Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
|
---|
|
|
Abbreviation
| SOC
,
СПЦ
,
SPC
|
---|
Classification
| Eastern Orthodox
|
---|
Orientation
| Serbian Orthodoxy
|
---|
Scripture
| Septuagint
,
New Testament
|
---|
Theology
| Eastern Orthodox theology
|
---|
Polity
| Episcopal
|
---|
Governance
| Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church
|
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Structure
| Communion
|
---|
Primate
| Patriarch
Porfirije
|
---|
Bishops
| 44
|
---|
Parishes
| 3,100
|
---|
Associations
| World Council of Churches
[1]
|
---|
Language
| Church Slavonic
,
Serbian
|
---|
Liturgy
| Byzantine Rite
|
---|
Headquarters
| Building of the Patriarchate
,
Belgrade
; traditionally
Patriarchate of Pe?
|
---|
Territory
| Europe
(
Serbia
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
,
Montenegro
,
Croatia
,
North Macedonia
,
Kosovo
,
Slovenia
,
Germany
,
France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal
,
United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
, Romania, Bulgaria,
Austria, Switzerland
)
America
(
Canada
,
United States of America
,
South America
),
Oceania
(
Australia, New Zealand
)
|
---|
Possessions
| Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
|
---|
Founder
| Saint Sava
|
---|
Origin
| 1219
Kingdom of Serbia
|
---|
Independence
| 1219?1463
1557?1766
1879?present
|
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Recognition
| 1219
(Autocephalous archbishopric)
1346
(Autocephalous Patriarchate)
1557
(Autocephalous Patriarchate)
1879
(Autocephalous metropolis)
1922
(Autocephalous Patriarchate)
|
---|
Separations
| Macedonian Orthodox Church
Montenegrin Orthodox Church
|
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Members
| 8
[2]
to 12 million
|
---|
Other name(s)
| - Serbian Church
- Serbian Patriarchate
|
---|
Official website
| spc
.rs
|
---|
The
Serbian Orthodox Church
(
Serbian
:
Српска православна црква
,
Srpska pravoslavna crkva
) is one of the
autocephalous
(
ecclesiastically
independent)
Eastern Orthodox
Christian churches
.
The majority of the population in
Serbia
,
Montenegro
and
Republika Srpska
of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
are members of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is organized into
metropolitanates
and
eparchies
, located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and
Croatia
. Other congregations are located in the
Serb diaspora
. The
Serbian Patriarch
serves as first among equals in his church. The current patriarch is
Porfirije
, enthroned on 19 February 2021.
[6]
The Church achieved
autocephalous
status in 1219,
under the leadership of
Saint Sava
, becoming the independent
Archbishopric of ?i?a
. Its status was elevated to that of a
patriarchate
in 1346,
and was subsequently known as the
Serbian Patriarchate of Pe?
. This patriarchate was abolished by the
Ottoman Empire
in 1766,
though several regional sections of the church continued to exist, most prominent among them being the
Metropolitanate of Karlovci
, in the
Habsburg monarchy
.
After the re-creation of
Serbia
,
ecclesiastical autonomy
was regained in 1831,
and the
autocephaly
was renewed in 1879. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was re-established in 1920, after the unification of the
Metropolitanate of Belgrade
, the
Patriarchate of Karlovci
, and the
Metropolitanate of Montenegro
.
History
[
edit
]
Early Christianity
[
edit
]
Christianity started to spread throughout the
southeastern Europe
during the 1st century. Early martyrs
Florus and Laurus
from the 2nd century, who were murdered along with other 300 Christians in
Ulpiana
, near modern
Lipljan
, are venerated as Christian saints. Bishop
Irenaeus of Sirmium
was also martyred, in 304. Emperor
Constantine the Great
(306?337), born in Naissus (modern
Ni?
in Serbia), was the first Christian ruler of the
Roman Empire
. Several local bishops, seated in present-day Serbia, became prominent during the 4th century, such as
Germinius of Sirmium
,
Ursacius of Singidunum
and
Secundianus of Singidunum
(modern
Belgrade
), while several
Councils were held in Sirmium
.
In 395, the Empire was divided, and its eastern half later became known as the
Byzantine Empire
. In 535, emperor
Justinian I
created the
Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima
, centered in the emperor's birth-city of
Justiniana Prima
, near modern
Lebane
in Serbia. The archbishopric had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all provinces of the
Diocese of Dacia
.
By the beginning of the 7th century, Byzantine provincial and ecclesiastical order in the region was destroyed by invading
Avars
and
Slavs
. The church life was renewed in the same century in the province of
Illyricum
and
Dalmatia
after a more pronounced Christianization of the Serbs and other Slavs by the
Roman Church
.
