It’s Not About the Money: The Secret to a Priest’s Old Shoes
He happily wore them for 30 years.
In November 2009, there were 600,000 people at his funeral in Belgrade, Serbia (Southeastern Europe). The small nation, deeply divided between believers and atheists, came to say their last goodbye to Patriarch Pavle. People simply loved and respected the head of the Serbian Orthodox church because he practiced what he preached.
Despite his enormous power, Patriarch Pavle treated everyone with kindness. Those who met him said he was heavenly gentle. As he died, people continued to remember anecdotes from the life of a humble cleric. Here is the one about his shoes.
The shoes no one would wear
Late Patriarch Pavle was known for his modesty everywhere. Unlike some other priests, he never accepted any privileges and expensive gifts. And in his late eighties, he used public transport instead of a fancy car and took care of his clothes all by himself.
The Patriarch’s wardrobe was humble but he always had nice shoes — light, comfortable, and spotlessly clean. He would walk up and down the city in them and people even saw him running after a streetcar. He wore them regularly for 30 years.
