Patriarch Irinej, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, has died after contracting the coronavirus, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday.

Irinej, 90, a conservative who wielded major political influence, was diagnosed with the virus on November, 4, and had been in a military hospital in the capital Belgrade since then.

He tested positive after attending the Nov 1 funeral of Metropolitan Amfilohije, the most senior cleric of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, who also died from COVID-19.

“I was honored to know you. People like you never depart”, - Vucic wrote on his Instagram account under a black and white photo of Irinej.