Belgrade - The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Patriarch Pavle, has resigned owing to poor health, the SPC said on its website Friday.

The Holy Synod, the SPC government, said Pavle requested to be relieved when the church assembly takes place on November 11.

Pavle, 94, has not left his room in the Belgrade military hospital since November.

However, despite his frail, if stable condition, he earlier refused pressure to step down.

His condition spurred influential bishops to begin jockeying for the throne, with the conservative head of the Montenegrin diocese, Amfilohije, regarded as the likeliest candidate.

Pavle's resignation now paves the way for the election of the new patriarch when the SPC assembly convenes.

During Pavle's reign, which started in 1990, on the eve of the violent disintegration of former Yugoslavia, the SPC rose from the margins, where it has been during decades of the Socialism, to one of the most influential factors in Serbian politics.

While locally described as a "walking saint," he did face criticism over the SPC sometimes inflammatory role in Yugoslav conflicts. (dpa)