In the 7th and mid-8th century the area was not under jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Christianization of Serbs
[
edit
]
The history of the early medieval
Serbian Principality
is recorded in the work
De Administrando Imperio
(
DAI
), compiled by the Byzantine Emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus
(
r.
913?959). The DAI drew information on the Serbs from, among others, a Serbian source.
The Serbs were said to have received the protection of Emperor
Heraclius
(r. 610?641), and Porphyrogenitus stressed that the Serbs had always been under Imperial rule. According to De Administrando Imperio, the center from which the Serbs received their baptism was marked as
Rome
.
His account on the first Christianization of the Serbs can be dated to 632?638; this might have been Porphyrogenitus' construction, or may have encompassed a limited group of chiefs, with lesser reception by the wider layers of the tribe.
From the 7th until mid-9th century, the Serbs were under influence of the Roman Church.
The initial ecclesiastical affiliation with a specific diocese is uncertain, probably was not an Adriatic centre.
Early medieval Serbs are accounted as Christian by 870s,
but it was a process that ended in the late 9th century during the time of
Basil I
,
and medieval necropolises until the 13th century in the territory of modern Serbia show an "incomplete process of Christianization" as local Christianity depended on the social structure (urban and rural).
The expansion of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
over the
Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
is considered to have begun in 731 by Emperor
Leo III
when he annexed
Sicily
and
Calabria
,
but whether the Patriarchate also expanded into the eastern parts of Illyricum and Dalmatia is uncertain and a matter of scholarly debate.
The expansion most definitely happened since the mid-9th century,
when the Byzantines emperors and patriarch demanded that the Church administrative borders follow political borders.
In the same century, the region was also politically contested between the
Carolingian Empire
and Byzantine Empire.
The most influential and successful was emperor
Basil I
, who actively worked on gaining control over all the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (from Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian to Croatian Slavic peoples).
Basil I likely sent at least one embassy to
Mutimir of Serbia
,
who decided to maintain the communion of Church in Serbia with the Patriarchate of Constantinople when
Pope John VIII
invited him to get back to the jurisdiction of the bishopric of
Sirmium
(see also
Archbishopric of Moravia
) in a letter dated to May 873.
Alexis P. Vlasto
argued that the
Eparchy of Ras
was founded during Mutimir's rule, as a bishopric of Serbia, at
Ras
with the
church of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul
,
as part of the general plan of establishing bishoprics in the Slav lands of the Empire, confirmed by the
Council of Constantinople
in 879?880,
most significantly related to the creation of the autonomous Archbishopric for Bulgaria of which Roman Church lost jurisdiction.
However, according to Predrag Komatina, there is no mention of any bishopric in Serbia. In early medieval Europe, the existence of a Christian church without a bishop in a specific land was not uncommon, and being placed under the Pannonian Bishop implies that there was no local Serbian bishop at the time.
Tibor ?ivkovi?
concluded, based on primary sources of the Church of Constantinople, that there was no information regarding the establishment of any new ecclesiastical center and organization in Serbia, that the Serbian ecclesiastical center and capital was at
Destinikon
, while Ras in the mid-9th century was only a border fort which became the ecclesiastical center of the bishopric by 1019-1020.
The imperial charter of
Basil II
from 1020 to the
Archbishopric of Ohrid
, in which the rights and jurisdictions were established, has the earliest mention of the Bishopric/Episcopy of Ras, stating it belonged to the
Bulgarian autocephal church
during the time of
Peter I
(927?969) and
Samuel of Bulgaria
(977?1014).
It was of a small size.
It is considered that it was possibly founded by the Bulgarian emperor,
but most probably it represented the latest date in which it could have been integrated into the Bulgarian Church.
The episcopy was probably part of the Bulgarian
metropolis
of Morava, but certainly not of
Durres
.
If it was on the Serbian territory, it seems that the Church in Serbia or part of the territory of Serbia became linked and influenced by the Bulgarian Church between 870 and 924.
With Christianization in the 9th century, Christian names appear among the members of Serbian dynasties (Petar, Stefan, Pavle, Zaharije).
Prince
Petar Gojnikovi?
(r. 892?917) was evidently a Christian ruler,
and Christianity presumably was spreading in his time.
Since Serbia bordered Bulgaria, Christian influences and perhaps missionaries came from there, increasing during the twenty-year peace.
The Bulgarian annexation of Serbia in 924 was important for the future direction of the Serbian church. By then, at the latest, Serbia must have received the Cyrillic alphabet and Slavic religious text, already familiar but perhaps not yet preferred to Greek.
Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018?1219)
[
edit
]
Following his
final subjugation
of the Bulgarian state in 1018,
Basil II
, to underscore the Byzantine victory, established the
Archbishopric of Ohrid
by downgrading the
Bulgarian patriarchate
to the rank of the archbishopric. The now archbishopric remained an
autocephalous
church, separate from the
Patriarchate of Constantinople
. However, while the archbishopric was completely independent in any other aspect, its
primate
was selected by the emperor from a list of three candidates submitted by the local
church synod
. In three
sigillia
issued in 1020 Basil II gave extensive privileges to the new see.
In the first and third charter of Basil II was mentioned Bishopric of Serbia, while in the second charter of Basil II, dated 1020, the
bishopric of Ras
is mentioned, with the seat at the
Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Ras
.
The 10th- or 11th-century Gospel Book
Codex Marianus
, written in
Old Church Slavonic
in the
Glagolithic
script, is one of the oldest known Slavic manuscripts. It was partly written in the Serbian redaction of
Old Church Slavonic
.
Other early manuscripts include the 11th-century
Gr?kovi?ev odlomak Apostola
and
Mihanovi?ev odlomak
.
Autocephalous Archbishopric (1219?1346)
[
edit
]
Serbian prince
Rastko Nemanji?
, the son of
Stefan Nemanja
, took monastic vows at
Mount Athos
as
Sava
(Sabbas) in 1192.
Three years later, his father joined him, taking monastic vows as
Simeon
. Father and son asked the Holy Community to found a Serbian religious centre at the abandoned site of
Hilandar
, which they renovated. This marked the beginning of a renaissance (in
arts
,
literature
and
religion
). Sava's father died at Hilandar in 1199 and was canonized as St. Simeon.
Saint Sava stayed for some years, rising in rank, then returned to Serbia in 1207, taking with him the remains of his father, which he interred at the
Studenica monastery
, after reconciling his two quarrelling brothers
Stefan Nemanji?
and
Vukan
.
Stefan asked him to remain in Serbia with his clerics, which he did, providing widespread pastoral care and education to the people. Saint Sava founded several churches and monasteries, among them the
?i?a monastery
. In 1217, Stefan was proclaimed
King of Serbia
, and various questions of the church reorganization were opened.
Saint Sava returned to the Holy Mountain in 1217/18, preparing for the formation of an
autocephalous
Serbian Church. He was consecrated in 1219 as the first
Archbishop
of the Serbian Church, and was given
autocephaly
by
Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
, then in exile at
Nicaea
.
In the same year, Saint Sava published
Zakonopravilo
(St. Sava's Nomocanon). Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious.
After this, in Serbia, Sava stayed in Studenica and continued to educate the Serbian people in their faith. Later he called for a council outlawing the
Bogomils
, whom he considered heretics. Sava appointed several bishops, sending them around Serbia to organize their dioceses.
To maintain his standing as the religious and social leader, he continued to travel among the monasteries and lands to educate the people. In 1221 a synod was held in the ?i?a monastery, condemning
Bogomilism
.
The following seats were newly created in the time of Saint Sava:
Older eparchies under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Archbishop were:
In 1229/1233, Saint Sava went on a pilgrimage to
Palestine
and in
Jerusalem
he met with Patriarch Athanasios II. Saint Sava saw
Bethlehem
where
Jesus
was born, the
Jordan River
where
Christ
was baptized, and the Great Lavra of Saint
Sabbas the Sanctified
(
Mar Saba monastery
). Sava asked Athanasios II, his host, and the Great Lavra fraternity, led by
hegoumenos
Nicolas, if he could purchase two monasteries in the
Holy Land
. His request was accepted and he was offered the monasteries of Saint John the Theologian on
Mount Sion
and St. George's Monastery at
Akona
, both to be inhabited by Serbian monks. The icon
Trojerucica
(
Three-handed Theotokos
), a gift to the Great Lavra from
St. John Damascene
, was given to Saint Sava and he, in turn, bequeathed it to
Hilandar
.
Saint Sava died in
Veliko Tarnovo
, capital of the
Second Bulgarian Empire
, during the reign of
Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
. According to his
Biography
, he fell ill following the
Divine Liturgy
on the
Feast of the Epiphany
, 12 January 1235. Saint Sava was visiting Veliko Tarnovo on his way back from the
Holy Land
, where he had founded a
hospice
for Syrian pilgrims in
Jerusalem
and arranged for Serbian monks to be welcomed in the established monasteries there. He died of
pneumonia
in the night between Saturday and Sunday, 14 January 1235, and was buried at the
Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs
in Veliko Tarnovo where his body remained until 6 May 1237, when his sacred bones were moved to the monastery
Mile?eva
in southern Serbia.
