Early Christianity Christianity started to spread throughout
Southeastern Europe during the first century AD. Early martyrs
Florus and Laurus from the second century, who were murdered along with other 300 Christians in (modern-day , Kosovo) are venerated as
Christian saints. Bishop
Irenaeus of Sirmium was also martyred, in 304. Emperor
Constantine the Great (), born in (modern-day ), was the first Christian ruler of the
Roman Empire. Several local bishops, seated in present-day Serbia, became prominent during the fourth century, such as
Germinius of Sirmium,
Ursacius of Singidunum and
Secundianus of Singidunum (modern-day
Belgrade), while
several Councils were held in (modern-day ). In 395, the Empire was divided, and its eastern half later became the
Eastern (Byzantine) Empire. In 535, Emperor
Justinian I created the
Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima, centred in the emperor's birth-city of
Justiniana Prima, near modern-day
Lebane, Serbia. The archbishopric had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all provinces of the
Diocese of Dacia. By the beginning of the seventh century, Byzantine provincial and ecclesiastical order in the region was destroyed by invading
Avars and
Slavs. Church life was renewed in the same century in the provinces of
Illyricum and
Dalmatia after a more pronounced
Christianisation of the Serbs and other Slavs by the
Roman Patriarchate (). In the seventh and mid-eighth centuries the area was not under the jurisdiction of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Christianisation of Serbs The history of the
early medieval Serbian Principality is recorded in the work (), compiled by Byzantine Emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (). The drew information on the Serbs from, among others, a Serbian source. The Serbs were said to have received the protection of Emperor
Heraclius (), and Porphyrogenitus stressed that the Serbs had always been under Imperial rule. According to , the Serbs at first received their baptism from the . His account on the first
Christianisation of the Serbs can be dated from 632 to 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 seventh until the mid-ninth century, the Serbs were under influence of the . The initial ecclesiastical affiliation with a specific diocese is uncertain, probably was not an Adriatic centre. Early medieval Serbs are accounted as Christian by the 870s, but it was a process that ended in the late ninth 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 Christianisation" 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 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-ninth century, when the Byzantine emperors and patriarch demanded that 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 of . Basil I likely sent at least one embassy to Prince
Mutimir of Serbia, who decided to maintain the communion of Church in Serbia with the when
Pope John VIII invited him to return to the jurisdiction of the bishopric of (see also
Archbishopric of Moravia) in a letter dated to May 873.
Alexis P. Vlasto argued that the
Eparchy of Ras was founded during 's rule, as a bishopric of Serbia, at with the
Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, as part of the general plan of establishing bishoprics in the Slavic lands of the Empire, confirmed by the
Fourth Council of Constantinople in 879–880, most significantly related to the creation of the autonomous
Archbishopric of Bulgaria () of which the lost jurisdiction. However, according to , 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. concluded, based on primary sources of the , that there was no information regarding the establishment of any new ecclesiastical centre and organisation in Serbia, that the Serbian ecclesiastical centre and capital was at
Destinikon, while in the mid-ninth century was only a border fort which became the ecclesiastical centre of the bishopric by 1019 or 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 of , stating it belonged to the autocephalous during the reigns of
Peter I (927–969) and
Samuel (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 . The Bishopric was probably part of the Bulgarian
metropolis of Morava, but certainly not of . If it was in Serbian territory, it seems that the Church in Serbia or part of the territory of Serbia became linked and influenced by the between 870 and 924. With Christianisation in the ninth century, Christian names appear among the members of Serbian dynasties, like (
Peter), (
Stephen), (
Paul), and (
Zechariah). Prince () was evidently a Christian ruler, and Christianity was presumably 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 script and Slavic religious texts, already familiar but perhaps not yet preferred to Greek.
Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018–1219) 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
archbishopric. The now archbishopric remained an
autocephalous church, separate from the . 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, the Bishopric of Serbia was mentioned, whilst in the second charter of Basil II, dated 1020, the
Bishopric of Ras is mentioned, with its
cathedra at the
Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The tenth- or eleventh-century Gospel Book , written in
Old Church Slavonic in the
Glagolitic 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 12th-century
Gršković's fragment of the Acts of the Apostles and
Mihanović's fragment of the Acts of the Apostles.
Autocephalous Archbishopric (1219–1346) ,
Equal to the apostles, first Serbian archbishop Serbian prince , son of Grand Prince , 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 , which they renovated. This marked the beginning of a renaissance (in
arts,
literature and
religion). Sava's father died at in 1199 and was canonised as St. Simeon the Myroblyte. 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
Studenica Monastery, after reconciling his two quarrelling brothers and . asked him to remain in Serbia with his clerics, which he did, providing widespread pastoral care and education to the people. Sava founded several churches and monasteries, among them . In 1217, was proclaimed
King of Serbia, and various questions regarding church reorganisation were opened. St Sava returned to the Holy Mountain in 1217 or 1218, 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
Manuel I of Constantinople, then in exile at
Nicaea. In the same year, Sava published (St. Sava's Nomocanon). Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious. After this, in Serbia, Sava stayed in 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 organise 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 monastery, condemning
Bogomilism. The following seats were newly created in the time of Saint Sava: •
Eparchy of Žiča () the seat of the Archbishop at
Monastery of Žiča; •
Eparchy of Zeta (), seated at Monastery of Holy Archangel Michael on
Miholjska Prevlaka island near
Tivat and
Kotor in
Zeta region; •
Eparchy of Hum (), seated at
Monastery of the Holy Mother of God in
Ston, in
Hum region; •
Eparchy of Dabar (), seated at
Monastery of St. Nicholas in
Dabar (region); • Eparchy of Moravica (), seated at
Monastery of St. Achillius in
Moravica župa; •
Eparchy of Budimlja (), seated at
Monastery of St. George in
Budimlja region; • Eparchy of Toplica (), seated at
Monastery of St. Nicholas in
Toplica region; • Eparchy of Hvosno (), seated at
Monastery of the Holy Mother of God in
Hvosno region (northern
Metohija). Older eparchies under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Archbishop were: •
Eparchy of Ras (), seated at
Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul near in
Raška region; •
Eparchy of Lipljan (), seated at in
Kosovo; •
Eparchy of Prizren (), seated at in . In 1229 or 1233, Sava went on a pilgrimage to
Palestine and in
Jerusalem he met with Patriarch
Athanasius II. Sava saw
Bethlehem where
Jesus was born, the
Jordan River where
Christ was baptised, and the Great Lavra of Saint
Sabbas the Sanctified (
Mar Saba monastery), his namesake. Sava asked Athanasius II, his host, and the Great Lavra fraternity, led by
hegoumenos Nicholas, 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 Sava and he, in turn, bequeathed it to
Hilandar. St 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. 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
Mileševa in southern Serbia. In 1253 the see was transferred to the
Monastery of Peć by Archbishop Arsenije. The Serbian primates had since moved between the two. Sometime between 1276 and 1292 the
Cumans burned Monastery, and King (1282–1321) renovated it in from 1292 to 1309, during the patriarchate of
Jevstatije II. Between 1289 and 1290, the chief treasures of the ruined monastery, including the
relics of
Saint Jevstatije I, were transferred to Monastery. During the rule of the same king, the
Monastery of Gračanica was also renewed, and during the reign of King (1321–1331), the
Monastery of Dečani was built, under the supervision of Archbishop .
