Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
July 22, 2003

ARCHIMANDRITE PAJSIJE,
ABBOT OF THE SAINT PROHOR OF PCINJA MONASTERY,
PASSED AWAY

Archimandrite Pajsije (Tanasijevic), Abbot of Saint Prohor of Pcinja Monastery, passed away after a serious health problems on July 20, 2003 in Belgrade.

Father Pajsije was born on July 7, 1957 in Srebrenica.

He decided very early to dedicate his life to serving the Lord. He completed his secondary education in the Monastery of Ostrog and after serving the army he took monastic vows, being further attached to that idea by his spiritual father Jovan (Radosavljevic). The sacred rite was performed by the then Bishop of Raska/Prizren, the current Serbian Patriarch, Pavle in the Monastery of Visoki Decani, at the feast of Transfiguration in 1979.

Afterwards he went to the Mount of Athos, where he continued his monastic life. Upon receiving the great shima in 1989 he became the first and the youngest Abbot of the Chilandar Monastery and was appointed the Protos of the Mount of Athos.

He returned to Serbia in 1992 as the Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Prohor of Pcinja and worked on the renewal of the spiritual life in the south of Serbia. With many monks and nuns he revived almost all the monasteries in the Diocese of Vranje, such as the Monastery Saint Panteleimon at Lepcinac, Saint Stephen at Gornje Zapsko, Saint George at Punosevac, the Most Holy Mother of God at Mrtvica...