In 1253 the see was transferred to the
Monastery of Pe?
by archbishop Arsenije.
The Serbian primates had since moved between the two.
Sometime between 1276 and 1292 the
Cumans
burned the ?i?a monastery, and King
Stefan Milutin
(1282?1321) renovated it in 1292?1309, during the office of
Jevstatije II
.
In 1289?1290, the chief treasures of the ruined monastery, including the remains of
Saint Jevstatije I
, were transferred to Monastery of Pe?.
During the rule of the same king, the
Monastery of Gra?anica
was also renewed,
and during the reign of King
Stefan Uro? III
(1321?1331), the
Monastery of De?ani
was built,
under the supervision of Archbishop
Danilo II
.
Medieval Patriarchate (1346?1463)
[
edit
]
The status of the Serbian Orthodox Church grew along with the expansion and heightened prestige of the
Serbian kingdom
. After King
Stefan Du?an
assumed the imperial title of
tsar
, the Serbian Archbishopric was correspondingly raised to the rank of
Patriarchate
in 1346. In the century that followed, the Serbian Church achieved its greatest power and prestige. In the 14th century Serbian Orthodox clergy had the title of
Protos
at Mount Athos.
On 16 April 1346 (
Easter
), Stefan Du?an convoked a grand assembly at
Skopje
, attended by the Serbian Archbishop
Joanikije II
, Archbishop
Nicholas I of Ohrid
, Patriarch
Simeon of Bulgaria
and various religious leaders of
Mount Athos
. The assembly and clergy agreed on, and then ceremonially performed the raising of the autocephalous Serbian Archbishopric to the status of Patriarchate. The Archbishop was from now on titled
Serbian Patriarch
, although some documents called him
Patriarch of Serbs and Greeks
, with the seat at
Patriarchal Monastery of Pe?
. The new Patriarch Joanikije II now solemnly crowned Stefan Du?an as "
Emperor
and
autocrat
of
Serbs
and
Romans
" (see
Emperor of Serbs
). The Patriarchal status resulted in raising bishoprics to metropolitanates, as for example the
Metropolitanate of Skopje
. The Patriarchate took over sovereignty on
Mt. Athos
and the Greek archbishoprics under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (the Archbishopric of Ohrid remained autocephalous), which resulted in Du?an's excommunication by Patriarch
Callistus I of Constantinople
in 1350.
In 1375, an agreement between the Serbian Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople was reached.
The
Battle of Kosovo
(1389) and its aftermath had a lasting influence on medieval legacy and later traditions of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
In 1455, when Ottoman Turks conquered the Patriarchal seat in Pe?, Patriarch Arsenije II found temporary refuge in
Smederevo
, the capital city of
Serbian Despotate
.
Among cultural, artistic and literary legacies created under the auspices of the Serbian Orthodox Church during the medieval period were
hagiographies
, known in Serbian as
?itije
(vita), that were written as biographies of rulers, archbishops and saints from the 12th up to the 15th century.
Renewed Patriarchate (1557?1766)
[
edit
]
The
Ottoman Empire
conquered the
Serbian Despotate
in 1459, the
Bosnian Kingdom
in 1463,
Herzegovina
in 1482 and
Montenegro
in 1499. All of the conquered lands were divided into
sanjaks
. Although some Serbs converted to
Islam
, most continued their adherence to the Serbian Orthodox Church. The church itself continued to exist throughout the Ottoman period, though not without some disruption. After the death of Serbian Patriarch
Arsenije II
in 1463, a successor was not elected. The Patriarchate was thus
de facto
abolished, and the Serbian Church passed under the jurisdiction of
Archbishopric of Ohrid
and ultimately the
Ecumenical Patriarchate
which exercised jurisdiction over all Orthodox of the Ottoman Empire under the
millet
system.
After several failed attempts, made from c. 1530 up to 1541 by metropolitan
Pavle of Smederevo
to regain the
autocephaly
by seizing the throne of Pe? and proclaiming himself not only Archbishop of Pe?, but also Serbian Patriarch, the Serbian Patriarchate was finally restored in 1557 under the
Sultan
Suleiman I
, thanks to the mediation of
pasha
Mehmed Sokolovi?
who was Serbian by birth. His cousin, one of the Serbian Orthodox bishops
Makarije Sokolovi?
was elected Patriarch in Pe?. The restoration of the Patriarchate was of great importance for the Serbs because it helped the spiritual unification of all Serbs in the Ottoman Empire. The Patriarchate of Pe? also included some dioceses in western Bulgaria.
