Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Zivorad Subotic Fell Asleep in the Lord
With sadness, but also with firm faith and hope in the Resurrection and eternal life, we inform the faithful people that the Most Reverend Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Zivorad Subotic (1951–2026), the Diocesan Deputy of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada and long-time parish priest at the Holy Trinity Church in Montreal, has reposed in the Lord.
Fr. Zivorad Subotic was born on August 26, 1951, in the village of Osecenica, near Valjevo, to parents Slobodan and Nadezda (née Marinkovic). After completing eight years of school in his hometown, he enrolled in 1966, as a cleric of the Diocese of Sabac and Valjevo, in the Saint Arsenije Sremac Theological Seminary in Sremski Karlovci, where he graduated in 1971. In the same year, he continued his theological studies at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. In the meantime, after serving his military service, in 1974, and on the recommendation of Professor Dr. Lazar Milin, he went to Berlin at the invitation of the local parish priest, Protosyngel Silvester (Vucovic), to assist in parish work, continuing to prepare and give exams at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. In Berlin, where he lived for four years, he met Sara Lukic, daughter of Paja and Jovanka (nee Bradasevic) from Bosanski Milosevac, whom, upon returning from Berlin to his homeland, he married on April 29, 1979. God blessed them with two sons: Milan, born on November 25, 1980, and Mihajlo, born on November 20, 1984.
After returning from Berlin and marrying Sara, having accepted him as a cleric of the Diocese of Sumadija, the Bishop of Sumadija Sava (Vukovic), ordained him to the rank of deacon on the day of the Burning of the Relics of Saint Sava, May 10 (April 27), 1979, and appointed him as a diocesan deacon and an official – a trainee scribe – in the Diocesan Administrative Board of the Diocese of Sumadija in Kragujevac. He was ordained to the rank of presbyter on December 27 (December 14), 1981, also by the Bishop of Sumadija. He was appointed parish priest of the sixth parish in Kragujevac on January 1, 1982, at the Cathedral Church in Kragujevac.
In May 1987, he was admitted to the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada by the benevolence of the Bishop of Canada Georgije. After immigrating to Canada with his family on June 14, 1988, he was appointed on July 1, 1988 as the parish priest of the Saint Sava Church in Winnipeg (Manitoba), where he remained until December 1, 1990. He was then transferred to the Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Bearer Church in Calgary (Alberta), where he pastored for five full years, until December 1, 1995. By decision of the Bishop of Canada Georgije, he was appointed, on December 15, 1995, as the parish priest of the Holy Trinity Church in Montreal. Meanwhile, with the establishment of the Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Bearer Parish in Sherbrooke on February 26, 2000, he was appointed administrator of the Sherbrooke parish and as temporary parish priest on February 25, 2012, where he served until his retirement in 2014.
For his zeal in the priestly service, Bishop Georgije of Canada honoured him with the dignity of protonamesnik on January 26, 1990, the rank of protopresbyter on November 10, 1996, and the right to wear the pectoral cross with the title of protopresbyter-stavrophor on June 6, 2004. He also performed the duties of the Dean of the Eastern Canadian Deanery as well as the Diocesan Deputy of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada.
After many years of faithful service to the Lord and the people, he reposed on March 30, 2026, moving into eternity, where he was reunited with his beloved wife Sara (1943–2006).
Prayer meeting plan and program
We inform the faithful about the schedule of the prayerful farewell of the Most Reverend Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Zivorad Subotic and invite everyone to participate in prayer:
Sunday, April 5th
from 12:30 PM – lying in repose at the Holy Trinity Church in Montreal
at 1:00 PM – memorial service
to follow – serving of bread and wheat for the repose of the soul of Fr. Zivorad
Monday, April 6th
from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM – visitation
at 8:00 PM – memorial service
Wednesday, April 8th
at 2:00 PM – funeral service and burial at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Milton.
We pray to the Lord to place the soul of His servant, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Zivorad, in a place of light, in a place of flowers, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but where life is endless. May his memory be eternal and may the Lord grant him entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven!
