Pavle, Patriarch of Serbia
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| Patriarch Pavle (Gojko Stojčević) |
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 Patriarch Pavle
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| Born | September 1914 |
His Holiness the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch Pavle (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле) was born Gojko Stojčević (Гојко Стојчевић) on 11 September 1914, in the village of Kućanci, near Donji Miholjac (then in Austria-Hungary, in Croatia). He was educated at a Belgrade Gymnasium, a seminary in Sarajevo and the Theological Faculty in Belgrade.
He was tonsured a monastic in 1948 and that same year he was ordained a hierodeacon. In 1954, he was ordained a hieromonk and elected to the rank of protosingelos. He was elevated to the rank of archimandrite in 1957 by Bishop Emilian of Slavonia. On 29 May 1957, the Holy Assembly of Bishops elected Archimandrite Pavle as Bishop of Raska-Prizen.
From that day to the present, he has faithfully shared in the plight of his people. Bishop Pavle wrote and warned of the present exodus of Serbs from Kosovo, the attacks of the Albanians on Serbian monasteries, the rape of nuns, and terrorizing of pedestrians, the desecration of Serbian cemeteries and overall suffering of the Orthodox in Kosovo. In 1989, the then-bishop Pavle was beaten by several Albanian youths in Kosovo. The extent of his injuries required nearly three months of hospitalization. However, in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, he refused to press charges.[citation needed]
Pavle has been referred to as the "saint who walks" based on his simple lifestyle and personal humility. All of the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church have an automobile, which they use to travel through their dioceses, except Pavle. When asked why he never obtained an automobile, he replies: "I will not purchase one until every Albanian and Serbian household in Kosovo and Metohija has an automobile."
In his tenure as the patriarch he has healed the schism with the Free Serbian Orthodox Church, now known as the New Gračanica Metropolitanate, and he has made efforts to heal the current schism in Macedonia with the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which is considered uncanonical by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other Eastern Orthodox churches.
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| The Current Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs |
| Ancient Patriarchates |
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| Bartholomew I (Cons.) | Theodoros II (Alex.) | Ignatius IV (Hazim) (Ant.) | Theophilos III (Jeru.) |
| Autocephalous Churches |
| Alexius II (RU) | Ilia II (GE) | Pavle (RS) | Teoctist (RO) | Maxim (BG) Chrysostomos II (CY) | Christodoulos (GR) | Sawa (PL) | Anastasios (AL) | Christopher (CZ/SK) |
| Preceded by German Djoric |
Patriarch of Serbia 1990–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