In the time of Serbian Patriarch
Jovan Kantul
(1592?1614), the Ottoman Turks took the remains of Saint Sava from monastery
Mile?eva
to the
Vra?ar hill
in
Belgrade
where they were burned by
Sinan Pasha
on a stake to intimidate the Serb people in case of revolts (see
Banat Uprising
) (1594). The
Temple of Saint Sava
was built on the place where his remains were burned.
After consequent Serbian uprisings against the Turkish occupiers in which the church had a leading role, the Ottomans abolished the Patriarchate once again in 1766.
The church returned once more under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. This period of rule by the so-called "
Phanariots
" was a period of great spiritual decline
[
citation needed
]
because the
Greek
bishops had very little understanding of their Serbian flock.
Church in the Habsburg Monarchy
[
edit
]
During this period,
Christians
across the Balkans were under pressure to convert to Islam to avoid severe taxes imposed by the Turks in retaliation for uprisings and continued resistance. The success of Islamization was limited to certain areas, with the majority of the Serbian population keeping its Christian faith despite the negative consequences. To avoid them, numerous Serbs migrated with their hierarchs to the
Habsburg monarchy
where their autonomy had been granted. In 1708, an autonomous Serbian Orthodox
Metropolitanate of Karlovci
was created, which would later become a
patriarchate
(1848?1920).
During the reign of
Maria Theresa
(1740-1780), several assemblies of Orthodox Serbs were held, sending their petitions to the Habsburg court. In response to that, several royal acts were issued, such as
Regulamentum privilegiorum
(1770) and
Regulamentum Illyricae Nationis
(1777), both of them replaced by the royal
Declaratory Rescript
of 1779, that regulated various important questions, from the procedure regarding the elections of Serbian Orthodox bishops in the Habsburg Monarchy, to the management of dioceses, parishes and monasteries. The act was upheld in force until it was replaced by the "Royal Rescript" issued on 10 August 1868.
Modern history
[
edit
]
The church's close association with Serbian resistance to Ottoman rule led to Eastern Orthodoxy becoming inextricably linked with Serbian national identity and the new Serbian monarchy that emerged from 1815 onwards. The Serbian Orthodox Church in the
Principality of Serbia
gained its
autonomy
in 1831 and was organized as the
Metropolitanate of Belgrade
, remaining under the
ecclesiastical jurisdiction
of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
.
The Principality of Serbia gained full political independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, and soon after those negotiations were initiated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, resulting in canonical recognition of full ecclesiastical independence (
autocephaly
) for the Metropolitanate of Belgrade in 1879.
At the same time, Serbian Orthodox eparchies in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
remained under the supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but after the
Austro-Hungarian occupation
(1878) of those provinces, local eparchies gained internal autonomy, regulated by the Convention of 1880, signed by representatives of Austro-Hungarian authorities and the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
In the southern eparchies, that remained under the Ottoman rule, Serbian metropolitans were appointed by the end of the 19th century.
Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century, several distinctive Serbian ecclesiastical provinces existed, including the
Patriarchate of Karlovci
in the
Habsburg monarchy
, the
Metropolitanate of Belgrade
in the
Kingdom of Serbia
, and the
Metropolitanate of Montenegro
in the
Principality of Montenegro
.
During
World War I
(1914?1918), the Serbian Orthodox Church suffered massive casualties.
Reunification
[
edit
]
After the liberation and political unification, that was achieved by creation of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
(1918), all Eastern Orthodox Serbs were united under one ecclesiastical authority, and all Serbian ecclesiastical provinces and eparchies were united into the single Serbian Orthodox Church, in 1920.
The first primate of the united SOC was
Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije
(1920?1930). The SOC gained great political and social influence in the inter-war
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
, during which time it successfully campaigned against the Yugoslav government's intentions of signing a
concordat
with the
Holy See
.
The united Serbian Orthodox Church kept under its jurisdiction the
Eparchy of Buda
in Hungary. In 1921, the Serbian Orthodox Church created a new eparchy for the
Czech lands
, headed by bishop
Gorazd Pavlik
. At the same time, the Serbian Church among the diaspora was reorganized, and the
eparchy
(diocese) for the United States and Canada was created.
In 1931 another diocese was created, called the
Eparchy of Muka?evo and Pre?ov
, for the Eastern Orthodox Christians in
Slovakia
and
Carpathian Rusynia
.
