Serbian Orthodox Church

Bishops of Serbia's powerful Orthodox Church on Thursday elected Porfirije Peric as their 46th patriarch.

The new Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovac and Patriarch of Serbia had previously, since 2014, been Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana.

Metropolitan of Zagreb-Ljubljana Porfirije has been elected the new patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Who is the new patriarch? Screenshot/ TV B92

The liturgy will be led by Metropolitan Chrysostom of Dabar-Bosnia, accompanied by other bishops, who, as the oldest member of the Synod, also has the title of guardian of the throne until a new head is elected.

Before that, at 9 o'clock, a holy liturgy will be held, which is common prior to every assembly, it was confirmed to Tanjug in the Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

"It was always important for the state to have the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church for its policy, whether domestic or international," he said. "The pressure is not bigger now," Aleksic said, but Vucic's constant presence in the media makes his role appear "most important".

This possibility was announced earlier by the Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia and the guardian of the patriarchal throne of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Chrysostom, in an interview given to Tanjug a few days ago, when he stated that due to the epidemiological situation, the option of holding the Assembly in the Church of St. Sava is being considered.

In fact, German was not elected under the present-day lottery system. The Church introduced the "apostolic vote" only in 1990, precisely to stop the state from meddling in the process.

The SPC Holy Synod will probably be held in the crypt of the Temple of Saint Sava, Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia and guardian of the patriarchal throne of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Chrysostom, told Tanjug.
However, he notes that the final decision on where Synod will be held will be made on February 10.

Djukanovic announced that he has now signed the decrees that he first returned to the Assembly for a new decision.
"The dilemmas that I had and because of which I returned them to the Assembly for reconsideration remained", Djukanovic stated.

On January 7, when Orthodox Christians mark Christmas, a Serbian Orthodox bishop in Germany gave an interview to Balkan news outlet NewsMax Adria. His remarks, however, were more political than religious.