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"Profound sorrow" and "most sincere condolences" for the passing away of Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, the spiritual leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, were expressed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia. Patriarch Pavle died on Sunday, 15 November, at the age of 95.
Patriarch Pavle was a "church leader appreciated worldwide for his deep and genuine spirituality, his commitment to peace and reconciliation, [and] his readiness to defend the fundamental Christian values at all costs", Kobia wrote in a 16 November letter to Metropolitan Anfilohije of Montenegro and Littoral, the Patriarchate Locum Tenens.
A "humble monk who strived all his life for the integrity of life in Christ", Patriarch Pavle "struggled for the up-building of the church and society following the changes in Eastern Europe", and was a "messenger of peace and reconciliation during the painful times of war", Kobia added.
Full text of the WCC condolence letter to the Serbian Orthodox Church