Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠ° ŠæŃŠ°Š²Š¾ŃŠ»Š°Š²Š½Š° ŃŃŠŗŠ²Š° Srpska pravoslavna crkva | |
---|---|
Founder | Saint Sava |
Independence |
1219ā1463 1557ā1766 1920āpresent |
Recognition |
1219 (autocephaly) 1346 (Patriarchate) |
Primate | Serbian Patriarch Irinej |
Headquarters | Belgrade; traditionally Patriarchal Monastery of PeÄ |
Territory | Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia |
Possessions | North, Central and Western Europe, Americas, Australia |
Language | Serbian and Church Slavonic |
Members | 8[1] to 12[2] million |
Bishops | 44 |
Parishes | 3,100 |
Website |
www |
The Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠ° ŠæŃŠ°Š²Š¾ŃŠ»Š°Š²Š½Š° ŃŃŠŗŠ²Š°/Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian Churches. It is the second oldest Slavic Orthodox Church in the world (after the Bulgarian Orthodox Church).
The Serbian Orthodox Church comprises the majority of population in Serbia, Montenegro, and the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is organized into metropolises and eparchies located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, but also all over the world where Serb diaspora lives.
The Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Eastern Orthodox communion. Serbian Patriarch serves as first among equals in his church; the current patriarch is Irinej. The Church achieved autocephalous status in 1219 under the leadership of St. Sava, becoming independent Archbishopric of ŽiÄa. Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in 1346, and was known afterwards as the Serbian Patriarchate of PeÄ. This patriarchate was abolished by the Ottoman Turks in 1766. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was re-established in 1920 after the unification of the Patriarchate of Karlovci, the Metropolitanate of Belgrade and the Metropolitanate of Montenegro.
Historical background
Early Christianity
Christianity spread to the Balkans beginning in the 1st century. Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century; they were murdered along with 300 Christians in Lipljan. Constantine the Great (306ā337), born in NiÅ”, was the first Christian Roman Emperor. Several bishops seated in what is today Serbia participated in the First Council of Nicaea (325), such as Ursacius of Singidunum. In 380, Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius decreed that his subjects would be Christians according to the Council of Nicea formula. Greek was used in the Byzantine church, while the Roman church used Latin. With the definite split in 395, the line in Europe ran south along the Drina river. Tim Judah says that the Roman split resulted in that Serbs are Orthodox and the Croats Catholic.[3] Among old Christian heritage is the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima, established in 535, which had jurisdiction over the whole of present-day Serbia. However, the Archbishopric did not last, as the Slavs and Avars destroyed the region sometime after 602, when the last mention is made of it. In 731[4] Leo III attached Illyricum and Southern Italy (Sicily and Calabria) to Patriarch Anastasius of Constantinople, transferring the papal authority to the Eastern Church.[5]
Christianization of Serbs
Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries. 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. 913ā959). The DAI drew information on the Serbs from, among others, a Serbian source.[6] The Serbs were said to have received the protection of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610ā641), and Porphyrogenitus stressed that the Serbs had always been under Imperial rule.[7] His account on the first Christianization of the Serbs can be dated to 632ā638; this might have been Porphyrogenitus' construction, or may have really taken place, encompassing a limited group of chiefs and then very poorly received by the wider layers of the tribe.[8] The establishment of Christianity as state religion dates to the time of Prince Mutimir (r. 851ā891) and Byzantine Emperor Basil I (r. 867ā886);[9] Porphyrogenitus attests that Croats and Serbs sent delegates asking for baptism, thus Basil "baptized all of them that were unbaptized of the aforesaid nations".[10] The Christianization was due partly to Byzantine and subsequent Bulgarian influence.[9] At least during the rule of Kocel (861ā874) in Pannonia, communications between Serbia and Great Moravia, where Methodius was active, must have been possible.[9] This fact, the pope was presumably aware of, when planning Methodius' diocese as well as that of the Dalmatian coast, which was in Byzantine hands as far north as Split.[9] There is a possibility that some Cyrillomethodian pupils reached Serbia in the 870s, perhaps even sent by Methodius himself.[9] Serbia was accounted Christian as of about 870.[9]
