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BALKANS: Moderate Patriarch Sets New Course for Serb Church
By Vesna Peric Zimonjic
BELGRADE, Feb 1, 2010 (IPS) - The enthronement of a moderate as patriarch of the influential Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has raised hopes for the planned integration of the country with the European Union (EU) and for Serbs coming to terms with the bloody Balkans wars of the 1990s.
"The election of the new patriarch was one of the most important events and really good news for the church and the public," religion analyst Mirko Djordjevic told IPS. "He is one of those people in whose biography no one can find a single extremist statement," he added.
Irinej Gavrilovic, 80, who was bishop of the southern Serbian town of Nis, was elected on Jan. 22 to replace Patriarch Pavle who died in November, aged 95. He was enthroned the next day, ending a struggle over succession between hardliners and liberals within the church.
The power of the SPC has grown enormously over the last two decades, and it greatly influenced the course of the Balkans wars and the surge of Serb nationalism following the collapse of communism. Its clergy has justified the wars in Bosnia and Croatia as "defence of Serbs" who lived there, among Bosniak Muslims and Catholic Croats.
In the eyes of the SPC, no war crimes were committed by Serbs in the region, and Serbs were mostly victims of such crimes committed by others.
Such widely propagated views is said to have led to confusion and religious intolerance against other confessions among 7.5 million Serbs, who are yet to come to terms with the wars that took more than 100,000 lives and could hardly think of reconciliation with their neighbours.
"These are the hard times all over and the new patriarch, who is known for his modesty, tolerance, responsibility and closeness to people, should lead the church and its believers along the new road," Zivica Tucic, another religion analyst, told IPS. "Modern issues such as unemployment, economic recovery and poverty stand shoulder-to-shoulder with traditional issues of religion; these are real challenges for the SPC."
The new patriarch declared that ‘’social issues represent an important item,’’ at a press conference he called on Jan. 25. It was the first ever press conference given by a head of the SPC and the event surprised the wider public as well as the media.
"That is an issue for the church as a whole, as the number of impoverished is rising. Such an activity should be broader than right now, the church will do everything in its power to ease the circumstances for people," he said in answer to a question from IPS on his role.
The patriarch readily spoke about Serbia joining the EU, a controversial issue for nationalists who claim the Serb identity will be lost through such integration. More than 75 percent of Serbs support joining the EU, which is expected later in the decade, but its opponents are very loud and many are members of the higher clergy.
"Historically, we belong to Europe," the patriarch said. "Every form of togetherness is constructive, and we hope that Europe will respect our religion," he added.
The patriarch also tackled one of the most intriguing items that emerged only weeks ago, the possibility of a reconciliation among Christian churches, particularly the Orthodox and Catholic churches that separated in the 11th century.
"We hope that the celebration of the Edict of Milan can represent an opportunity for churches to go back into the period of their unity, we'd certainly like to go along the new Christian road, with the desire to be one Christian church," he said.
The celebration of the Edict of Milan is to be held in Nis, in 2013, marking a 1,700-year-old milestone in Christianity. The Roman emperor Constantine, who was born in what is modern Nis, issued the edict in 313, forbidding the persecution of Christians.
The commemoration of the Edict of Milan is considered to be a unique opportunity for the heads of the various Orthodox churches to meet the Pope.
Historically, such meetings are rare and a Roman Catholic Pope has never met any head of the SBC or of the biggest Orthodox Church, the Russian.
"Such an event [the celebration of the Edict of Milan in Nis], and the invitation to the Pope to visit Serbia for the 2013 occasion, will represent a major turn in the policy of the SPC, a new era not only in the region, but in the broader sense," analyst Djordjevic told IPS.
(END)
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