His Eminence Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar and Bosnia, the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal throne of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was hospitalized in Belgrade on the evening of December 4 after testing positive for Covid-19, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church. His Holiness Patriarch Irinej reposed in the Lord on November 20 after battling chronic heart fatigue complicated by the coronavirus. The Holy Synod of the Serbian Church elected Met. Hrizostom, its senior-most hierarch, as Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal throne that day until elections for a new Patriarch can be held.

Earlier in the day on November 4, the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos Into the Temple, Met. Hrizostom celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the ancient Patriarchate of Peć, followed by a memorial service for the recently-departed Pat. Irinej and Met. Amfilohije of Montenegro.

Serbian media has reported that Patriarchal elections could be delayed until May due to the pandemic, although according to the Serbian Church charter, elections must be held within 3 months of the primate’s repose, or by February 20 in this case. (Quelle: www.orthochristian.com, 7. Dezember 2020)