Irinej (, ; born Miroslav Gavrilović; 28 August 1930 – 20 November 2020) was the 45th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, serving from 2010 until his death in 2020.
Early life Irinej was born as Miroslav Gavrilović on 28 August 1930 in the village of Vidova near Čačak, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (present-day Serbia). After graduating from high school, he enrolled and completed the Prizren Seminary. He then enrolled at the University of Belgrade's Theological Faculty and served in the army after graduating. After compulsory military service, he was tonsured a monk in 1959 at the Rakovica Monastery, receiving the monastic name of "Irinej" (from , ; Irenaeus). He was a professor at the Prizren Seminary, and completed postgraduate studies in Athens. In 1969, he was appointed a head of the monastic school at Ostrog Monastery. In 1969, he returned to Prizren, where he was appointed Rector of the Prizren Seminary. When the Prizren Seminary was displaced from Prizren due to Kosovo War in 1999, he as then bishop of Niš made it possible that a new building of the Seminary was built in Niš, where the Seminary continued its work.
Titular Bishop of Moravica Irinej was elected titular bishop of Moravica in May 1974. As the bishop of Moravica, he was a vicar to the Serbian Patriarch, at the time German. After one year, he left the position following his election for the bishop of Niš.
Bishop of Niš In May 1975, Irinej was elected bishop of Niš and enthroned in the Holy Trinity Cathedral on 15 June 1975 in Niš. Bishop Irinej was elected to the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church in May 2009. Irinej headed the Eparchy of Niš for 35 years.
Serbian Patriarch Irinej was elected Serbian Patriarch on 22 January 2010,B92: Vladika niški Irinej novi patrijarh (Bishop of Nis Irinej is the new Patriarch), 22 January 2010 two months after the death of previous patriarch, Pavle, becoming the 45th Serbian Patriarch. He was one of the three candidates with the most votes at the Electoral Council, along with former locum tenens (interim leader) Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović of Montenegro and the Littoral and Bishop Irinej Bulović of Bačka. In the final phase, his name was pulled from a sealed envelope. In this way, the Serbian Orthodox Church believes the patriarch is elected by divine intervention, sidelining human interests.Earth Times: Serbian church promotes Bishop Irinej to new patriarch , 22 January 2010
Irinej was enthroned on 23 January 2010 in Cathedral of Saint Archangel Michael in Belgrade. The inauguration was attended by numerous government ministers of Serbia, representatives of churches and religious communities in Serbia, and various politicians including the Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, Apostolic Nuncio Orlando Antonini, Catholic archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hočevar, Serbian Mufti Muhamed Jusufspahić, and Crown Prince Alexander.
Irinej held his formal enthronement to the ancient throne of the Serbian patriarchs at the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery on 3 October 2010. The enthronement was attended by many dignitaries including Serbian president Boris Tadić, Croatian Parliament member Milorad Pupovac, Russian Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, Jerusalem Archbishop Theophylactos of Iordanos, Georgian Metropolitan Gerasimos of Zugdidi and Tsaishi, Romanian Metropolitan Irineu, Bulgarian Metropolitan Domentian of Vidin, Cypriot Metropolitan Chrysostomos, Albanian Metropolitan Ignatios of Berat, Archbishop Hočevar, Mufti Jusufspahić, Crown Prince Alexander and princes Peter, Philip, and Alexander.
Irinej was considered, both abroad and at home, as a moderate traditionalist, open to global inter-religious dialogue.
After the Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque in July 2020, the Patriarch Irinej and the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić on 20 August 2020 expressed their wish, that the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade might indirectly replace the Hagia Sophia after which it was modelled, and become a ″New Hagia Sophia″.
During last three years of the Patriarch Irinej's tenure, the Serbian Government spent 43 million euro on completing the construction of the church. Also, Naftna Industrija Srbije donated 10.5 million euros.
Irinej has been criticized for his lack of action in regards to allegations of pedophilia within the Serbian Orthodox Church, which were reported in the summer of 2012 and affected public opinion in Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The scandal, initially covered up, led to the resignation of the bishop of Zvornik and Tuzla, Vasilije Kačavenda, who was accused of having abused children for decades. A court in London ruled that the Serbian Orthodox Church was not guilty for the six reported cases of alleged pedophilia in the lawsuit filed by a group of citizens. The suit was rejected and the group had to pay 160,000£ to the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Stances Pope's visit to Serbia In 2010, Irinej indicated he would not oppose the first-ever visit by the pope of the Catholic Church to Serbia in 2013 as part of celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, the law under which Roman emperor Constantine I, who was born in Niš, ended the persecution of Christians. Irinej said that "there is the wish of the Pope" for a meeting in Niš and that it would be a chance "not just for a meeting, but for a dialogue".B92: Irinej: Papa u Srbiji 2013. godine? (Irinej: Pope in Serbia in 2013?), 21 January 2010 Pope's visit would be welcomed by the SPC Beta, Tanjug . Retrieved 26 January 2010 The visit of the Pope did not take place, as Irinej's Orthodox Church insisted on a papal apology for crimes committed against Serbian Orthodox during World War II. ”An apology would be a gesture that instills hope that something like that will never happen again," said Irinej.
