy Patriarch Irinej, who would sit on the throne of the Serbian Orthodox Church until His Holiness fully recovers, which, they believe, will not happen soon or will not happen. absolutely. Unlike some church dignitaries who justify the shameful request with the alleged concern that the Church has been beheaded for two weeks, most bishops oppose the appointment of a deputy patriarch.

– Those who propagate something like this are, to put it popularly, bishops without a soul and a heart, and they almost buried the patriarch alive, but fortunately they are a minority. I won’t name them, but I think everyone can guess who it is. It is painful that some rushed from abroad to Belgrade, supposedly worried about him, and indeed to try to realize that idea. Each of them, of course, sees himself on the throne. Irinej, through the vicar, Bishop Stefan, his chief of staff, but also some other associates of the Patriarchate with whom he speaks regularly, thank God he has everything under control. Furthermore, there is the Synod as the highest ecclesial body immediately after the Council, which functions in an excellent way. According to the doctors, the patriarch is improving every day and we will not elect him any deputy – a bishop says “Hello!”

Bishop Stefan confirmed that the patriarch was aware of all events in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

– Our patriarch is cheerful and in conversations with me he is interested in the regular obligations of the church, but also in the works in the Temple of San Sava. Also, it gives me the blessing to serve the liturgy – Bishop Stefan said a few days ago.

Analyst Branko Radun is not surprised by behind-the-scenes activities at the Serbian Orthodox Church while Irinej is in hospital.

– To appoint his alternate, the patriarch must first be declared incompetent. I remember, when his health deteriorated at the end of last year, some bishops rushed in from abroad and began to appear in all the local media, they almost campaigned for the throne, and that campaign seemed like a classic policy. Now we have a very similar situation, again a social media campaign is being run for the new patriarch while Irinej is alive and being driven by bots of individual bishops. Also, they even make horrible and morbid jokes at the expense of the patriarch, who is really inhuman – says Radun.

Aleksandar Đurđev of the Serbian League is also dismayed by the behavior of some bishops at this difficult time for the Serbian Orthodox Church.

– As long as our patriarch is alive, we must not think about the deputy at all. At the very least, it is inappropriate and inappropriate. We must believe that His Holiness will soon recover for the benefit of our church and the entire Serbian people, he concludes.