Porfirije (, ; born Prvoslav Perić; born 22 July 1961) is the current and 46th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Early life and education Porfirije was born as Prvoslav Perić on 22 July 1961 in Bečej, FPR Yugoslavia (now in Serbia), to father Radivoje (1935–1993) and mother Radojka (1942–2023). His family has roots in Derventa, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He finished elementary school in Čurug, and the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium in Novi Sad. He was ordained a monk at the Visoki Dečani Monastery on 21 April 1985, receiving the monastic name of Porfirije after Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia.
In 1986, Porfirije earned his bachelor's degree in Eastern Orthodox theology from the University of Belgrade, when Bishop Pavle Stojčević of Raška and Prizren (future Patriarch) ordained him a hierodeacon at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Mušutište, Kosovo. He attended postgraduate studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens from 1986 until 1990. He earned a doctorate from the same university in 2004, with the thesis Possibility of knowability of God in St. Paul's understanding according to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom. After earning a doctorate, Porfirije became a docent at the Department of Catechetic and Pastoral Theology of the Eastern Orthodox Theology Faculty of the University of Belgrade, becoming an associate professor in 2015. As a professor, Porfirije has been teaching basic studies in Pastoral Theology with Psychology and New Testament Theology, as well as in other subjects at the postgraduate and doctorate programs.
Porfirije speaks Serbian, Greek, English, German, and Russian.
Hegumen of Kovilj Monastery On 6 October 1990, upon the blessing of Bishop Irinej Bulović of Bačka, Porfirije joined the Kovilj Monastery near Novi Sad. On 21 November 1990, he was ordained as hieromonk and became hegumen of the Kovilj Monastery. Many young monks and novices came to the Kovilj Monastery following him. These were the times when the monastery had become a spiritual center for many young people: intellectuals, artists, actors, and rock musicians, especially from Novi Sad and Belgrade. Since then Porfirije has particularly dealt with patients with drug addictions.
Titular Bishop of Eger
On 14 May 1999, the Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected Porfirije as the Titular Bishop of Eger, and appointed vicar to the Eparchy of Bačka. In 2005, Porfirije formed a therapeutic community called Zemlja živih (), which is recognized as a successful project for drug rehabilitation. Under the leadership of Porfirije, it has more than a hundred residents in camps throughout Serbia at the time being. In 2010, the Council of Bishops entrusted Porfirije to establish a military chaplaincy in the Serbian Armed Forces. He was the military chaplain until 2011, whereupon he was a coordinator for cooperation between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Armed Forces.
In 2005, the National Assembly of Serbia elected Porfirije as a council member of the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. He was a representative at the council of all churches and religious communities in Serbia. On 29 July 2008, Porfirije was elected as the council chairman, succeeding Nenad Cekić. In 2010, the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority demanded from TV Pink that profanity on the reality show Farma be bleeped. On that issue, Porfirije stated that the profanity escalated so much that the Council of the Authority was resolved to unconditionally and immediately stop it, without waiting for the end of the procedure. In 2011, he criticized reality television and advocated a ban of live broadcasting of reality television. Later, there was similar issue with another TV Pink-produced reality show Dvor (). In May 2014, Porfirije resigned as the council chairman following his election to the Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana.
Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana In May 2014, Porfirije was elected metropolitan bishop of Zagreb and Ljubljana, succeeding Jovan Pavlović, and enthroned on 13 July 2014 at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Zagreb, Croatia.
The Sankt Ignatios College and Sankt Ignatios Foundation awarded him with the Order of Sankt Ignatios on 16 February 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. He was awarded "for his contribution to the reconciliation of the people in the Balkans and his dedicated work on promoting unity among Christians". In June 2016, Porfirije released his new book titled Zagreb i ja se volimo javno () in Zagreb. This book contains selected interviews from July 2014 to February 2016 which he gave as the metropolitan for Politika, Jutarnji list, Večernji list, RTS, HRT, RTV Slovenija, and RTRS.
In 2016, Porfirije attended a gathering of Serbian priests in Chicago, United States, where along with other priests, he was filmed singing a song dedicated to the Chetnik commander Momčilo Đujić. This drew criticism from the Croatian public and Porfirije later apologized for this act with an explanation that he did not have "influence to all circumstances," and that "certain media manipulated this event." Also, he stated "that someone these days contributing with outpouring intolerance towards the Serbs, as well as to the deepening of the divide between Croats and Serbs."
Between 2017 and 2020, Porfirije hosted meetings of Zagreb-based intellectuals who discussed social, ethical, and political topics. Held at the Serbian Orthodox Gymnasium in Zagreb, those meetings were colloquially known as Porfirijevi kružoci (). Attendees were Ivo Josipović, Rada Borić, Vili Matula, Tvrtko Jakovina, Dejan Jović, Dražen Lalić, Milorad Pupovac, among others.
