The funeral of Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle on Nov. 19 will be attended by the Ecumenical, Albanian, Czech, and Romanian patriarchs, as well as numerous heads of other Orthodox churches, the Bishop of Backa Irinej said.

He told a news conference on Nov. 18 that presence at the funeral has been confirmed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Albanian Patriarch Anasthasios, Bishop of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Countries and Slovakia Christopher, and Romanian Patriarch Daniel.

The list of senior church dignitaries at the funeral will include the bishop heading the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Alexandria Patriarchate and a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Among the attending delegations will also be the Archdiocese of Athens, Archdiocese of Cyprus, Polish Orthodox Church, Antiochian Orthodox Church, Russian Border Church, American Orthodox Church, Georgian Patriarchy, and the Confederation of European Churches.

Bishop Irinej also said a Roman Catholic Church delegation of about 20 members is also expected to arrive.

He recalled that Serbian state TV will cover the patriarch's funeral live and called on all media not to involve true or fictional experts and commentators in shows following the event.

"The patriarch's funeral is an enormous holy and dignified act," the bishop said, adding that any comments and individual opinions during the broadcast would be inappropriate.

He also said the Serbian Orthodox Church will appoint a person to follow that "holy and dignified act."

Religion Minister Bogoljub Sijakovic said that the Serbian patriarch's funeral "is a historic event for Serbia and the Serbian people." He emphasized that all services and state bodies are at the disposal of the Serbian Orthodox Church for assistance in organizing the funeral.