Funeral Served for Reposed Serbian Metropolitan Christopher of Chicago and Libertyville

Chicago, August 24, 2010

On August 24, at the Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, the burial service took place for Metropolitan Christopher of Chicago and Libertyville, of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

At 7:45 on Wednesday, August 18, 2010, on the eve of the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, His Eminence Christopher, Metropolitan of Chicago and Libertyville, fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 82.

Born in Galveston, Texas, and baptized Velimir Kovacevich, the future Metropolitan Christopher was the ninth of twelve children of Serbian immigrant parents. After graduation from high school, he attended Nashotah House and graduated from St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Seminary in Libertyville, Illinois. After marriage, he was ordained to the Diaconate and Priesthood. Continuing his education, he earned a B.A. (Philosophy), Master of Letters (History) at the University of Pittsburgh; the Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, and completed courses and examinations for the doctorate at the Chicago Theological Seminary.

Father Velimir ministered to parishes in Pennsylvania and in Chicago, also serving as chaplain to four universities. He assisted his parishes to become bilingual in their worship and education programs. As a priest, he served as spiritual father, counselor, youth worker, administrator, educator, and, above all, in priestly ministry at the Holy Altar. Widowed in 1970, he is the father of four, as well as the grandfather of nine.

Elevated to the episcopate in 1978 by the Assembly of Bishops in Belgrade and tonsured with the monastic name of Christopher, he became the first American-born bishop to serve a diocese of his church in North America. As Bishop of Eastern America and Canada, he soon developed a diocesan-wide program in religious education. Active also in ecumenism, he has served on the joint commission of Orthodox and Roman Catholic bishops and on the Orthodox-Lutheran dialogue, and has represented his church at high levels in both the National and World Councils of Churches. In 1991, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan, thereby becoming Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S. and Canada.

May the Lord our God grant blessed repose and eternal rest to His Eminence Metropolitan +Christopher.

Information from the official website of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America

8/25/2010

See also
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Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, the spiritual leader of the Balkan country’s Orthodox Christians who weathered a revolt over his communist-era ties to head the church for more than 40 years, has died. He was 98. A European monarch is buried in Libertyville A European monarch is buried in Libertyville A European monarch is buried in Libertyville A European monarch is buried in Libertyville
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church and Monastery has been a landmark here for more than 85 years. It is the center for the Serbian Orthodox faith in the U.S. and Canada, a recognized historic landmark and the resting place of King Peter II. The Holy Confessor Metropolitan Dositheus (Vasich) of Zagreb The Holy Confessor Metropolitan Dositheus (Vasich) of Zagreb
Hierodeacon Ignatius (Shestakov) The Holy Confessor Metropolitan Dositheus (Vasich) of Zagreb The Holy Confessor Metropolitan Dositheus (Vasich) of Zagreb
Hierodeacon Ignatius (Shestakov)
The Holy Confessor Dositheus (Vasich), Metropolitan of Zagreb, was canonized by the Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church in May 2000, together with the other New Martyrs of Serbia. They all suffered in the middle of the twentieth century, either at the hands of the Croat Ustashi or else as a result of the Communist terror campaign.

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