Medieval Patriarchate (1346–1463) The status of the Serbian Orthodox Church grew along with the expansion and heightened prestige of the
Serbian Kingdom. After King 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 SOC 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), convoked a grand assembly at
Skopje, attended by the Serbian Archbishop
Joanikije II, Archbishop
Nicholas I of Ohrid,
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 the
Patriarch of Serbs and Greeks, with the seat at . The new Patriarch
Joanikije II solemnly crowned as "
Emperor and
autocrat of
Serbs and
Romans" (see
Emperor of Serbs). The patriarchal status resulted in the elavation of bishoprics to
metropolitanates, such as the
Metropolitanate of Skopje. The patriarchate took over sovereignty on Athos and the Greek archbishoprics under the jurisdiction of the (the Archbishopric of Ohrid remained autocephalous), which resulted in 's excommunication by
Callistus I of Constantinople in 1350. In 1375, an agreement between the SOC and the was reached. The
1389 Battle of Kosovo and its aftermath had a lasting influence on medieval legacy and later traditions of the SOC. In 1455, when the Ottoman Turks conquered the patriarchal seat in ,
Arsenije II found temporary refuge in , the capital city of the
Serbian Despotate. Among cultural, artistic and literary legacies created under the auspices of the SOC during the medieval period were
hagiographies, known in Serbian as , that were written as biographies of rulers, archbishops and saints from the 12th up to the 15th century.
Renewed Patriarchate (1557–1766) during the 16th and 17th centuries The
Ottoman Empire conquered the
Serbian Despotate in 1459, the
Bosnian Kingdom in 1463,
Herzegovina in 1482 and
Zeta in 1496. All of the conquered lands were divided into
sanjaks. Although some Serbs converted to
Islam, most continued their adherence to the SOC. The church itself continued to exist throughout the Ottoman period, though not without some disruption. After the death of
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 which exercised jurisdiction over all Orthodox of the Ottoman Empire under the
millet system. The process of falling under the rule of the Ohrid Church unfolded at the same pace as the Serbian lands were coming under Turkish rule. Where there was no Turkish authority, the archbishops of Ohrid could not extend their jurisdiction. There are several instances that point to the quite independent activity of certain Serbian bishops, who are mentioned without any indication that they were subject to the Archbishop of Ohrid. This applies, above all, to the
Metropolitan of Zeta (until 1496), then to the
Metropolitan of Herzegovina, who resided in the
Mileševa Monastery (until 1482), and to the
Metropolitan of Belgrade, who was under
Hungarian rule (until 1526). After several failed attempts, made from up to 1541 by Metropolitan
Pavle of Smederevo to regain the
autocephaly by seizing the throne of and proclaiming himself not only Archbishop of , but also Serbian patriarch, the Serbian patriarchate was finally restored in 1557 under the
Sultan Suleiman I, thanks to the mediation of
pasha , who was a Serb by birth. His cousin, one of the Serbian bishops was elected patriarch in . 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 also included some dioceses in western Bulgaria. During the reign of (1592–1614), the Ottoman Turks took the
relics of Saint Sava from to
Vračar hill in
Belgrade where they were subsequently burned by on a stake to intimidate the Serbs in case of revolts (see
1594 Banat Uprising). The
Temple of Saint Sava would later be built on the place where his relics were burned. After consequent Serbian uprisings against Ottoman rule in which Serbian clergy had a leading role, the Ottomans abolished the patriarchate once again in 1766. The Serb-inhabited territories came under jurisdiction.
Church in the Habsburg Monarchy (), leader of the
Great Serbian Migration of 1690 During this period, Christians across the Balkans were
under pressure to convert to Islam to avoid severe taxes (such as the
Jizya) imposed by the Ottomans in retaliation for uprisings and continued resistance. The success of Islamisation was limited to certain areas, with the majority of the Serb 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 (1770) and (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 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 church in the
Principality of Serbia gained its
autonomy in 1831 and was organised as the
Metropolitanate of Belgrade, remaining under the
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Serbia gained full political (
de jure) independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, and soon after those negotiations were initiated with the , 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 , 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 . In the southern eparchies, that remained under 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 (
Kingdom of Montenegro after 1910). During the
Serbian campaign of
World War I (1914–1918), the SOC suffered massive casualties.
Reunification After the liberation and political unification achieved through creation of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918), all Orthodox Serbs were united under one ecclesiastical authority, and all Orthodox ecclesiastical provinces and eparchies were united into the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1920. The first primate of the united SOC was (). 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 SOC kept under its jurisdiction the
Eparchy of Buda in Hungary. In 1921, the SOC created a new eparchy for the
Czech lands, headed by Bishop . At the same time, the Serbian Church among the
diaspora was reorganised, and an
eparchy for the United States and Canada was created. In 1931 another diocese was created, called the
Eparchy of Mukačevo and Prešov, for the Eastern Orthodox Christians in Slovakia and
Carpathian Ruthenia. During the
Second World War the SOC suffered severely from persecutions by the occupying powers and the rabidly
anti-Serbian regime of the
Independent State of Croatia (NDH), which sought to create a "
Croatian Orthodox Church" which some Orthodox Serbs were forced to join, while many other Serbs were killed, expelled or
forced to convert to Catholicism during the
Serbian Genocide; bishops and priests were singled out for persecution, and many 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 prior to being killed, such as , , and , all of whom would later be
canonised. In the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 71 Orthodox priests were killed by the , 10 by the
Partisans, 5 by the Germans, and 45 died in the first decade after the end of WWII.
Under communist rule and
Palace of the Serbian Patriarchate in
Belgrade After the war, the church was suppressed by the
communist government of , which viewed it with suspicion due to the church's links with the leadership from the period of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Serbian nationalist
Chetnik movement. According to , 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 , 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. In 1963, the Serbian Church among the
Serb diaspora was reorganised, and the eparchy for the United States and Canada was divided into three separate eparchies. At the same time, some internal divisions sparked in thediaspora, leading to the creation of the separate "Free Serbian Orthodox Church" under Bishop . The schism was healed in 1991, resulting in the establishment of the
Metropolitanate of New Gračanica, 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. 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.
Pavle II supported the opposition to in the 1990s. Since the establishment of the Yugoslav federal unit of
Macedonia in 1944, communist authorities restricted the activities of SOC in that region, favoring the creation of a separate church body. The
Macedonian Orthodox Church was created in 1967, effectively as an offshoot of the SOC 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 SOC, which did not recognise 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 organisation 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 is one of the
largest Orthodox churches in the world, built at the site where the
relics of Saint Sava were incinerated by the Ottomans. The
Yugoslav wars greatly impacted the Serbian Orthodox Church. During this time, the church was embroiled during 's policies and the wars in
Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
Kosovo. Many Orthodox churches in Croatia were damaged or destroyed during the war in Croatia (1991–1995). The clergy, including bishops, and most laypeople of the eparchies of , of , of
Slavonia and of
Dalmatia became refugees; the latter three were almost completely abandoned after the exodus of the Serbs from Croatia in 1995 due to
Operation Storm. The Eparchy of Dalmatia also had its see temporarily moved to after the self-proclaimed
proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina was established. The Еparchy of Slavonia had its see moved from to . After Operation Storm,
Krupa Monastery was particularly damaged, and
Krka Monastery was looted. The Eparchies of
Bihać and Petrovac, and
Zvornik and Tuzla were also dislocated due to the
war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
see of was temporarily moved to , and the see of to . Over a hundred church-owned objects in the Еparchy were destroyed or damaged during the war. Many monasteries and churches in the
Eparchy of Zahumlje were also destroyed as part of the widespread devastation of Orthodox religious heritage. Numerous faithful from these eparchies also became refugees during the conflict. By 1998, the situation had stabilised in both countries. The clergy and many of the faithful returned; most of the property of the SOC was returned to normal use and damaged and destroyed properties were restored. The process of rebuilding several churches is still underway, notably the cathedral of the
Eparchy of Upper Karlovac in . 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 by Kosovo Albanians on Serbian churches and Serbs. The process of church reorganisation among the
Serb diaspora and full reintegration of the Metropolitanate of New was completed from 2009 to 2011. By that, full structural unity of SOC institutions in the diaspora was achieved. ==Adherents==