Bishop Milutin of Valjevo passes away: He had coronavirus

Bishop Milutin of Valjevo died overnight, two hours after midnight, at the Clinical Hospital Center (KBC) "Dr Dragisa Misovic" in Belgrade, where he had been transferred due to deteriorating health after he tested positive for coronavirus, the daily Blic has been able to confirm from the Diocese of Valjevo of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).

The Diocese of Valjevo announced three days ago that Bishop Milutin had tested positive for coronavirus, as well as two other priests of the Diocese, and that they were undergoing treatment at KBC "Dr Dragisa Misovic" in Belgrade.

In the same statement, the Diocese protested in the strongest terms and denied reports in some media outlets and statement made by local government leaders that coronavirus was spread in this region of the country "due to the travel of certain priests abroad, and the visits of priests from Italy to Valjevo."

"From the moment a state of emergency was declared, Bishop Milutin did not leave the seat of the Diocese of Valjevo by one meter, and from the beginning he respected the rules of self-isolation, responsibly setting an example for all priests and believers. Bishop Milutin was the first in the Serbian Orthodox Church to make a decision to stop the consecration of homes ahead of Easter, bearing in mind the information that a virus had appeared in Valjevo and trying to prevent the spread of the infection in that way as well," the Diocese announced at the time.

Bishop Milutin was born on January 10, 1949 in the village of Mijaci near Valjevo. At the age of 14 he went to the monastery of Kaona where he was tried, and in 1963 he became a monk. In the same monastery he served as parish priest and abbot. Before the re-establishment of the Diocese of Valjevo after two centuries, Bishop Milutin was the Bishop of Australia-New Zealand and returned to his native country after a meeting of the Holy Bishops' Assembly of the SPC, when he was elected as head of the restored Diocese of Valjevo. He took over in a ceremony in September 2006 at the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ in Valjevo.

(Telegraf.rs)