A MAN OF GOD AMONG THE SERBS: His name resounds like a warm prayer, like a quiet song of hope, like a signpost through turbulent times (PHOTO)
On the blessed remembrance of Patriarch Pavle, the words he himself once spoke about others are fulfilled: “When a man is born, the whole world rejoices and only he cries. But one should live in such a way that when he reposes, the whole world cries and only he rejoices.” And indeed, had this man of God, Pavle, not lived worthily of his human and Christian calling, how could such and so great a sorrow permeate this city of millions and beyond it? What is even more remarkable is that this all-pervading sorrow is not an ordinary mourning for the loss of someone dear and beloved, but already here and now becomes a joyful sorrow. Sorrow – because it represents parting and loss; joy – because we feel and know that the one we are losing and who is departing remains with us and among us, becoming even more present through the Holy Spirit than he was while he lived bodily with us and walked among us.
Gojko Stojčević as a child
A name like a warm prayer
These words still resound today among the entire Serbian people, spoken in his sermon 16 years ago at the funeral of Patriarch Pavle by his friend and faithful brother, now the late Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Amfilohije.
Today, 15 November 2025, marks another year since the repose of the man whom the Serbian people loved as few others – Patriarch Pavle, a quiet monk who found strength in humility, wisdom in meekness, and in simplicity the deepest truth about man and God. Today, more than ever, his name resounds like a warm prayer, like a quiet song of hope, like a signpost through turbulent times.
On the eve of the Second World War
Patriarch Pavle was not merely the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church – he was a living example of Christian virtue. His word was not the thunder of authority, but a whisper that changes the soul. His step was not accompanied by power, but by gentleness. A man who walked on foot, yet uplifted a people. A man who wore an old cassock, yet raised shaken spirits. A man who, as it was once said, looked as though he had stepped down from an icon.
At his funeral, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gathered into words all that the people had felt for years but did not know how to express:
“His ethos was firm as a diamond. Voluntarily he was a simple poor man, an ascetic reminiscent of the ancient desert fathers, a man of self-denial, of unceasing prayer, gentle, peace-loving and humble of heart, yet also a fighter who knew no retreat, ready for every sacrifice whenever there was need. A fiery celebrant before God’s holy altar, a bearer of the Spirit, he gathered within himself, as Saint Gregory of Nyssa once said of Meletius of Antioch, ‘David’s meekness, Solomon’s discernment, Moses’ goodness, Samuel’s righteousness, Joseph’s chastity, Daniel’s wisdom, Elijah’s zeal for the faith and the virginal purity of John the Theologian’. He was, moreover, a theologian of broad knowledge, a prophetically inspired preacher of the Gospel, brother-loving, child-loving, most merciful and compassionate, filled with every mercy, conciliatory, a peacemaker, a man of open horizons who felt immediate contact with contemporary reality and was an exceptional treasure of the Church of our days. In truth, he bore upon himself the seal of holiness…”
Terazije, 1937
A reconciler
Therefore, today, on the anniversary of his blessed repose, we do not remember only death but also a life that became a beacon. We celebrate a man who taught us how to be human. We celebrate Patriarch Pavle – a man of God among people.
His departure from this world was not an end, but a quiet translation of a soul that had already touched eternity during life. Patriarch Pavle lived as though there were no longer a boundary between heaven and earth, as though the light from icons had moved into his gaze and prayer into his every movement. He was a rarity among people – not by title, but by a gentleness that disarmed both sinner and righteous alike, by a wisdom that did not demand to be heard yet was followed, by a simplicity that became more magnificent than any earthly splendour.
Bishop Pavle
In times of unrest, conflict, broken souls and divided people, Patriarch Pavle became a pillar that did not waver. His word never called for conflict, but for unity; never for condemnation, but for understanding; never for revenge, but for forgiveness. He spoke little, yet each of his words became a maxim. He spoke quietly, yet every sentence sounded louder than the cries of the age. He spoke of love, but not sentimentally – rather as those speak who know the depth of pain and the greatness of hope.
The enthronement of Bishop Pavle in 1957 before the Church in Prizren
Truths of life
Patriarch Pavle was a man who carried his people in his heart. When there was a need to console, he was by the bedside. When there was a need to encourage, he was first in the street. When there was a need to defend justice, he did so calmly but unwaveringly, with a gentle voice yet a steel faith. His counsel was not great treatises, but simple truths of life. “Let us beware of people who know everything but do not feel God,” he would say. And by this he perhaps most clearly described the spirit of the time in which he lived – and the path that should be followed.
His modesty was legendary. He stitched and mended his own shoes, repaired cassocks, lived as a monk who had nothing, yet gave everything. He travelled by bus. He did not wear luxury, he did not like pomp. But he carried that which cannot be bought – a peace that entered a person the moment they stood before him. How often people would say that “it is enough just to look at him, and one feels lighter”. That peace was not learned, nor was it a pose. It was the fruit of a life of prayer, fasting, endurance and deep faith.
That is why people experienced him as a saint even during his lifetime. This is not learned – it is lived.
Today, we are not merely counting the years since his departure, but measuring how much we miss his word, his step, his silence. And yet, it seems he has not left. His image still walks through our thoughts, his teachings we speak to our children, his words are whispered in moments of doubt.
On this day, the people will not mourn his death – the people will celebrate his life. Celebrate the man of God who taught us how to become human. Celebrate the patriarch who lived what he preached. Celebrate a spirit that, by its very existence, reminded us that holiness is not a distant ideal, but a possible path.
And so, as we gather in prayer, let the thought warm us that such people never truly depart. They only quietly move to where they have always belonged – and here they leave a trace that does not fade for centuries.
Aleksandar Panić and Ivan Čorbić