During the
Second World War
the Serbian Orthodox Church suffered severely from persecutions by the occupying powers and the rabidly
anti-Serbian
Usta?e
regime of
Independent State of Croatia
(NDH), which sought to create a "
Croatian Orthodox Church
" which Orthodox Serbs were forced to join. Many Serbs were killed, expelled or forced to convert to Catholicism during the
Serbian Genocide
; bishops and priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church were singled out for persecution, and many Orthodox churches were damaged or destroyed.
Out of the 577 Serbian Orthodox priests, monks and other religious dignitaries in the NDH, between 214 and 217 were killed and 334 were exiled to
German-occupied Serbia
.
Some of them were brutally tortured and mutilated by the Usta?e prior to being killed.
In the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 71 Orthodox priests were killed by the Usta?e, 10 by the
Partisans
, 5 by the Germans, and 45 died in the first decade after the end of WWII.
[100]
Under communist rule
[
edit
]
After the war, the church was suppressed by the
communist
government of
Josip Broz Tito
, which viewed it with suspicion due to the church's links with the leadership from the period of Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the nationalist
Chetnik
movement. According to
Denis Be?irovi?
, aside from the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
's ideological differences with the Church, this negative attitude was also influenced by the fact that some priests during the war supported the
Chetnik movement
which are mentioned in Documents of the Commission for Religious Affairs where is stated that among other things, that the majority of priests during the war supported and cooperated with the movement of
Dra?a Mihailovi?
, and that the church spread "hostile propaganda" against the
Yugoslav Partisans
and appointed persons in the administration of church institutions who were convicted of collaborating with the occupier.
[100]
Along with other ecclesiastical institutions of all denominations, the church was subject to strict controls by the Yugoslav state, which prohibited the teaching of religion in schools, confiscated church property and discouraged religious activity among the population.
[101]
In 1963, the Serbian Church among the diaspora was reorganized, and the eparchy for the United States and Canada was divided into three separate eparchies. At the same time, some internal divisions sparked in the Serbian diaspora, leading to the creation of the separate "Free Serbian Orthodox Church" under
Bishop Dionisije
. Division was healed in 1991, and Metropolitanate of New Gra?anica was created, within the united Serbian Orthodox Church.
In 1983, a fourth eparchy in North America was created specifically for Canadian churches: the
Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada
.
[103]
The gradual demise of Yugoslav communism and the rise of rival nationalist movements during the 1980s also led to a marked religious revival throughout Yugoslavia, not least in Serbia. The
Serbian Patriarch Pavle
supported the opposition to
Slobodan Milo?evi?
in the 1990s.
Since the establishment of the Yugoslav federal unit of "
Macedonia
" (1944), communist authorities restricted the activities of SOC in that region, favoring the creation of a separate church.
The
Macedonian Orthodox Church
was created in 1967, effectively as an offshoot of the Serbian Orthodox Church in what was then the
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
, as part of the Yugoslav drive to build up a
Macedonian national identity
. This was strongly resisted by the Serbian Church, which did not recognize the independence of its Macedonian counterpart.
Similar plans for the creation of an independent church in the Yugoslav federal unit of
Montenegro
were also considered, but those plans were not put into action before 1993, when the creation of the
Montenegrin Orthodox Church
was proclaimed. The organization was not legally registered before 2000, receiving no support from the Eastern Orthodox communion, and succeeding to attract only a minority of Eastern Orthodox adherents in Montenegro.
Recent history
[
edit
]
The
Yugoslav wars
gravely impacted several branches of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Many Serbian Orthodox Church clergy supported the war, while others were against it.
[
citation needed
]
Many churches in
Croatia
were damaged or destroyed during the
Croatian War
(1991?95). The bishops and priests and most faithful of the eparchies of
Zagreb
, of
Karlovac
, of
Slavonia
and of
Dalmatia
became refugees. The latter three were almost completely abandoned after the exodus of the Serbs from Croatia in 1995 (
Operation Storm
). The eparchy of Dalmatia also had its see temporarily moved to
Knin
after the self-proclaimed
proto-state
Republic of Serbian Krajina
was established. The eparchy of Slavonia had its see moved from
Pakrac
to
Daruvar
. After
Operation Storm
, two monasteries were particularly damaged, the
Krupa monastery
built in 1317, and the
Krka monastery
built in 1345.
The eparchies of Biha? and Petrovac, Dabar-Bosnia and Zvornik and Tuzla were also dislocated due to the
war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
. The eparchy see of Dabar-Bosnia was temporarily moved to
Sokolac
, and the see of Zvornik-Tuzla to
Bijeljina
. Over a hundred Church-owned objects in the Zvornik-Tuzla eparchy were destroyed or damaged during the war.
