Archpriest
Luka Hovakovic
The Patriarch
on the tram
It is
difficult to speak about my service with Patriarch Pavle without sounding like
I am boasting. Knowing the Patriarch was everyone’s privilege, not just of
those who served with him or helped him in his administrative duties. After
all, he was a very simple person; one could often see him walking through the
streets of Belgrade or riding a city tram. Those whose duty it was to accompany
him sometimes grew indignant: “Your Holiness, you have a car after all!”
Whenever possible, however, he preferred to use public transport.
Nineteen
Years with Patriarch Pavle
My service –
as it happens, for which I am grateful to God – was always connected with His
Holiness. I served with Patriarch Pavle for nineteen years, until his very last
day.
During his
primacy I held several positions: I was a teacher in the department of canon
law at the Theological Faculty at the University of Belgrade; I taught
homiletics and Russian at seminary (I graduated from the Moscow Theological
Academy, so I had learned Russian); for nine years I was in charge of the
Patriarchal Library; and for ten years I was secretary of the ecclesiastical
court. I was also involved in the development of the Patriarchate’s information
system by networking computers and purchasing and installing programs needed by
the church administration.
His Holiness
did not bless me to be ordained to the priesthood immediately. I served in the
rank of deacon for fourteen years, which was quite normal with him. There was
never any hurry in matters of ordination; he waited for the right time for a
person.
Generally
speaking, my ideas about what I should do with my life did not always come
about. For example, after working in the Patriarchal Library I defended my
doctoral dissertation in canon law and seriously contemplated devoting myself
to scholarship. I requested a release from my administrative duties, but
instead the Holy Synod appointed me director of administration at the
Patriarchate. Naturally, my studies were sidelined because I had to deal with
administrative affairs on a daily basis.
The Patriarch
later blessed my ordination to the priesthood, appointing me for a short time
as rector of the Church of St. Sava that was under construction.
The Patriarch
spent his last years in the Military Hospital, but God gave us all the strength
and ability to continue to conduct administrative affairs smoothly, so it did
not feel as though His Holiness were not among us.
Serving with
him was a precious gift; we saw and participated in much that was
extraordinary.
We saw the
boundless modesty of the life of His Holiness, even though he held the highest
office in our Church. He took great care that no one would be offended, that no
one would feel any burden associated with the Church.
Herbs at the Patriarchate
The Patriarch’s
diet was very modest. He did not eat breakfast; normally he only drank a cup of
tea and ate a piece of bread. He normally cooked lunch for himself, making a
very small portion of vegetables: a few potatoes and some herbs he collected
around the Patriarchate. He almost never had dinner.
He lived this
way for years, and we were simply astonished at how he managed to move about
and how his organism could bear not eating anything. But it was clear that he
was a man of God, drawing from the Liturgy his strength, his cheerful spirit,
and his understanding of all people.
He understood
everyone perfectly, from the small child on the street who came and tugged at
his sleeve to the presidents of various nations.
Liturgy at 5:00 am
Patriarch
Pavle served the Liturgy daily. The only exceptions were days when he was
travelling or ill. It was difficult to keep up with him, because he rose very
early, at 4:00 am, and served the Liturgy in the Patriarchate at 5:00. So it
was when he was eighty, and so it remained when His Holiness turned ninety. He
said his cell rule and then went to church. We served with him and normally did
not get much sleep because, after completing the administrative affairs that
often lasted until quite late, not much time was left for sleep. It should be
said that he did not ask any of us to come to these Liturgies: our work began
at 8:00, and we could simply have come to the office at that time. But that
would have been somewhat awkward: we are sleeping, but His Holiness is serving.
So we came and served with him.
“His Holiness
would like to serve the Liturgy”
I remember
that we travelled to Moscow in 2000 for the consecration of the Cathedral of
Christ the Savior, staying at the Danilovskaya Hotel [adjacent to the Danilov
Monastery]. The cathedral was to be consecrated the next day. As such, His
Holiness was to take part in the Liturgy – this was how it had been planned –
only the next day, leaving him one free day. So at 4:00 am, His Holiness knocks
at my door: “Fr. Luka, let’s go serve the Liturgy somewhere!”
I did not
know where to take him. We went into one of the churches in Danilov Monastery
and, around 5:00 am, found some monks preparing for the service. They were very
surprised to see us!
I told them:
“His Holiness would like to serve the Liturgy.”
“Where are
his vestments?”
“He doesn’t
have them with him, since we’ve already sent them to the Cathedral of Christ
the Savior. But if you could possibly find a single set of priestly vestments,
then please give them to him.”
They found
vestments for us, Patriarch Pavle put on priestly vestments, and served as a
simple priest. I think those monks themselves found it interesting that the
Serbian Patriarch was serving in their church!
Evening
fellowship
He preached
daily; many of his sermons and talks have been transcribed and published.
He dedicated
a great deal of time to fellowship. The Patriarch’s working day was as follows:
Liturgy, tea, and receiving visitors. He was a monk, but he did not have an
exclusively monastic life: he did not shut himself off from people, but tried
to receive everyone who came to him; he wanted people to come and talk with
him. To some he simply listened; to others, as the need arose, he gave advice.
After the
evening service he normally received various pious women, conversing with them
in an informal setting. Even priests rarely came to him at this time, since
they knew that they could meet with the Patriarch at any time, while simple
people could use this specific time to see him.
It sometimes
happened that these women attempted to show him that they were in contact with
the world above. One of them once related that St. Petka – Paraskeva – had
appeared to her the night before and told her something special.
“I don’t know
what to tell you,” His Holiness replied. “I’m the Serbian Patriarch, but she
hasn’t appeared to me yet!”
Patriarch
Pavle gave her to understand that one should not engage in such things, but
simply behave like a normal person.
Parting with
the Patriarch
To the left
of the coffin is Archpriest Luka Hovakovic
That he was
an extraordinary man of his times was also shown by the day of his funeral.
Nearly one
million people filled the streets of Belgrade and another 600,000 came to our
central cathedral to kiss the Patriarch’s hand one last time. His coffin
remained open for six days, and nothing happened to it.
There were
people who said: “Perhaps one shouldn’t kiss his hand. It’s good that you so
revere the Patriarch, but there is an epidemic going around and one needs to be
careful.” Some sort of flu epidemic was in fact going around, but ultimately
nothing bad happened. People stood in line for up to nine hours, but no one
ill-treated anyone else; everyone waited patiently to kiss the hand of His
Holiness one final time. We, who had personally known the Patriarch for many
years, were amazed to find that the people so revered him. Of course, we knew
that people turned to him for advice and that they tried to attend his
Liturgies, but we had not anticipated that one million people would fill the
streets to accompany his coffin and that another 600,000 would come to say
farewell to him in church.
Time will
likely show that he was an extraordinary man of his times; we shall see what
happens next. We hope, of course, that the Lord will make him a saint, but it
is too early to speak of this. For the time being, we are taking careful note
of what goes on at his grave and what sort of healings are taking place – but
we will not say too much about this, since he has only just reposed.
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