Saint Spyridon Patriarch of Serbia

Spyridon was Patriarch of Serbia in the closing decades of the fourteenth century, a period of mounting Ottoman pressure and the gradual disintegration of the medieval Serbian state. The Orthodox Church in America places his patriarchate from 1382 to 1388 and commemorates him on August 30. He was consecrated by his predecessor, Saint Ephraim II, who had occupied the patriarchal throne from 1367 before withdrawing to monastic life; after Spyridon's death, the guidance of the Serbian Church was again entrusted to Ephraim II.

Spyridon's tenure coincided with the reign of Prince Lazar of Serbia, with whom he worked in close cooperation. The synaxarion records that he was much concerned for the monastic communities of the Serbian lands during what it calls difficult years of civil and ecclesial unrest. He is reported to have confirmed several of Prince Lazar's charters and endowments, supporting the prince in the administration of church affairs.

He is remembered as a patron of sacred song. He termed church singing 'a spiritual flute,' and is said to have composed hymns for the Serbian Church. Spyridon died at almost the same time as Prince Lazar, who fell in the battle against the Ottomans at Kosovo Pole, commemorated on June 15. By tradition he was buried at the Patriarchate of Peć monastery, the seat of the Serbian primacy.