[
citation needed
]
Many monasteries and churches in the Zahumlje eparchy were also destroyed.
[
citation needed
]
Numerous faithful from these eparchies also became refugees.
[
citation needed
]
By 1998, the situation had stabilized in both countries. The clergy and many of the faithful returned; most of the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church was returned to normal use and damaged and destroyed properties were restored. The process of rebuilding several churches is still underway,
[
when?
]
notably the cathedral of the
Eparchy of Upper Karlovac
in
Karlovac
.
[
citation needed
]
Owing to the
Kosovo War
, after 1999 numerous Serbian Orthodox holy sites in Kosovo left occupied only by clergy. Since the arrival of
NATO
troops in June 1999, 156 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been damaged or destroyed.
In the aftermath of the 2004
unrest in Kosovo
, 35 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were burned or destroyed by Albanian mobs, and thousands of Serbs were forced to move from Kosovo due to the numerous attacks of Kosovo Albanians on Serbian churches and Serbs.
The process of church reorganization among the diaspora and full reintegration of the Metropolitanate of New Gra?anica was completed from 2009 to 2011. By that, full structural unity of Serbian church institutions in the diaspora was achieved.
Adherents
[
edit
]
Based on the official census results in countries that encompass the territorial canonical jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church (the Serb autochthonous region of Western Balkans), there are more than 8 million adherents of the church. Orthodoxy is the largest single religious faith in Serbia with 6,079,296 adherents (84.5% of the population) according to the 2011 census,
[110]
and in Montenegro with around 320,000 (51% of the population). It is the second-largest faith in Bosnia and Herzegovina with 31.2% of the population, and in Croatia with 4.4% of the population. Figures for eparchies abroad (Western Europe, North America, and Australia) are unknown although some estimates can be reached based on the size of the
Serb diaspora
, which numbers over two million people.
Structure
[
edit
]
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the
patriarch
, also serves as the head (
metropolitan
) of the Metropolitanate of
Belgrade and Karlovci
. The current patriarch,
Porfirije
, was inaugurated on 19 February 2021. Serbian Orthodox patriarchs use the style
His Holiness the Archbishop of Pe?, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch
.
The highest body of the Serbian Orthodox Church is the
Bishops' Council
. It consists of the Patriarch, the
Metropolitans
,
Bishops
,
Archbishop of Ohrid
and
Vicar
Bishops. It meets annually ? in spring. The Bishops' Council makes important decisions for the church and elects the patriarch.
The executive body of the Serbian Orthodox Church is the
Holy Synod
. It has five members: four bishops and the patriarch.
[111]
The Holy Synod takes care of the everyday operation of the church, holding meetings on regular basis.
Territorial organisation
[
edit
]
The territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church is divided into:
[112]
[113]
Dioceses are further divided into episcopal
deaneries
, each consisting of several
church congregations
or
parishes
. Church congregations consist of one or more parishes. A parish is the smallest church unit ? a communion of Orthodox faithful congregating at the
Holy Eucharist
with the parish priest at their head.
Autonomous Archbishopric of Ohrid
[
edit
]
The
Autonomous Archbishopric of Ohrid
or
Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
was an autonomous archbishopric in the
Republic of Macedonia
under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It was formed in 2002 in opposition to the
Macedonian Orthodox Church
, and was dissolved in 2023. The Macedonian Orthodox Church had had a similar relationship with the Serbian Orthodox Church prior to 1967 when it unilaterally declared itself
autocephalous
. This archbishopric was divided into one metropolitanate,
Skopje
, and the six eparchies of Bregalnica,
Debar and Ki?evo
,
Polog and Kumanovo
, Prespa and Pelagonija, Strumica and Veles and Povardarje.
Doctrine and liturgy
[
edit
]
The Serbian Orthodox Church upholds the
Eastern Orthodox theology
, shared by all
Eastern Orthodox Churches
and based on doctrinal accomplishments of the
Seven Ecumenical Councils
. It is characterized by
monotheistic
Trinitarianism
, a belief in the
Incarnation
of the
Logos
(
Son of God
), a balancing of
cataphatic theology
with
apophatic theology
, a
hermeneutic
defined by
Sacred Tradition
, and a therapeutic
soteriology
. In the fields of Church organization and administration, Serbian Orthodox Church upholds traditions and principles of
Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology
.
Liturgical
traditions and practices of the Serbian Orthodox Church are based on the
Eastern Orthodox worship
.
