schema:articleBody
| - Patriarch Irinej, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has been hospitalised after testing positive for novel coronavirus, the church said Wednesday. The short statement on church website said the 90-year old spiritual leaders condition was discovered during a "routine" testing procedure. "(It) concluded that his holiness Patriarch Irinej was positive, with no symptoms and in excellent general health", SPC said in a statement, adding that he had been taken to a Belgrade Covid hospital. Irinej, whose lay name is Miroslav Gavrilovic, led a service on Sunday during the funeral of Montenegrin metropolitan bishop Amfilohije, who died last week after a battle with Covid-19. Montenegrin health experts warned of a high risk of spreading the disease during the funeral, as thousands gathered with no social distancing and most clerics, including the patriarch, not wearing masks. mbs/pvh
|