Archdiocese of Bar

The first data on the official recognition of the Bar Archbishopric by Rome date back to the end of the 12th century, during the reign of Serbian King Vukan Nemanjić. Entering into negotiations with Pope Innocent III, Vukan managed to secure official confirmation of the existence of the Bar Archbishopric in 1199. In 1571 when Ottomans captured Antivari the Catholic Church in border area and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar began to collapse and main reasons for this is emigration of indigenous peoples, but also immigration of new ethnic and religious element, brought by the Ottomans. Because of a lack of Catholic priests, entire parishes were converted to Orthodoxy. The Archbishops regularly bore titles of "Primates of Serbia" (Primas Serviae), implemented as a permanent part of the title by Archbishop Stephen Tegliatti in 1475. The date when Archbishops of Bar got the title Primate of Serbia is unknown. It is established that since the 16th century they have been freely called Serbiae primas (Primate of Serbia) and totius regni Serviae primas (Primate of the entire Serbian Kingdom). At the request of the Archbishop of Bar, Milinović, Pope Leo XIII explicitly granted him permission to continue using that title on 7 March 1902. In 1923, Traboin, Tuzi, Grude, and Klezna were added to the Archbishopric from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Shkodër. In 1969, the territory of the municipalities of Plav, Gusinje, and Vojno Selo were added to the Archbishopric from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Skopje. The archdiocese's new cathedral is the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle (consecrated in September 2017) in Bar. Its old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is located near Stari Bar. Rrok Gjonlleshaj currently serves as archbishop in the archdiocese. The social arm of the diocese, the "Humanitarian Organisation Caritas of the Archdiocese of Bar" () was registered as a charity in 2002. Today, it operates as a part of Caritas Montenegro. ==Archbishops==