Serb Patriarch Remains Hospitalized

21 11 2007 Belgrade _ Patriarch Pavle, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, remains in hospital in a life-threatening, though stable, condition, his Church announced.

The 93-year-old patriarch was admitted to the Belgrade Military Hospital on November 13, the Church said in a terse statement released late on Tuesday.

"His Holiness is enduring his old-age ailments with dignity and perseverance, in the company of doctors and two monks who are selflessly by his side," the statement said.

Over the past few days the Serbian media have reported that the patriarch's health has deteriorated, and that he was in a serious condition.

Pavle’s ailment is mainly related to his old age, rather than a specific illness, reports said.

A physician at Belgrade’s Military Hospital said that Pavle’s health “is fragile," and that "he will probably remain hospitalized for some time.”

"We are doing our utmost to help him recover," the source told Balkan Insight on condition of anonymity. He did not elaborate.

The patriarch’s health has been gradually worsening in recent years, and since earlier this year in particular. Due to a hip injury and general weakness, he has been having to use a wheelchair, media reports said.

Meanwhile, the Holy Synod, the top body of the Serbian Orthodox Church, elected Bishop Amfilohije, as its oldest member, to conduct the duties of the patriarch during the period Pavle is incapacitated.

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous or independent Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority. It is also the second oldest Slavic Orthodox church.

According to official data, it represents over eight million Orthodox Serbs throughout the world.

After World War II the Serbian Orthodox Church was suppressed under communist rule. It was revived in the late 1980s during the demise of Yugoslav communism and the rise of rival nationalist movements.

Patriarch Pavle, supported the opposition to former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in the early and mid-1990s.

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