Serbian Orthodox Church enthrones moderate new patriarch

Serbia's powerful Orthodox Church enthroned yesterday a bishop favouring closer ties with the Vatican as its new head in a ceremony in Belgrade cathedral.

But the new patriarch, 80-year-old Irinej, told the congregation, including top politicians and representatives of other denominations, that the Church's first duty was to support the Serbian state in its efforts to recover the breakaway province of Kosovo.

Yesterday's ceremony was the first part of a two-stage ritual, with the second part planned to take place in the historic church at Pec, in western Kosovo, at a date which has not been fixed.

Albanian-majority Kosovo, viewed by Serbs as the heartland of their culture, declared unilateral independence nearly two years ago and its status has been recognised by some 65 countries.

"It is a great day for me, but also I believe for our people and our church," Irinej said.

He was elected yesterday by the 45 bishops in the Holy Synod when his name was plucked out of a hat containing a shortlist of three.

Irinej is considered a moderate and has signalled his openness to improving relations with the Roman Catholic Church that have been strained for years.

In a recent interview, he said Pope Benedict XVI would be welcome to visit, something that would have been unthinkable in Serbia only a few years ago.

The new patriarch is also known to support Church reform including ending the use of the outdated Julian calendar, which means Serbian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated two weeks after other Christians mark the birth of Jesus Christ. Irinej succeeds patriarch Pavle, who died in November after a long illness. Under Pavle's rule, the influence of the Church steadily grew after the fall of communism in the 1990s.

According to observers, Irinej would have a tough job filling the shoes of Pavle, who was regarded as the highest moral authority among the 7.5 million Serbs, the vast majority of whom declare themselves to be Orthodox. But Serbian media yesterday hailed his election, calling him tolerant and moderate, stressing that he had been close to Pavle.

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, his deputy Ivica Dacic, speaker of parliament Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic and mayor of Belgrade Dragan Djilas attended yesterday's ceremony.

President Boris Tadic sent a message of support from New York, where he is attending a UN Security Council debate on Kosovo.

"Our first duty as a Church is to safeguard our Kosovo, a holy and martyred land, to help our state to defend it from those who wish to seize it," Irinej said.