The first Serbian bishopric was founded at Ras, near modern Novi Pazar on the Ibar river.[9] According to Vlasto, the initial affiliation is uncertain; it may have been under the subordination of either Split or Durazzo, both then Byzantine.[9] The early Ras church can be dated to the 9thā10th century, with the rotunda plan characteristic of first court chapels.[9] The bishopric was established shortly after 871, during the rule of Mutimir, and was part of the general plan of establishing bishoprics in the Slav lands of the empire, confirmed by the Council of Constantinople in 879ā880.[9] The names of Serbian rulers through Mutimir (r. 851ā891) are Slavic dithematic names, per the Old Slavic tradition. With Christianization in the 9th century, Christian names appear.[11] The next generations of Serbian royalty had Christian names (Petar, Stefan, Pavle, Zaharije, etc.), evident of strong Byzantine missions in the 870s.[9] Petar GojnikoviÄ (r. 892ā917) was evidently a Christian prince,[9] and Christianity presumably was spreading in his time;[12] also since Serbia bordered Bulgaria, Christian influences and perhaps missionaries came from there, increasing during the twenty-year peace.[13] The Bulgarian annexation of Serbia in 924 was important for the future direction of the Serbian church, and by then, at latest, Serbia must have received the Cyrillic alphabet and Slavic religious text, already familiar but perhaps not yet preferred to Greek.[14]
Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018ā1219)
In 1018ā19, the Archbishopric of Ohrid was established after the Byzantines conquered Bulgaria. Greek replaced Slavic as the liturgical language. Serbia was ecclesiastically administered into several bishoprics: the bishopric of Ras, mentioned in the first charter of Basil II (r. 976ā1025), became part of the Ohrid archbishopric and encompassed the areas of southern Serbia, by the rivers RaÅ”ka, Ibar and Lim, evident in the second charter of Basil II. In the chrysobulls of Basil II dated to 1020, the Ras bishopric is mentioned as serving the whole of Serbia, with the seat at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Ras. Among the first bishops were Leontius (fl. 1123-1126), Cyril (fl. 1141ā1143), Euthemius (fl. 1170) and Kalinik (fl. 1196). It later joined the autocephalous Archbishopric of ŽiÄa in 1219, at the time of Saint Sava.
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 and was partly written in the Serbian redaction of Old Church Slavonic.[15] Other early manuscripts include 11th-century GrÅ”koviÄev odlomak Apostola and MihanoviÄev odlomak.
History
Autocephalous Archbishopric (1219ā1346)
Serbian prince Rastko NemanjiÄ, the son of Stefan Nemanja, took monastic vows at Mount Athos as Sava (Sabbas) in 1192.[16][17] Three years later, his father joined him, taking monastic vows as Simeon. Father and son asked of the Holy Community that the Serbian religious centre be founded at the abandoned site of Hilandar, which they renovated, marking the beginning of a renaissance (in arts, literature and religion). Sava's father died at Hilandar in 1199, and was canonised as St. Simeon.[17] Sava stayed for some years, rising in rank,[17] 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 quarreling brothers Stefan II with Vukan. Stefan II asked him to remain in Serbia with his clerics, which he did, providing widespread pastoral care and education to the people of Serbia. He founded several churches and monasteries, among them the ŽiÄa monastery.[17] Sava brought the regal crown from Rome, crowning his older brother "King of All Serbia" in the ŽiÄa monastery in 1217.[18]
Sava returned to the Holy Mountain in 1217/18, marking the beginning of the real formation of the 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, who was then in exile at Nicaea. In the same year Sava published Zakonopravilo (St. Sava's Nomocanon). Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious.[17] After this, in Serbia, he stayed in Studenica and continued to educate the Serbian people in their faith, and later he called for a council outlawing the Bogomils, who were regarded heretics.[17] Sava appointed protobishops, sending them over all of Serbia to conduct baptisms, marriages etc.. To maintain his standing as the religious and social leader, he continued to travel among the monasteries and lands to educate the people.[17] In 1221 a synod was held in the ŽiÄa monastery, condemning Bogomilism.[19]
The following seats were newly created in the time of Saint Sava:
- ŽiÄa, the seat of the Archbishop at Monastery of ŽiÄa;
- Eparchy of Zeta (Zetska), seated at Monastery of Holy Archangel Michael in Prevlaka near Kotor in Zeta region;
- Eparchy of Hum (Humska), seated at Monastery of the Holy Mother of God in Ston, in Hum region;
- Eparchy of Dabar (Dabarska), seated at Monastery of St. Nicholas in Dabar region;
- Eparchy of Moravica (MoraviÄka), seated at Monastery of St. Achillius in Moravica region;
- Eparchy of Budimlja (Budimljanska), seated at Monastery of St. George in Budimlja region;
- Eparchy of Toplica (TopliÄka), seated at Monastery of St. Nicholas in Toplica region;
- Eparchy of Hvosno (Hvostanska), seated at Monastery of the Holy Mother of God in Hvosno region (northern Metohija).
Older eparchies under the jurisdiction of Serbian Archbishop were:
- Eparchy of Ras (RaŔka), seated at Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul near Ras in RaŔka region;
- Eparchy of Lipljan (Lipljanska), seated at Lipljan in Kosovo region;
- Eparchy of Prizren (Prizrenska), seated at Prizren in the south of Metohija region.
In 1229/1233, Saint Sava went on a pilgrimage to Palestine and in Jerusalem he met with Patriarch Athanasios 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). 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 on 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.
Sava died in Trnovo, capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, during the reign of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria. According to his Life, he fell ill following the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Epiphany, 12 January 1235. Sava was visiting Trnovo 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, January 14, 1235, and was buried at the Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Trnovo where his body remained until May 6, 1237, when his sacred bones were moved to the monastery MileŔeva in southern Serbia.
In 1253 the see was transferred to the Monastery of PeÄ by archbishop Arsenije.[20] The Serbian primates had since moved between the two.[21] Sometime between 1276-1292 the Cumans burned the ŽiÄa monastery, and King Stefan Milutin renovated it in 1292-1309, during the office of Jevstatije II.[20] In 1289-1290, the chief treasures of the ruined monastery, including the remains of Saint Jevstatije I, were transferred to PeÄ.[22]
Medieval Patriarchate (1346ā1463)
The status of the Serbian Orthodox Church grew along with the expansion and heightened prestige of the Serbian kingdom. After King Stefan DuŔan 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 April 16, 1346 (Easter), Stefan DuÅ”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 PeÄ. The new Patriarch Joanikije II now solemnly crowned Stefan DuÅ”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 DuÅ”an's excommunication by Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople in 1350.[23]
Renewed Patriarchate (1557ā1766)
The Ottoman Empire finally conquered Serbian Despotate in 1459, Bosnian Kingdom in 1463, Herzegovina in 1482 and Montenegro in 1499. All of the conquered lands were divided in sanjaks. Although some Serbs converted to Islam, most continued their adherence to the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Church itself continued in existence 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 the failed attempt by Pavle, Archbishop of PeÄ around 1530-1540, the Serbian Patriarchate was finally restored in 1557 under the Sultan Suleiman II, thanks to the mediation of pasha Mehmed SokoloviÄ who was Serbian by birth. His cousin, one of the Serbian Orthodox bishops Makarije SokoloviÄ was elected Patriarch in PeÄ. 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 PeÄ also included some dioceses in western Bulgaria.[24] In the time of Serbian Patriarch Jovan Kantul (1592-1614), the Ottoman Turks took the remains of Saint Sava from monastery MileÅ”eva to the VraÄar 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 because the Greek bishops had very little understanding of their Serbian flock.
Church in the Habsburg Monarchy
During this period, many Christians across the Balkans converted to Islam to avoid severe taxes imposed by the Turks in retaliation for uprisings and continued resistance. Many Serbs migrated with their hierarchs to Habsburg Monarchy where they had been granted autonomy. In 1708, an autonomous Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci was created, that would later become a patriarchate (1848-1920).
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 1817 onwards. The Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia finally regained its independence and became autocephalous in 1879,[25] the year after the recognition by the Great Powers of Serbia as an independent state. This church was known as the Metropolitanate of Belgrade, thus in the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, two separate Serbian Churches existed ā the Patriarchate of Karlovci in the Habsburg Monarchy and the Metropolitanate of Belgrade in the Kingdom of Serbia. The Cetinje Metropolitanate of the Kingdom of Montenegro preserved traditions of the Serbian Patriarchate of PeÄ, its metropolitans (vladika) were titled "Exarchs of the PeÄ Throne"
After World War I all the Orthodox Serbs were united under one ecclesiastical authority, and two Serbian churches were united into the single Serbian Orthodox Church in 1920 with the election of Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije. It 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.
United Serbian Orthodox Church kept under its jurisdiction the Eparchy of Buda in Hungary. In 1921, Serbian Orthodox Church created a new eparchy for the Czech lands, headed by bishop Gorazd Pavlik. In the same time, Serbian Church in diaspora was reorganized, and eparchy (diocese) for the United States and Canada was created.[26] In 1931 another diocese was created, called Eparchy of MukaÄevo and PreÅ”ov, for 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 UstaŔe regime of Independent State of Croatia, which sought to create a "Croatian Orthodox Church" which Orthodox Serbs were forced to join. Many Serbs were killed during the war; bishops and priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church were singled out for persecution, and many Orthodox churches were damaged or destroyed.
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 exiled Serbian monarchy and the nationalist Chetnik movement. 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.
In 1963, Serbian Church in diaspora was reorganized, and eparchy for the United States and Canada was divided into three eprchies. In the same time, some internal divisions sparked in Serbian diaspora, leading to the creation of the separate "Free Serbian Orthodox Church". Division was healed in 1991, and Metropolitanate of New GraÄanica was created, within the united Serbian Orthodox Church.
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 MiloÅ”eviÄ in the 1990s.
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 does not recognize the independence of its Macedonian counterpart. Campaigns for an independent Montenegrin Orthodox Church have also gained ground in recent years. 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.
Many churches in Croatia were damaged or destroyed during the Croatian War (1991ā95). 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 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 BihaÄ 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. Many monasteries and churches in the Zahumlje eparchy were also destroyed. Numerous faithful from these eparchies also became refugees.
By 1998 the situation had stabilized in both countries. Most of the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church was returned to normal use, the bishops and priests returned, and that which was destroyed, damaged or vandalized was restored. The process of rebuilding several churches is still under way, notably the cathedral of the Eparchy of Upper Karlovac in Karlovac. The return of the Serbian Orthodox Church faithful also started, but they are not nearly close to their pre-war numbers, as of 2004.
Due to the Kosovo War, after 1999 numerous Serbian Orthodox holy sites in the province were 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 and several priests have been killed. During the few days of the 2004 unrest in Kosovo, 35 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were damaged and some destroyed by Albanian mobs. 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 in diaspora and full reintegration of the Metropolitanate of New GraÄanica was completed from 2009 to 2011. By that, full structural unity of Serbian church institutions in diaspora was achieved.
Adherents
Based on the official census results in countries which encompass territorial canonic jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church (basically former Yugoslavia), 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 belonging to it) according to the 2011 census,[27] and in Montenegro with 460,383 (74%). It is the second largest faith in Bosnia and Herzegovina with 31.2% of adherents, and in Croatia with 4.4% of adherents. Figures for eparchies abroad (Western Europe, North America, and Australia) is unknown although some estimates can be reached based on the size of Serb diaspora, which numbers over 2 million people.
Structure
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the patriarch, also serves as the head (metropolitan) of the Metropolitanate of Belgrade and Karlovci. Irinej became patriarch on 22 January 2010. Serbian Orthodox patriarchs use the style His Holiness the Archbishop of PeÄ, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch.
The highest body of the Church is the Holy assembly of Bishops (Serbian: Sveti arhijerejski sabor, Š”Š²ŠµŃŠø Š°ŃŃ ŠøŃŠµŃŠµŃŃŠŗŠø ŃŠ°Š±Š¾Ń). It consists of the Patriarch, the Metropolitans, Bishops, Archbishop of Ohrid and Vicar Bishops. It meets twice a year - in spring and in autumn. The Holy assembly of Bishops 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.[28] The Holy Synod takes care of the everyday operation of the Church, holding meetings on regular basis.
Territorial organisation
The territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church is divided into:[29][30]
- 1 patriarchal eparchy, headed by Serbian Patriarch
- 4 eparchies that are honorary metropolitanates, headed by metropolitans
- 35 eparchies (dioceses), headed by bishops
- 1 autonomous archbishopric, headed by archbishop, the Autonomous Archbishopric of Ohrid. It is further divided into 1 eparchy headed by the metropolitan and 6 eparchies headed by bishops.
Dioceses are further divided into episcopal deaneries, each consisting of several church congregations and/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
The Autonomous Archbishopric of Ohrid or Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric is 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, which had had a similar relationship with the Serbian Orthodox Church prior to 1967, when it unilaterally declared itself autocephalous. This archbishopric is divided into one metropolitanate, Skopje, and the six eparchies of Bregalnica, Debar and KiÄevo, Polog and Kumanovo, Prespa and Pelagonija, Strumica and Veles and Povardarje.
Worship, liturgy and doctrine
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.
The Serbian Orthodox Church 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, a concrete ecclesiology, a robust theology of the person, and a therapeutic soteriology.
A key part of the Serbian Orthodox religion is the Slava, a celebration of the Clan Patron Saint, placed into Serb Orthodox religious canon by the first Serb archbishop Saint Sava.
Inter-Christian relations
The Serbian Orthodox Church is in full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (which holds a special place of honour within Orthodoxy and serves as the seat for the Ecumenical Patriarch, who enjoys the status of first-among-equals) and all of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church bodies. It is a member of the World Council of Churches since 1965,[31] and of the Conference of European Churches.
The Serbian Orthodox Church is currently in conflict with the non-canonical Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
Art
Architecture
Serbian medieval churches were built in the Byzantine spirit. The RaÅ”ka style refers to the Serbian architecture from the 12th to the end of the 14th century (Studenica, Hilandar, ŽiÄa). The Vardal style, which is the typical one, was developed in the late 13th century combining Byzantine and Serbian influences to form a new architectural style (GraÄanica, Patriarchal Monastery of PeÄ). 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, KaleniÄ, 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
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
The Serbian tricolour with a Serbian cross is used as the official flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church.[32] A number of other unofficial variant flags, some with variations of the cross, coat of arms, or both, exist.
See also
- List of heads of Serbian Orthodox Church
- List of Serbian Orthodox monasteries
- List of Serbian saints
References
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12 million Serbian Orthodox Christians worldwide
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- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RadiÄ 2010.
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- ā Vlasto 1970, pp. 222, 233.
- 1 2 IstvƔn VƔsƔry, Cumans and Tatars: Oriental military in the pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365, p. 100-101
- ā Serbia: the history behind the name, p. 11
- ā Radivoje LjubinkoviÄ, The Church of the Apostles in the Patriarchate of PeÄ, p. viii
- ā Fine 1994, pp. 309ā310.
- ā Entangled Histories of the Balkans: Volume One: Roumen Daskalov, Tchavdar Marinov, Publisher BRILL, 2013, ISBN 9789004250765, p. 29.
- ā Paul Robert Magocsi: Historical Atlas of Central Europe, University of Toronto Press, 2002
"Even before the creation of a fully autocephalous Serbian Church in 1879, two other distinct Orthodoh bodies came into being in the Balkans." - ā VukoviÄ 1998.
- ā Branka Pantic; Arsic Aleksandar; Miroslav Ivkovic; Milojkovic Jelena. "Republicki zavod za statistiku Srbije". Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ā Š”ŠŠŠ¢Š ŠŠ Š„ŠŠŠŠ ŠŠŠ”ŠŠ Š”ŠŠŠŠ Š”Š ŠŠ”ŠŠ ŠŠ ŠŠŠŠ”ŠŠŠŠŠ Š¦Š ŠŠŠ, the Serbian Orthodox Church web site (in Serbian)
- ā See: List of Eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church
- ā Official SPC site: Eparchies Links (in Serbian)
- ā NikoliÄ, Marko (2011). Ekumenski odnosi Srpske pravoslavne i RimokatoliÄke crkve 1962-2000. godine [Ecumenical relations of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church 1962-2000]. Belgrade: Službeni glasnik. p. 50. ISBN 978-86-519-0795-4.
- ā Srpska pravoslavna crkva (1939). ŠŠ°ŠŗŠ¾Š½Š¾Š“Š°Š²ŃŃŠ²Š¾ Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠµ ŠæŃŠ°Š²Š¾ŃŠ»Š°Š²Š½Šµ ŃŃŠŗŠ²Šµ. ŠŠ·Š“Š°Š²Š°ŃŠŗŠ¾ Šø ŠŃŠøŠ¶Š°ŃŃŠŗŠ¾ ŠŃŠµŠ“ŃŠ·ŠµŃŠµ Š. ŠŠ¾Š½. p. 21.
ŠŠ°ŃŃŠ°Š²Š° Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠµ ŠæŃŠ°Š²Š¾ŃŠ»Š°Š²Š½Šµ Š¦ŃŠŗŠ²Šµ ŃŠµ ŃŃŠ¾- Š±Š¾ŃŠŗŠ°: ŃŃŠ²ŠµŠ½Š¾-ŠæŠ»Š°Š²Š¾-Š±ŠµŠ»Š¾, ŃŠ° Š·Š»Š°ŃŠ½ŠøŠ¼ ŠŗŃŃŃŠ¾Š¼ Šø Š¾Š³ŃŠøŠ»ŠøŠ¼Š°.
Sources
- Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (1967). De Administrando Imperio (Moravcsik, Gyula ed.). Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. (Primary)
- DuÄiÄ, NiÄifor (1894). Istorija Srpske pravoslavne crkve od prvijeh desetina VII v. do naÅ”ih dana. Drž. stamp Kralj. Srbije. (in Serbian)
- DurkoviÄ-JakÅ”iÄ, Ljubomir (1951). Iz istorije Srpske pravoslavne crkve. IzdavaÄko preduzeÄe Narodne Republike Srbije. (in Serbo-Croatian)
- Š”Š»ŠøŃŠµŠæŃŠµŠ²ŠøŃ, ŠŠ¾ŠŗŠ¾ Š. (1962). ŠŃŃŠ¾ŃŠøŃŠ° Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠµ ŠæŃŠ°Š²Š¾ŃŠ»Š°Š²Š½Šµ ŃŃŠŗŠ²Šµ (History of the Serbian Orthodox Church). ŠŗŃ. 1. ŠŠøŠ½Ń ŠµŠ½: ŠŃŠŗŃŠ°.
- Š”Š»ŠøŃŠµŠæŃŠµŠ²ŠøŃ, ŠŠ¾ŠŗŠ¾ Š. (1966). ŠŃŃŠ¾ŃŠøŃŠ° Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠµ ŠæŃŠ°Š²Š¾ŃŠ»Š°Š²Š½Šµ ŃŃŠŗŠ²Šµ (History of the Serbian Orthodox Church). ŠŗŃ. 2. ŠŠøŠ½Ń ŠµŠ½: ŠŃŠŗŃŠ°.
- Š”Š»ŠøŃŠµŠæŃŠµŠ²ŠøŃ, ŠŠ¾ŠŗŠ¾ Š. (1986). ŠŃŃŠ¾ŃŠøŃŠ° Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠµ ŠæŃŠ°Š²Š¾ŃŠ»Š°Š²Š½Šµ ŃŃŠŗŠ²Šµ (History of the Serbian Orthodox Church). ŠŗŃ. 3. ŠŠµŠ»Š½: ŠŃŠŗŃŠ°.
- Fine, John Van Antwerp, Jr. (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08149-7.
- Fine, John Van Antwerp, Jr. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08260-4.
- VukoviÄ, Sava (1998). History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and Canada 1891ā1941. Kragujevac: KaleniÄ.
- MarjanoviÄ, Äedomir (2001). Istorija Srpske crkve. Ars Libri. (in Serbian)
- MileusniÄ, Slobodan (2000) [1989]. Sveti Srbi. Novi Sad: Prometej. ISBN 86-7639-478-4. OCLC 44601641. (in Serbian)
- Pavlovich, Paul (1989). The History of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Serbian Heritage Books. ISBN 978-0-9691331-2-4.
- Pavlowitch, Stevan K. (2002). Serbia: The History behind the Name. London: Hurst & Company.
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- Radmila RadiÄ: Chapter 11 Serbian Christianity in Ken Parry(ed):The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity, John Wiley & Sons, May 10, 2010 pp. 231-248]
- StanojeviÄ, Stanoje (1928). "Narodna enciklopedija srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenaÄka" (PDF). 3: 389ā399.
PeÄska PatrijarÅ”ija
(in Serbo-Croatian) - StojanÄeviÄ, Vladimir (2006). Iz istorije Srpske pravoslavne crkve. Eparhija NiÅ”ka. ISBN 978-86-903325-3-3. (in Serbian)
- Vlasto, A. P. (1970). The Entry of the Slavs into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-07459-9.
- ŠŃŠŗŠ¾Š²ŠøŃ, Š”Š°Š²Š° (1996). Š”ŃŠæŃŠŗŠø ŃŠµŃŠ°ŃŃŠø Š¾Š“ Š“ŠµŠ²ŠµŃŠ¾Š³ Š“Š¾ Š“Š²Š°Š“ŠµŃŠµŃŠ¾Š³ Š²ŠµŠŗŠ° (Serbian Hierarchs from the 9th to the 20th Century). ŠŠ²ŃŠ¾, Š£Š½ŠøŃŠµŠŗŃ, ŠŠ°Š»ŠµŠ½ŠøŃ.
- ŽivkoviÄ, Tibor (2006). Portreti srpskih vladara (IXāXII vek). Belgrade. pp. 11ā20. ISBN 86-17-13754-1. (in Serbian)
- ŠŠøŠ²ŠŗŠ¾Š²ŠøŃ, Š¢ŠøŠ±Š¾Ń (2002). ŠŃŠ¶Š½Šø Š”Š»Š¾Š²ŠµŠ½Šø ŠæŠ¾Š“ Š²ŠøŠ·Š°Š½ŃŠøŃŃŠŗŠ¾Š¼ Š²Š»Š°ŃŃŃ 600-1025 (South Slavs under the Byzantine Rule 600-1025). ŠŠµŠ¾Š³ŃŠ°Š“: ŠŃŃŠ¾ŃŠøŃŃŠŗŠø ŠøŠ½ŃŃŠøŃŃŃ Š”ŠŠŠ£, Š”Š»ŃŠ¶Š±ŠµŠ½Šø Š³Š»Š°ŃŠ½ŠøŠŗ.
- ŠŠøŠ²ŠŗŠ¾Š²ŠøŃ, Š¢ŠøŠ±Š¾Ń (2004). Š¦ŃŠŗŠ²ŠµŠ½Š° Š¾ŃŠ³Š°Š½ŠøŠ·Š°ŃŠøŃŠ° Ń ŃŃŠæŃŠŗŠøŠ¼ Š·ŠµŠ¼ŃŠ°Š¼Š°: Š Š°Š½Šø ŃŃŠµŠ“ŃŠø Š²ŠµŠŗ (Organization of the Church in Serbian Lands: Early Middle Ages). ŠŠµŠ¾Š³ŃŠ°Š“: ŠŃŃŠ¾ŃŠøŃŃŠŗŠø ŠøŠ½ŃŃŠøŃŃŃ Š”ŠŠŠ£, Š”Š»ŃŠ¶Š±ŠµŠ½Šø Š³Š»Š°ŃŠ½ŠøŠŗ.
- ÄirkoviÄ, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
- FotiÄ, Aleksandar (2008). "Serbian Orthodox Church". Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Infobase Publishing. pp. 519ā520.
- SotiroviÄ, Vladislav B. (2011). "The Serbian Patriarchate of PeÄ in the Ottoman Empire: The First Phase (1557ā94)". Serbian Studies: Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies. 25 (2): 143ā169.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Serbian Orthodox Church. |
- Official website
- List of Serbian Orthodox shrines abroad
- Svetosavlje.org (in Serbian)
- Srpsko Blago | Serbian Treasure site - photos, QTVR and movies of Serbian monasteries and Serbian Orthodox art
- Article on the Serbian Orthodox Church by Ronald Roberson on the CNEWA website
- Article on the medieval history of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the repository of the Institute for Byzantine Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (in German)
- Serbian Orthodox holy sites in Kosovo