Services cannot properly be conducted by a single person but must have at least one other person present. Usually, all of the services are conducted on a daily basis only in monasteries and cathedrals, while parish churches might only do the services on the weekend and major feast days. The
Divine Liturgy
is the celebration of the Eucharist. The Divine Liturgy is not celebrated on weekdays during the preparatory season of
Great Lent
. Communion is consecrated on Sundays and distributed during the week at the
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
. Services, especially the Divine Liturgy, can only be performed once a day on any particular altar.
[
citation needed
]
A key part of the Serbian Orthodox religion is the
Slava
, a celebration of the Clan Patron Saint, placed into the Serb Orthodox religious canon by the first Serb archbishop
Saint Sava
.
Social issues
[
edit
]
The Serbian Orthodox Church upholds traditional views on modern social issues,
such as
separation of church and state
(imposed since the abolition of monarchy in 1945), and
social equality
.
Since all forms of priesthood are reserved only for men, the role of women in church administration is limited to specific activities, mainly in the fields of religious education and religious arts, including the participation in various forms of charity work.
Inter-Christian relations
[
edit
]
The Serbian Orthodox Church is in
full communion
with the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
(which holds a special place of honour within Eastern Orthodoxy and serves as the seat for the Ecumenical Patriarch, who enjoys the status of
first-among-equals
) and all of the mainstream autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church bodies except the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
. It has been a member of the
World Council of Churches
since 1965,
[119]
and of the
Conference of European Churches
.
Architecture
[
edit
]
Serbian medieval churches were built in the Byzantine spirit. The
Ra?ka style
refers to the Serbian architecture from the 12th to the end of the 14th century (
Studenica
,
Hilandar
,
?i?a
). The
Vardar style
, which is the typical one, was developed in the late 13th century combining
Byzantine
and Serbian influences to form a new architectural style (
Gra?anica
,
Patriarchal Monastery of Pe?
). By the time of the
Serbian Empire
, the Serbian state had enlarged itself over
Macedonia
,
Epirus
and
Thessaly
all the way to the
Aegean Sea
, which resulted in stronger influences from
Byzantine art
tradition. The
Morava style
refers to the period of the fall of Serbia under the Ottoman Empire, from 1371 to 1459 (
Ravanica
,
Ljubostinja
,
Kaleni?
,
Resava
).
During the 17th-century, many of the Serbian Orthodox churches that were built in
Belgrade
took all the characteristics of
baroque
churches built in the Habsburg-occupied regions where Serbs lived. The churches usually had a bell tower, and a single nave building with the iconostasis inside the church covered with
Renaissance
-style paintings. These churches can be found in Belgrade and Vojvodina, which were occupied by the
Austrian Empire
from 1717 to 1739, and on the border with Austrian (later
Austria-Hungary
) across the Sava and Danube rivers from 1804 when Serbian statehood was re-established.
Icons
[
edit
]
Icons
are replete with
symbolism
meant to convey far more meaning than simply the identity of the person depicted, and it is for this reason that Orthodox
iconography
has become an exacting science of copying older icons rather than an opportunity for artistic expression. The personal, idiosyncratic and creative traditions of
Western European
religious art
are largely lacking in Orthodox
iconography
before the 17th century, when Russian and Serbian icon painting was influenced by religious paintings and engravings from Europe.
Large icons can be found adorning the walls of churches and often cover the inside structure completely. Orthodox homes often likewise have icons hanging on the wall, usually together on an eastern facing wall, and in a central location where the family can pray together.
Insignia
[
edit
]
The
Serbian tricolour
with a
Serbian cross
is used as the official flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as defined in the Article 4 of the SOC Constitution.
[111]
A number of other unofficial variant flags, some with variations of the cross, coat of arms, or both, exist.
[
clarification needed
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
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Further reading
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External links
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Metropolitanates
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Traditional dioceses
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Diaspora dioceses
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Historical
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1346?1463
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1557?1766
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Serbia
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Montenegro
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Bosnia and
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Croatia
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Hungary
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United Kingdom
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United States
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Canada
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Other
countries
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- Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church
, Slovenia
- Serbian Church in Arad
, Romania
- Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Timi?oara
, Romania
- St. Nicholas Serbian Church, Timi?oara
, Romania
- St. George Serbian Church, Timi?oara
, Romania
- St. Sava Church, Paris
, France
- Saint Spyridon Church, Trieste
, Italy
- Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Stockholm
, Sweden
- Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Komarno
, Slovakia
(in care of
OCLS
)
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Notes
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indicate churches in
Kosovo
, which is the subject of a territorial dispute between Serbia and Kosovo.
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