OREANDA-NEWS. Irinej, 45th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, died in the hospital where he was receiving treatment for coronavirus of a new type.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic reported of this on November 20 on his Instagram account. “It was an honour for me to know you. People like you never leave,” the politician wrote.

On the eve, Vucic reported on the grave condition of the Patriarch. The head of state added that the patient was intubated to ensure the functioning of the respiratory tract.

Earlier, the Telegram channel Union of Orthodox Journalists reported the death of Patriarch Irinej, but the health department of the Ministry of Defense of Serbia denied this information.

Also on that day, the press service of the Serbian Orthodox Church reported that Russian doctors joined the monitoring of the condition of the Patriarch.

Patriarch Irinej fell ill with COVID-19 on November 4. Next day, he was hospitalized at the military medical center. On November 15, the press service of the church announced the deterioration of the hierarch’s condition, adding that doctors managed to stabilize it.