Porfirije was a member of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church between 2017 and 2019. In January 2019, the Association for Religious Freedom in Croatia on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its founding awarded Porfirije with a recognition for his peaceful contribution to the promotion of the culture of dialogue and religious freedoms. When Patriarch Irinej fell ill in 2019, Porfirije was seen as one of the main candidates for the position of the next Serbian Patriarch.
During his post as Metropolitan, he tried to "build bridges" between Serbs and Croats. He was a visiting professor at Roman Catholic theology faculties and established good relations with high-ranking members of the Catholic clergy.
Following his inauguration as the new Serbian Patriarch, Porfirije became an administrator of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana until the election of new metropolitan bishop. In May 2023, Bishop Kirilo Bojović of Buenos Aires, South America, and Central America was named as new Administrator of the Metropolitanate.
In his first interview for the Croatian Radiotelevision as the Serbian patriarch, Porfirije stated that he experienced the departure from Croatia with a certain sadness and, commenting his administration of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana, he added that he has a joke saying that he is the patriarch of Belgrade, Zagreb, and Ljubljana - that is of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
Serbian Patriarch
Porfirije was elected Patriarch on 18 February 2021 at the Council of Bishops convocation at the Church of Saint Sava, three months after the death of previous patriarch Irinej, becoming the 46th Serbian Patriarch. With 31 out of 39 votes, he was the first of three leading candidates with the most votes from the 30 bishops eligible in the Serbian Orthodox Church, along with Bishop Irinej of Bačka who won 30 votes and Bishop Jefrem of Banja Luka who won 24 votes. In the final phase, the envelope with his name was pulled between three of them from the Gospel by Archimandrite Matej of Sisojevac Monastery. In this way, the Serbian Orthodox Church believes the patriarch is elected by divine intervention, sidelining human interests. As one of the youngest bishops at the time of election, Porfirije is the youngest Serbian Patriarch elected since 1937. Congratulatory letters on the occasion of the election of the new Serbian Patriarch were sent by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria, Patriarch John X of Antioch, Patriarch Daniel of Romania, and Archbishop Anastasios of Albania. Also, the Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović, who stated in the February 2020 interview that Montenegro needs to have its own Orthodox Church in order to strengthen its national identity and oppose interference from Serbia, sent his congratulations upon election. Porfirije was enthroned on 19 February 2021 at the Cathedral of Saint Archangel Michael in Belgrade. Patriarchal insignias were handed over to him by Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar and Bosnia and Bishop Lukijan of Buda. In his introductory speech Porfirije focused on unity and peace building. He stated that Kosovo is in his prayers, and the Serbs in the affected Kosovo will be in the first place for him. Also, he stated that Croatia has become his second homeland, and the people he met there will remain a role model for him in the years to come. The inauguration was attended by numerous government ministers of Serbia, representatives of churches and religious communities in Serbia, and various politicians including Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The ceremony was also attended by Milorad Dodik, the chairman and the presiding Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Željka Cvijanović, the President of Republika Srpska (Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina); Apostolic Nuncio Luciano Suriani; Archbishop Stanislav Hočevar, the Catholic archbishop of Belgrade, Effendi Mustafa Jusufspahić, the Mufti of Serbia; and many other dignitaries such as Prince Filip Karađorđević, a member of the House of Karađorđević. On 20 February, a day following the inauguration, a Holy Synod member and one of the three prime candidates for the new Patriarch election Bishop Irinej of Bačka tested positive for COVID-19.
Porfirije held his formal enthronement to the ancient throne of the Serbian patriarch in the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery on 14 October 2022, five months after the enthronement was postponed due to epidemiological measures in force in Kosovo and Metohija.
On 25 February, Porfirije met with Serbian President Vučić. After the meeting he stated that he is not a politician because he thinks that the Serbian Orthodox Church is "a conciliator organism which has the goal to collect, build bridges, dull blades and overcome polarization". On 27 February, Porfirije visited Majske Poljane and Glina, areas affected by the 2020 Petrinja earthquake, and met with the Serb community there. It was his first pastoral visit. On 3 March, Porfirije ended in a self-isolation after being in contact with a COVID-19-positive person. In March and April alone, Porfirije met with numerous foreign diplomats in Belgrade, such as ambassadors to Serbia of Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as British Ambassador Sian MacLeod, U.S. Ambassador Anthony Godfrey, and Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Christodoulides, and he went on to meet dozens of other dignitaries by the end of the year. In November 2021, Porfirije called for religious education to receive the status of a compulsory elective subject.
On the occasion of the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr in May 2021, Porfirije expressed his aspiration to participate in building relations between Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Porfirije tested positive for the COVID-19 on 11 January 2022.