GOOD SHEPHERD IN DIFFCULT TIMES – PATRIARCH PAVLE OF SERBIA (1990-2009)

“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life”
(Revelation 2:10)

The news of the passing away from this world, in the 95th year of his life, of our beloved brother in Christ, His Beatitude Pavle, Patriarch of Serbia, brought grief into the hearts of all those who knew him and appreciated his steadfastness in the Orthodox faith, his love and wisdom with which he has served and led the Serbian Orthodox Church, together with the Holy Synod of this Church.

First of all, His Beatitude Patriarch Pavle remains in our memory and appreciation as a man of prayer and an enduring and wise shepherd, during more than six decades of monastic life and over half of a century as hierarch (57 years). During his entire life, he was guided by the words of Saint Paul, the Apostle, addressed to the Colossians: „Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the Church” (1:24). Thus, Patriarch Pavle has been a good shepherd and has remained faithful to his mission by taking care, in harsh times for the Serbian Orthodox people, entrusted to him for salvation by the eternal High Priest, with devotion, in patience and wisdom.

At the same time, His Beatitude Patriarch Pavle has cultivated humbleness and simplicity, crowning with them all his other virtues, thus, succeeding in looking after all the faithful, contributing to a closer rapprochement of the Church to the people and of the people to the Church.

The worthy to remember Patriarch Pavle was a steadfast fighter in preserving and promoting the Christian faith being sensitive to the cultural and social transformations in the contemporary world, as affected by crisis, not only in the social or economic fields, but especially in the spiritual realm. Therefore, he considered that the Church must be present and active within the society, in order to guide and help the people; that was especially manifest during the war that the Serbian people has gone through in the last decade of the 20th century.

In those very difficult times, Patriarch Pavle was a catalyst of Orthodox unity and, at the same time, a promoter of inter-Christian cooperation and inter-ethnic dialogue. In the context of the secularisation of the world of today, he has also constantly and firmly promoted the traditional values of the Christian faith and ethics, together with the other Orthodox Patriarchs.

For the Romanian Orthodox people, His Beatitude Patriarch Pavle of Serbia remains a wise and pious Hierarch, while his presence in Romania - as Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the occasion of his visit in the autumn of the year 1995, together with other Orthodox Patriarchs - has strengthened the communion between our sister neighbouring Orthodox Churches.

At the same time, together with other Orthodox Primates, Patriarch Pavle participated in Romania in the events related to the International Symposium entitled A River of Life: Along the Danube to the Black Sea, in October 1999. These visits were also a response to the visit of Patriarch Teoctist of Romania to Serbia, in the month of June 1995, as a sign of fraternity and solidarity with the neighboring Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian people, in a period of great tribulation.

At this time of sorrow that the sister Serbian Orthodox Church passes through, we remember the words of our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who strengthens our hope when He says: “He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). This is why we pray Christ, our Lord, to rest the humble soul of the worthy to remember Patriarch Pavle, together with the righteous and His servant saints, where there is no pain, no grief, no sigh, but everlasting life!

May his memory be eternal!

We join, together with the hierarchs, priests and faithful of the Romanian Orthodox Church in expressing our condolences to the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the clergy and all the righteous Serbian people, assuring them all of our brotherly appreciation and love in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest and the Head of the Church.

† Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church