Patriarch Pavle, who led Serbia’s Christian Orthodox Church through its post-Communist revival and called for peace and conciliation during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s but failed to openly condemn Serb nationalism, died today. He was 95.

Serbian President Boris Tadic today met with Pope Benedict XVI and said he hoped the pontiff could visit the country “very soon,” but said certain pre-conditions had to be negotiated first with the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Thousands of Bosnian Serbs today mourned their dead from the 1990s Srebrenica clashes, a day after their Bosnian Muslim wartime enemies marked the 10th anniversary of Europe’s worst massacre of civilians since the Second World War.

Tens of thousands gathered at the largest Orthodox Church in the Balkans today to mourn Serbia’s slain pro-Western prime minister, as a massive manhunt for his assassins continued.