BELGRADE, Serbia — Patriarch Pavle, who led Serbia’s Christian Orthodox Church through its post-communist revival and the turbulent 1990s marked by ethnic conflicts in the Balkans, died Sunday. He was 95.
Bells tolled from Serbian churches after the news of Pavle’s death, and the state-run television aired documentaries about his life.
A respected theologian and linguist also known for his humility and modesty, Pavle took over the dominant Serbian church in 1990, just as the collapse of communism ended years of state policy of repressing religion. He also headed the church during the turbulent years of the Balkan wars in the 1990s and the collapse of former President Slobodan Milosevic’s regime in 2000.
President Boris Tadic said Pavle’s death is a “huge loss” for the nation. “His departure is my personal loss too,” Tadic said, explaining he had often consulted with the patriarch about crucial national decisions.
Tadic added that Pavle was respected worldwide by both the Orthodox Christian churches and the pope.
