The Serbian Orthodox Church appointed bishop Porfirij as its new Patriarch. His appointment comes after Patriarch Irinej died of the coronavirus, likely contracted while he attended the funeral of bishop Amfilohij.

Serbian media are reporting that the new Patriarch, who used to lead the bishopric of Zagreb and Ljubljana, is close to President Aleksandar Vucic. Macedonia will expect to see if his appointment will change the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has led a long move to block the international recognition of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The Serbian church insists that the Macedonian church must return under its control, and then it would maybe discuss its independence.