Patriarch Irinej, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, has died of coronavirus, three weeks after his unofficial second-in-command also succumbed to Covid-19, the church said.
The 90-year-old cleric was hospitalised on November 4 after testing positive and was immediately admitted to a military hospital in Belgrade, according to AFP.
While the church said the patriarch was “without symptoms” and in “excellent” condition, he developed a high fever and his health quickly deteriorated due to chronic heart issues.
“We will inform the public on other details about the funeral of his Holiness shortly”, the church statement said.
