Serbs bid farewell to Patriarch Pavle By DUSAN STOJANOVIC (AP) – 6 hours ago
BELGRADE, Serbia — Hundreds of thousands of people joined a somber funeral procession Thursday for Patriarch Pavle, who led the Serbian Orthodox Church through its post-Communist revival and the bloody Balkan ethnic conflicts in the 1990s. White-robed church elders led funeral prayers in Belgrade's Saborna Curch, where Pavle's body covered by green-and-gold embroidered cloth lay surrounded by flickering candles in an open casket. Pavle, a highly popular patriarch known for his modesty and humility, died over the weekend after being hospitalized for two years with heart and lung problems. He had led the 7 million-member church since 1990. The casket was placed on a hearse-drawn caisson as crowds joined Serbian leaders and clergy in a solemn procession to the St. Sava Temple, the biggest Orthodox Christian church in the Balkans. The final liturgy, led by Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I — the spiritual leader of world's Orthodox Christians — was held there. The state TV estimated that about half a million Orthodox believers, many from neighboring Bosnia and Montenegro, attended the funeral procession through downtown Belgrade as bells tolled from churches. Pavle is to be buried later Thursday at a monastery in a Belgrade suburb in a private ceremony attended only by church leaders and Serbian officials. "I come to bid last farewell to the best man who ever lived," said Gojko Ljubovic, 53-year-old teacher from the southern town of Vranje. "He has done so much for the Serbian nation." The frail-looking Pavle, known here as "the walking saint," had called for peace and conciliation during the Balkan wars. But critics say he had failed to openly condemn extreme Serb nationalism of former President Slobodan Milosevic, which triggered the clashes with Catholic Croats and Bosnian and Kosovo Muslims in the 1990s. There have been reports of an internal struggle over who would succeed Pavle. The election cannot be held within 40 days of Pavle's death. The favorite is influential Bishop Amfilohije, a hard-liner known for his anti-Western and ultranationalist stances, who served as the acting head of church during Pavle's hospitalization. Associated Press writer Jovana Gec contributed to this report. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jPHPo2Ql5WmKryJVYrlfRyktPTewD9C2ICGO0
