Lipovac, Aleksinac, Serbia, June 6, 2023
Zlato Necesvki Photography
On Saturday, June 3, Schema-Archimandrite Dionisije (Pantelić), beloved elder of St. Stefan Monastery in the Serbian village of Lipovac, peacefully reposed in the Lord at the age of 90.
A Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and the funeral for Fr. Dionisije were served at the monastery today, June 6, reports the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Niš.
According to iskra.co, the elder, whom it praises as “one of the last pillars of the old monasticism and last spiritual sons of St. Nikolai [Velimirović] of Žiča and Ohrid,” reposed in the Lord just half an hour after communing of the Body and Blood of Christ on the feast of Sts. Constantine and Helen.
The diocese emphasizes that not only did Fr. Dionisije have more than seven decades of monastic experience, but he also served the Divine Liturgy daily. And despite economic and other hardships, the Elder managed to carry out impressive restoration and building projects.
St. Stefan Monastery. Photo: eparhijaniska.rs
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Elder Dionisije was born on October 16, 1932, in the village of Riđevštica, Trstenik.
Numerous young men and woman from the Trstenik Region grew up to fill monasteries all over Serbia—four from the family of Fr. Dionisije alone. Fr. Dionisije himself first went to the Monastery of St. Dimitrije in Divljan at the age of 14.
He was tonsured a monk on October 16, 1949. He was ordained hierodeacon and hieromonk the next year.
He served in several monasteries and parishes over the year, until he was appointed abbot of St. Stefan Monastery in Lipovac in 1974. He remained in that position until 2005, though he remained as the monastery’s priest and elder until his repose.
On March 25, 2022, he was tonsured into the Great Schema.
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