Information Service of RUSSIAN METROPOLITAN PITIRIM VISITS His Eminence Pitirim (Necajev), Metropolitan of Volokolam, special emissary of His Holiness Aleksey II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, arrived yesterday to visit the Serbian Orthodox Church. His Grace Atanasije (Rakita) and priest Vitalije Tarasjev, head of the clerical/diplomatic branch of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade welcomed Metropolitan Pitirim at the Belgrade airport. After a short visit to several Belgrade churches, Metropolitan Pitirim travelled to Podgorica where he attended the festive performance dedicated to Saint Sava in the Yugoslav Army Centre. Today, on the feast of Saint Sava, Metropolitan Pitirim, served the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy together with His Eminence Amfilohije (Radovic), Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, in the Saint Sava’s Church at Frutuk near Danilovgrad. The special emissary of the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church should this evening attend the solemn performance dedicated to Saint Sava’s Day at Kolasin. On Monday, January 28, Metropolitan Pitirim is supposed to visit the Monastery of Cetinje, where he will pay homage to the relics of Saint Peter of Cetinje and to the right hand of Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner. It is also planned that this high church dignitary should visit the Seminary of Saint Peter of Cetinje, be guest of the media at Cetinje, visit the Monastery of Ostrog. The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral also announced that Metropolitan Pitirim would attend the solemn performance dedicated to Saint Sava in Niksic tomorrow evening. On Tuesday, January 28, while in Belgrade, the special emissary of the Patriarch Aleksey II will be the guest of His Holiness Pavle, Serbian Patriarch, at the reception organised in the honour of the feast of Saint Sava in the Patriarchate Palace, and afterwards he will meet the representatives or the federal authorities in the Federation Palace. Metropolitan Pitirim's Biography His Eminence Pitirim, Metropolitan of Volokolam and Iuriev, auxiliary Bishop of Moscow was born in Kozlov in 1926. He completed education at the Technical Institute and the Orthodox Theological Institute in Moscow. In 1959 he took monastic vows. For some time he was the inspector of the Theological Academy in Moscow, and then in the period 1961-1994 the editor-in-chief of the newspaper of the Moscow Patriarchate. In the period 1962-1994 Metropolitan Pitirim was also the professor at the Moscow Theological Academy. He won doctoral degree in 1982 in Moscow. In 1963 he became a bishop, and in 1971 archbishop, and as of 1986 he has been the Metropolitan of Volokolam and Iuriev. For thirty years (1963-1995), he managed the Ministry for Publishing of the Russian Orthodox Church. |
