Irinej Kovačević ( sr-Cyrl, Иринеј Ковачевић; 6 September 1914 – 2 February 1999) was the Metropolitan of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church in North America from 1963 until 1992. Metropolitan Irinej is best remembered within the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

for leading a delegation to Belgrade in 1992 to heal the schism within the church that had spun off the North American, Western European and Australian Diocese as largely separate from the Belgrade-based church.

Biography

Born Milan Kovačević in Vrnčani, then

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

(today

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

) in 1914, he graduated from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

and then became a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the April 1941 invasion of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, he served as a soldier in Serbian Royalist forces who simultaneously battled

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, Tito's Communists and Croatian Ustashi during

. After capitulation, he was arrested and sent to a POW camp in Germany. When the Allies liberated the military prison camps, he decided not return to his homeland after reading that the Old Regime was usurped by the Communists. In 1947, he emigrated from Germany to England where he entered the Serbian seminary at

Dorchester on Thames Dorchester on Thames is a historic village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, England, located about 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Oxford at the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. The village has evidence of preh ...

. The Serbian seminarians were affectionately called the ''Dorchester Boys'' and most of them would eventually leave England for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and elsewhere where they took up important positions in the

Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America The Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква у Северној и Јужној Америци, Srpska pravoslavna crkva u Severnoy i Južnoj Americi) is a constituent an ...

, including Very Rev.

Dimitrije Najdanović Dimitrije Najdanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Димитрије Најдановић; 7 June 1897 – 24 March 1986) was a Serbian theologian, writer, and Serbian Orthodox priest. Biography Dimitrije Najdanović was born in Kragujevac in Serbia, on ...

and Dr. Veselin Kesich among many others. In 1950, he left England for the United States where he earned

master's degrees A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Or ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He became a tonsured monk at the

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery and Seminary The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery and School of Theology () in Libertyville, Illinois is a monastery and professional theological school in the Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada. The school is a collocated facility with the ...

in 1953, at which time he chose the name ''Iriney'', meaning "peace" in Greek. In time he was elevated through all the monastic ranks to the title of

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. Archimandrite Irinej was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

vicar bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

in 1963 by his superior Bishop Dionsije (Milivojević) and later was elevated to the status of

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of the United States and Canada in 1984. His diocesan headquarters near Third Lake which includes the church of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God - New Gracanica, St. Sava Seminary, a monastery, recreational facilities and offices, was consecrated in 1984.

Death

He died, aged 84, on 2 February 1999 in a Libertyvile nursing home where he had lived after suffering a stroke in 1996. His Holiness Patriarch

Pavle Pavle (Macedonian language, Macedonian and sr-Cyrl, Павле; ka, პავლე) is a Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian and Georgian male given name corresponding to the English Paul (given name), Paul; the name is of biblical origin, coming from ...

, titular head of the worldwide church who came to Third Lake from the New Serbian Patriarchal Palace in Belgrade to officiate the funeral of an old friend.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacevic, Irinej 1914 births 1999 deaths People from Gornji Milanovac Eastern Orthodox theologians Serbian theologians Serbian Orthodox clergy Serbian anti-communists Metropolitans of the Serbian Orthodox Church Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches