Bishop Hrizostom Reposed in the Lord

On the Feast day of the Venerable Sabbas the Sanctified, on 5/18 December 2012, His Grace Bishop Hrizostom (Stolic) of Zica reposed in the Lord at the Episcopal Residence in Kraljevo.

Bishop Hrizostom was born in 1939 in Ruma, where he finished primary and secondary school.  After graduating from High school he went to Decani monastery, where he became a monk and was ordained a hierodeacon and hieromonk by the then Bishop of Raska-Prizren Pavle, later Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1966 he went to the United States, where he graduated from the Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Morganville, New York, with a degree in the liturgical theology.  After the graduation he served as a parish priest in Serbian parishes in the Chicago area. Fulfilling his monastic vows, he went to Mount Athos – to the monastery of Hilandar, where he spent twenty years.  There he was elevated into the rank of Archmandrite by Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios. As a notable monk he was the Protos (first monk) of Mount Athos in two mandates. In Hilandar monastery he was librarian. The fruit of his work in the library was the book Svetacnik (Life of the Saints) in two volumes, and the Liturgy of Holy Apostle James.

The Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, on its regular session from 14-24 May 1988 in Belgrade, elected archimandrite Hrizostom as Bishop of Western America. Bishop Hrizostom led this Diocese until 1992, when he was appointed Bishop of Banat. In this Diocese besides the restoration of the Episcopal residence and multiple temples and church buildings, near Vrsac he founded Srediste monastery.  

In 2003 he was elected Bishop of Zica. He was enthroned in Zica monastery by Patriarch Pavle.

As the Bishop of Zica, along with all-encompassing archpastoral activities, Bishop Hrizostom of blessed repose continued with his fruitful construction and reconstraction efforts. The Diocese got a new Diocesan center in Kraljevo. He restored abandoned monasteries and consecrated many new churches, and all that to the glory of God and for the spiritual benefit of the pious people of this Diocese. He was also greatly involved in publishing.