Metropolitan Porfirije enthroned as 46th Patriarch of Serbia

Metropolitan Porfirije on Friday morning was enthroned as the 46th Patriarch on the Throne of St. Sava, becoming the new Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovac and Patriarch of Serbia.

The enthronement was performed at Belgrade’s Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael, with a Divine Archieratical Divine Liturgy officiated by the newly enthroned Patriarch of Serbia, and co-officiated by the Patriarchal archbishops, with the presence of clergy and worshipers.

On the occasion, Patriarch Porfirije addressed to the faithful his first Patriarchal homily, stating: “…I accept today the fact that I am unworthy of the worship of God — elevated to the holy and divine throne of St. Sava, on which a worthy communicant of the apostolic seat should sit. I pray to God, and I ask all of you, to support me in prayer … I want our Serbian Orthodox Church to live its life to the fullest, for every Orthodox Christian to live true freedom — the freedom in Jesus Christ.“

Porfirije, born Prvoslav Perić in July 1961 in the northern Serbian town of Bečej, and was ordained a monk at Dečani monastery in 1985, receiving the monastic name of Porfirije, Greek for Porphyrios.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Orthodox theology from the University of Belgrade in 1986, when Bishop of Raška and Prizren, the future Serbian Patriarch Pavle, ordained him as a hierodeacon at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Kosovo.

Porfirije attended post-graduate studies at the University of Athens from 1986 until 1990.

He earned his doctorate in Athens in 2004, with his doctoral dissertation entitled “Possibility of knowability of God in St. Paul’s understanding, according to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom.”

Between 2010 and 2011 he was the Serbian Church’s bishop to the country’s armed forces.

Besides his native Serbian, His Holiness speaks Greek, English and German, and is knowledgeable in Russian.

Congratulations by Orthodox Primates from around the world

Congratulations and best wishes from Orthodox Primates were immediately extended in the wake of the new Serbian Patriarch’s enthronement.

In a letter, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, states that the electoral votes came before God and through the election, God whispered affectionately to the ears of the holy clergy and the people of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

His All Holiness added that “…The Mother Church of Constantinople, from which your local Church was born, congratulates and rejoices in your election. We express to you our undivided love and respect, our dear brother in Christ.”

Among other Orthodox Primates, congratulatory messages were issued by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Kirill, the Patriarch of All Romania, His Beatitude Daniel, as well as the Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania, His Beatitude Anastasios.

Halfway around the world, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America congratulated Porfirije on his election, a day earlier on Thursday, noting that “…We wish him Many Years of blessed service to the noble Serbian people and the Orthodox Church.”

Back in Athens, the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, wrote that “…With our fellow Orthodox Serbian people, who have suffered a great deal in the past; we have been walking the same path throughout the centuries -ecclesiastical, historical, and unshakable brotherly ties bind us together. The Lord offered the Serbian people a new head of their Church, one with apostolic values, by the Grace of the Holy Spirit.”

On his part, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, also extended his congratulations, while citing in a letter to the new Serbian Patriarch, that a “…Difficult but honorable responsibility was entrusted to you – to preserve the unity of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the faith among the people of St. Sava. I assure you that in the times ahead, our Serbia, together with you, will do its best for the honor and benefit of all people of goodwill and the true faith, and of all Serbs, wherever they may live.”

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