U.S.A., March 5, 2020
Pat. Irinej at St. Simeon's Church in Flordai. Photo: spc.rs
His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia began an 8-day visit to America on February 27, accompanied by His Grace Bishop Jovan of Šumadija and Protodeacon Damjan Bozic.
As OrthoChristian reported, he visited St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg, Florida the next day, where he was greeted by the Serbian hierarchs serving in America and a number of parishioners, and presided over the Church Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America the following day.
The Patriarch’s trip is covered in a number of articles on the official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
His trip continued with the celebration of the hierarchical Divine Liturgy at St. Simeon Church in north Miami on Sunday, March 1, together with Bishops Jovan and Irinej of East America. Following the Divine Liturgy and a procession around the church, the Patriarch cut the slava cake in honor of the parish’s patronal feast day.
His Holiness then arrived in Washington, D.C. on March 2, where he visited the Church of St. Luke—the only Serbian church in the capital.
The following day, the Patriarch, along with his delegation, visited the Atlantic Council, where he outlined the position of the Serbian Church on various matters concerning the Serbian Church and people. The Council’s Ambassador Daniel Fried thanked the Patriarch for his visit, emphasizing Serbia’s role as a leader in the region and an integral part of Europe as a whole.
Pat. Irinej then met with representatives of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedoms, where he again explained the Serbian Church’s position on a number of matters.
Pat. Irinej meeting with Ambassador Brownback. Photo: spc.rs
The Patriarch and the Serbian delegation then visited the State Department, being received by Senator Samuel Brownback, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and several associates.
Recall that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited “Archbishop” Stefan of the “Macedonian Orthodox Church,” a schismatic group that split from the Serbian Orthodox Church in the 1960s, last October. His visit testifies to the U.S.’s support and protection of the MOC, “Abp.” Stefan commented.
As His Holiness had received Ambassador Brownback in Belgrade last year, their meeting began with a recollection of their previous talks. Pat. Irinej again outlined the views of the Serbian Church on various matters and “asked for a little more attention to be given to the Serbian matter.”
Pat. Irinej visits St. Sava's Cathedral in New York. Photo: spc.rs
That same day, the Serbian primate then traveled to New York, where early the next morning, March 4, he visited St. Sava’s Cathedral that was destroyed in a fire on Pascha in 2016.
Pat. Irinej then visited Rabbi Arthur Schneier, the founder of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, and his synagogue in New York City.
The Serbian delegation then visited Archbishop Elpidophoros, the head of the Greek Archdiocese in America. Pat. Irinej thanked him for allowing the Serbian St. Sava community to worship at a Greek church while their cathedral is being rebuilt and spoke of the many historical ties between the Greek and Serbian peoples, and Abp. Elpidophoros assured the Patriarch that he has Constantinople’s full support in the ongoing crisis in Montenegro.
That evening, His Holiness traveled to the Church of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, New Jersey, where he attended the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
Today is the last day of Pat. Irinej’s visit to America.