He was ordained a monk at Visoki Dečani monastery on 21 April 1985,[3] receiving the monastic name of Porfirije after Porphyrios of Kafsokalivia.

[4] In 1986, Porfirije earned his bachelor's degree in Eastern Orthodox theology from the University of Belgrade, when Bishop Pavle of Raška and Prizren (future Serbian Patriarch) ordained him a hierodeacon at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Mušutište, SAP Kosovo.

He earned a doctorate in Athens in 2004, with the thesis Possibility of knowability of God in St. Paul's understanding according to the interpretation of Saint John Chrysostom.

These were the times when the monastery had become a spiritual center for many young people: intellectuals, artists, actors and rock musicians, especially from Novi Sad and Belgrade.

[14][15][16] In June 2016, Porfirije released his new book titled Zagreb i ja se volimo javno (transl.

This drew criticism from the Croatian public and Porfirije later apologized for this act with an explanation that he did not have "influence to all circumstances," and that "certain media manipulated this event."

Some of attendees were Ivo Josipović, Rada Borić, Vili Matula, Tvrtko Jakovina, Dejan Jović, Dražen Lalić, Milorad Pupovac, and others.

[35] In this way, the Serbian Orthodox Church believes the patriarch is elected by divine intervention, sidelining human interests.

[45] Also, the Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović, who stated in the February 2020 interview for AFP that Montenegro needs to have its own Orthodox Church in order to strengthen its national identity and oppose interference from Serbia, sent his congratulations upon election.

[50][47] On 20 February, a day following the inauguration, a Holy Synod member and one of the three prime candidates for the new Patriarch election Bishop Irinej of Bačka tested positive for COVID-19.

After the meeting he stated that he is not a politician because he thinks that the Serbian Orthodox Church is "a conciliator organism which has the goal to collect, build bridges, dull blades and overcome polarization".

[54][55] On 27 February, Porfirije visited Majske Poljane and Glina, areas affected by the 2020 Petrinja earthquake, and met with the Serb community there.

Ambassador Anthony Godfrey, and Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Christodoulides,[61][62][63] and he went on to meet dozens of other dignitaries by the end of the year.

The Holy Synod stated that full ecclesiastical autonomy was restored to the Archbishopric under the Patriarchate of Serbia, bringing the MOC-OA fully into communion with the wider Eastern Orthodox world.

"[72][73][74] On 26 December, Porfirije was denied entry at the Merdare administrative crossing after he attempted to visit the Patriarchate of Peć.

[77][78][79] On the occasion of the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr in May 2021, Porfirije expressed his aspiration to participate in building relations between Orthodox Christians and Muslims.

[87] In 2005, the National Assembly of Serbia elected Porfirije, who was the bishop of Jegra at the time, as a member of the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency (Serbian: Republička radiodifuzna agencija, RRA), later renamed to the Regulatory Authority of Electronic Media (Serbian: Regulatorno telo za elektronske medije).

[88] On 29 July 2008, Porfirije was elected as the new council chairman of the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RRA), succeeding Nenad Cekić.

On that issue, Porfirije stated that the profanity escalated so much that the RRA Council was resolved to unconditionally and immediately stop it, without waiting for the end of the procedure.

[93] In May 2014, Porfirije resigned as the council chairman of the Regulatory Authority of Electronic Media following his election to the Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana.