The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC; ), also known as the Serbian Patriarchate (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches. It is one of the nine patriarchates and is traditionally ranked sixth in honor and liturgical precedence, following the four ancient patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem) and the Moscow Patriarchate. The primate of the church is the Serbian patriarch.
The Serbian Orthodox Church exercises exclusive jurisdiction over Orthodox Christians in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, and Slovenia, which together constitute its canonical territory.
The church attained autocephalous status as an archbishopric in 1219 under Saint Sava, its first archbishop. In 1346, it was elevated to the rank of a patriarchate and subsequently became known as the Patriarchate of Peć. Following the Ottoman conquest of Serbia, the patriarchate ceased to function in 1463, but was restored in 1557. It was finally abolished by the Ottoman Empire in 1766, although several regional ecclesiastical jurisdictions continued to exist, most notably the Metropolitanate of Karlovci within the Habsburg monarchy. Following the restoration of Serbian statehood, ecclesiastical autonomy was regained in 1831 through the Metropolitanate of Belgrade, which was granted autocephaly in 1879. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was established in 1920 through the unification of the Metropolitanate of Belgrade with the Patriarchate of Karlovci and the Metropolitanate of Montenegro.
History Christianization of Serbs The history of the early medieval Serbian Principality is recorded in the work De Administrando Imperio, compiled by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959). According to it, the Serbs settled in the Balkans in early 7th century and came under the protection of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641) receiving baptism through the Roman Patriarchate. Modern historians, however, regard this account with caution, suggesting that it may reflect only the baptism of a limited group of Serbian ruling class rather than the entire population. From the 7th until the mid-9th century, the Serb lands remained under the influence of the Roman Patriarchate, although their precise diocesan affiliation remains uncertain. The Christianization of the Serbs was a gradual process that was largely completed during the second half of the 9th century. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence suggests that the adoption of Christian practices among the wider population continued well into the Middle Ages. The spread of Christianity is reflected in the appearance of Christian names among members of the Serbian ruling dynasty, including Petar (Peter), Stefan (Stephen), Pavle (Paul), and Zaharija (Zachary). Prince Petar Gojniković (r. 892–917) was evidently a Christian ruler, and Christianity continued to spread during his reign. The Bulgarian annexation of Serbia in 924 further strengthened ecclesiastical and cultural ties with the Slavic Orthodox world. By that time, the Serbs had adopted the Cyrillic script and Old Church Slavonic liturgical texts, already familiar although perhaps not yet preferred to Greek. Among the earliest surviving manuscripts connected with the Serbian recension of Old Church Slavonic is the 10th- or 11th-century Gospel Book Codex Marianus, written in the Glagolitic script. 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.
Bishopric of Ras The gradual expansion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople into the former Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum began under Emperor Leo III in 731, although whether this jurisdiction immediately extended into the Serb lands remains a matter of scholarly debate. The expansion became firmly established during the mid-9th century, when Byzantine emperors and patriarchs increasingly sought to align ecclesiastical organization with imperial political authority. During this period the Western Balkans were also contested between the Byzantine Empire and the Carolingian Empire. Emperor Basil I actively strengthened Byzantine influence in the region, probably dispatching an embassy to Prince Mutimir, while Serb forces participated alongside those of Zachlumia, Travunia, and Konavle in the Byzantine relief of Ragusa during the Arab siege of 869., , , In 873, Pope John VIII invited Mutimir to recognize the jurisdiction of the restored bishopric of Sirmium, but Mutimir instead maintained communion with Constantinople., ,
According to one scholarly interpretation, a Serbian bishopric was established at Ras during Mutimir's reign as part of the ecclesiastical reorganization confirmed by the Fourth Council of Constantinople (879–880) and the creation of the autonomous Archbishopric of Bulgaria. More recent scholarship, however, considers this hypothesis unproven since no contemporary source mentions a Serbian bishopric during the 9th century, and the Serbian Church may have remained under neighboring episcopal sees. Likewise, Byzantine primary sources contain no evidence for the establishment of a new ecclesiastical centre in Serbia during this period, suggesting that Ras became the seat of a bishopric only by 1019 or 1020. The earliest reliable reference to the Bishopric of Ras appears in the imperial charters of Emperor Basil II issued in 1020 following the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria. These charters established the rights of the Archbishopric of Ohrid and state that the Bishopric of Ras belonged to the autocephalous Archbishopric of Bulgaria during the reigns of Peter I and Samuel. The bishopric was relatively small, and although some historians have suggested that it was founded under Bulgarian rule, others argue that the charters merely establish the latest possible date by which it had become part of the Bulgarian ecclesiastical organization.
Serbian Archbishopric
Serbian prince Rastko Nemanjić, the youngest son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, took monastic vows at Mount Athos in 1192 under the name Sava (Sabbas). Together with his father, who later joined him as the monk Simeon, they restored the abandoned monastery of Hilandar, which became the principal spiritual and cultural centre of medieval Serbia and played an important role in the development of art, literature, and religious life. Sava's father died at Hilandar in 1199 and was later canonized as Saint Simeon the Myroblyte. Sava returned to Serbia in 1207, bringing with him his father's relics, which were enshrined at Studenica Monastery. At the request of his brother, Stefan the First-Crowned, who became the first king of Serbia in 1217, Sava remained in Serbia, where he devoted himself to pastoral work, ecclesiastical organisation, and religious education. During this period he founded several monasteries, including Žiča which would later become the first seat of the Serbian Archbishopric.
Following Serbia's elevation to a kingdom, the reorganisation of the Serbian Church became a matter of increasing importance. In 1219 Sava was consecrated as the first Archbishop of the Serbian Church and received autocephaly from Ecumenical Patriarch Manuel I. In the same year, Sava compiled and promulgated the Zakonopravilo ("Nomocanon"), which established the legal and canonical foundations of the Serbian Church and state. Sava established several new dioceses, appointed bishops to administer them, and travelled extensively throughout the Serb lands to oversee the implementation of the new ecclesiastical organization. The dioceses established during the tenure of Saint Sava as archbishop were: Eparchy of Žiča (which incorporated old Bishopric of Ras), Eparchy of Zeta, Eparchy of Dabar, Eparchy of Budimlja, Eparchy of Moravica, Eparchy of Toplica, Eparchy of Hvosno (which incorporated old Eparchy of Lipljan).
In 1229 or 1233, Sava undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he was received in Jerusalem by Patriarch Athanasius II. During his journey he visited Bethlehem, the Jordan River, and the Mar Saba Monastery, from whom he had taken his monastic name. With the approval of the patriarch and the monastery's brotherhood, Sava acquired the monasteries of Saint John of Patmos on Mount Zion and Saint George at Akona for Serb monks. He also received the icon Trojeručica ("Three-handed Theotokos") from the Mar Saba Monastery, which he later entrusted to Hilandar. On his return journey from the Holy Land, Sava died in Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, where he was buried in the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs. In 1237, his relics were transferred to Mileševa Monastery in Serbia.
In 1253, the seat of the Serbian Archbishopric was transferred from Žiča to the Peć Monastery by Archbishop Arsenije I. Thereafter the Serbian primates alternated between the two seats. Sometime between 1276 and 1292, Cuman forces burned Žiča Monastery, prompting King Stefan Milutin (1282–1321) to restore it between 1292 and 1309, during the patriarchate of Jevstatije II. Between 1289 and 1290 the monastery's principal treasures, including the relics of Jevstatije I, were transferred to Peć Monastery. During Milutin's reign the Gračanica Monastery was built, while under his successor, King Stefan Uroš III, the Visoki Dečani Monastery was constructed under the supervision of Archbishop Danilo II.
First Patriarchate of Peć
The status of the Serbian Archbishopric developed in parallel with the territorial expansion and increasing prestige of the Serbian Kingdom. Over the following century, the Serbian Church reached the height of its power and influence within the medieval Serbian state and the broader Eastern Orthodox world. By the 14th century, Serbian Orthodox clergy had the title of protos at Mount Athos.
On 16 April 1346, King Stefan Dušan convened a Grand Assembly in Skopje, attended by the Serbian Archbishop Joanikije II, Archbishop of Ohrid Nicholas I, Patriarch of Bulgaria Simeon, and various ecclesiastical representatives from Mount Athos. The Assembly formally agreed to and ceremonially enacted the elevation of the Serbian Archbishopric to the status of a patriarchate. The newly elevated Patriarch Joanikije II subsequently crowned Stefan Dušan as the Emperor of the Serbs. The elevation to patriarchal status also led to the reorganization of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, including establishing the patriarchal seat at the Peć Monastery and the promotion of several bishoprics to metropolitanates. At its height, the patriarchate asserted jurisdiction over Mount Athos and a number of ecclesiastical territories previously under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. These developments contributed to the excommunication of Stefan Dušan by Ecumenical Patriarch Callistus I in 1350. In 1375, a reconciliation agreement was reached between the Serbina Patriarchate of Peć and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Among the most significant cultural, artistic, and literary legacies produced under the auspices of the Serbian Church in the medieval period were hagiographies, known in Serbian as žitije, which were composed as biographies of rulers, archbishops, and saints from the 12th through the 15th centuries. These works played an important role not only in shaping the spiritual life of medieval Serbia but also in preserving historical memory and reinforcing dynastic and ecclesiastical legitimacy.