A visit by Pope Francis (deemed politically useful for Serbia's battle against the international recognition of Kosovo) was discussed again for May 2016, but Serbian president Tomislav Nikolić called it off after hearing the negative opinion of Irinej's Orthodox Church. In July 2018, Irinej confirmed that it was still not the right moment for a visit of the Pope to Serbia, "because of everything that has happened in the past, and a huge number of [Serb] refugees from Croatia, a large portion of the nation is against it."
It is therefore obvious that this is not so much about a visit by a religious leader as it is about a lack of will for dialogue between state, national and religious communities. With real or invented accusations against the other side, it is not possible to even start any conversation, and thus many issues remain more complicated than the Gordian knot. Namely, the Croatian-Catholic side can also come up with similar reasons (similar to the Bosniak-Muslim side), which mentions the Serbian genocide against Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the years from 1991 to 1995. Among other things, they cite the information that of the pre-war 760,000 Croats in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, probably only 400,000 remained, which is a direct consequence of "ethnic cleansing".
Islamic community On 28 January 2010, at his first news conference, Irinej stated that: Patrijarh Irinej o islamu Patriarch Irenaeus about Islam "Mi znamo šta je otprilike filozofija i psihologija islama. Oni kada su u manjem broju umiju da se ponašaju i da budu korektni. Kada postanu ravni po broju, onda oni već dižu glavu, a kada postanu nadmoćni i superiorni, čine pritisak ili da se isele ili da se priđe njima." "We know roughly what the philosophy and psychology of Islam is. When they are outnumbered, they know how to behave and be correct. When they become equal in number, then they raise their heads, and when they become overwhelming and superior, they put pressure either to move out or to be approached." The Islamic Community in Serbia said that it found the remarks to be "insulting Islam" and responded with a letter to the Serbian Orthodox Church requesting an official interpretation of his statement. This Community condemned what they called "insulting and false accusations".The Muslim community in Serbia has expressed its concern over the hate speech of the newly elected patriarch; it should be condemned all the more since it has only been 15 years since the genocide against Muslims in Srebrenica and elsewhere: “It is completely clear that this statement calls for genocide, because it undoubtedly shows that Muslims are acceptable to the patriarch only when they are in minority and when they live with their heads bowed down.”
On 29 January, he expressed regrets for his statement and its consequences, and to Muslims, as neighbours and brothers he extended apologies. Hereupon his apologies were accepted.
Canonization of Aloysius Stepinac In May 2019, Pope Francis stated that Irinej had helped in the reflection in the Catholic Church about the canonization of World War II Croatian Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac, which the Serbian Orthodox Church opposes due to his role in the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia. "I sought advice and I saw that I need to seek help from Irinej. He is a great patriarch. Irinej helped, we created a joint historic commission, and we cooperated," said the Pope. "The truth is both mine and Irinej's only interest."
Abortion Irinej was firmly against abortion. In 2017, he stated in a local newspaper that it is "a woman's duty to give birth in order to regenerate the nation". In 2019 he condemned a performance by women's rights activists, which placed an apron saying 'Abortion is a Woman's Right' on a monument to his predecessor Patriarch Pavle in Belgrade. "Doing something like this is shameful, whatever the reason. It’s not nice," he said, recalling that the Church and Patriarch Pavle were opposed to abortion.
LGBTQ Irinej was openly against of the freedom of expression of the LGBTQ community in Serbia. In 2011, Irinej labelled the planned pride parade in Belgrade a "pestilence" and a "parade of shame".
In October 2012, Irinej wrote to Prime Minister of Serbia Ivica Dačić to express concern over the moral image of Belgrade and Serbia, "our centuries-long Christian culture and the dignity of our family, as the foundation block of humankind". "I am writing to you all on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its followers ... Authorities must take immediate action to bring this scandal to a halt".
In 2014, in an interview for Nedeljnik, he stated: "I feel sorry for those people who belong to the so-called gay community. It is a disorder or deviation of human nature. I can understand them, as well as their problem, but I cannot understand what they impose on us and what they show in public." He denounced Belgrade Pride as "immoral" and "imposed by the homosexual lobby and their mentors from Western Europe".
In 2017, when Ana Brnabić was appointed the Serbian prime minister, the first openly gay person to serve in the office, Irinej did not openly criticise the choice of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić: "The Serbian Orthodox Church does not peek through other people’s windows and does not deal with the private lives of state officials," a press release stated. "It is extremely irresponsible to present scandalous details or someone’s personal temptations to the media and thus expose people to potential danger. The Church never condemns. It condemns only sin, only evil, and pities man."
Domestic politics