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This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an
autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Ort ...
archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
in 1219 to today's
patriarchate Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were esta ...
. The list includes all the
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
s and
patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
s that led the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
under the Serbian Archbishopric and
Serbian Patriarchate of Peć The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Српска патријаршија у Пећи, ''Srpska patrijaršija u Peći'') or just Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Пећка патријаршија, ''Pećka patrijaršija''), was an autocephaly, a ...
. Today, the church is unified under a patriarch who is officially styled as ''Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch'' ( sr, Архиепископ пећки, митрополит београдско-карловачки, и патријарх српски, Arhiepiskop pećki, mitropolit beogradsko-karlovački, i patrijarh srpski). According to the current
constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church The Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Устав Српске православне цркве) is a ecclesiastical legal act in Serbian Orthodox Church. History The first and only Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church was ...
, the patriarch is elected by a special convocation of the Bishops' Council,Article 43 of the Constitution of 1957. and serves as the chairman of the
Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...
.Article 58 of the Constitution of 1957. The current patriarch is Porfirije, elected on 18 February 2021. He acceded to this position the next day, following his
enthronement An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite. ...
in the St. Michael's Cathedral in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. Porfirije was formally enthroned to the ancient throne of the Serbian patriarchs in the
Patriarchal Monastery of Peć Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...
on 14 October 2022. The autocephalous Serbian Archbishopric was founded in 1219 by
Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
, under the authority of the
ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
. In 1346, when
Stefan Dušan Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gr ...
proclaimed himself
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, he also elevated the archiepiscopal see of
Peć Peja (Definiteness, Indefinite Albanian language, Albanian Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest List of cities and towns in Kosovo, city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipali ...
to the rank of a patriarchate, creating the
Serbian Patriarchate of Peć The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Српска патријаршија у Пећи, ''Srpska patrijaršija u Peći'') or just Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Пећка патријаршија, ''Pećka patrijaršija''), was an autocephaly, a ...
. This was only recognized by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
in 1375. After the Ottoman conquest of the
Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and ...
in 1459, the patriarchate gradually lost its importance. At times the church was forced by the Ottoman government to install Greeks in the office. From 1766 to 1920 the patriarchate was abolished and all ecclesiastical jurisdiction was given to the patriarch of Constantinople. A metropolitan see was maintained in Belgrade from 1766 afterwards. There were also independent Serbian Orthodox sees based in Karlovci and in
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
. In 1920, the church was reunified and the patriarchy was reestablished with the see moving to Belgrade, but retaining the lineage of the throne of Saint Sava in Peć. The patriarch holds ecclesiastical authority over the Orthodox Church in the territory of the
former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
, and also over the Serbian Orthodox diaspora in
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
.


Styles

Currently, the style of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church is "Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch" (архиепископ пећки, митрополит београдско-карловачки и патријарх српски). The short title is "Serbian Patriarch" (патријарх српски). Historically, various styles have been used. Archbishop Sava (s. 1219–33) was styled "Archbishop of Serb Lands" and "Archbishop of Serb Lands and the Littoral" in the
Vranjina Vranjina ( cnr, Врањина) is a settlement, island, and a hill in Lake Skadar, in the Montenegrin municipality of Podgorica. Until the first half of the 18th century, Vranjina like other islands of Skadar lake, was one of the hills in the Ze ...
charter, while
Domentijan Domentijan ( sr-cyr, Доментијан; c. 1210-after 1264), also known as Domentijan the Hilandarian (Доментијан Хиландарац), was a major figure in medieval Serbian literature and philosophy.Mateja Matejić and Dragan Mili ...
( 1253) used the style "Archbishop of all the Serbian and coastal lands" when speaking of Sava. The fresco of Sava at Mileševa calls him "the first Archbishop of All Serb and Diocletian Lands". Archbishop
Sava III Saint Sava III ( sr, Свети Сава III / ''Sveti Sava III''; died July 16, 1316) was the Archbishop of Serbs from 1309 to 1316. Upon completing his studies, he began as a hegumen in Hilandar, then became the Bishop of Prizren. During his o ...
(s. 1309–16) was styled "Archbishop of All Serb and Littoral Lands".


Legend


Archbishops, 1219–1346


Patriarchs, 1346–1766


Patriarchs, 1920–present


Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:135 left:20 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1920 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1920 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) id:PT value:rgb(1,0.8,0) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Popes PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:Popes from:1920 till:1930 color:PT text:"
Dimitrije Dimitrije (Serbian Cyrillic: Димитрије) is a masculine given name. Dimitrije is a Serbian variant of a Greek name Demetrius. It may refer to: * Dimitrije Ljubavić (1519–1564), Serbian Orthodox deacon, humanist, writer and printer * Patr ...
(1920–1930)" from:1930 till:1937 color:PT text:" Varnava (1930–1937)" from:1938 till:1950 color:PT text:" Gavrilo V (1938–1950)" from:1950 till:1958 color:PT text:" Vikentije II (1950–1958)" from:1958 till:1990 color:PT text:"
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
(1958–1990)" from:1990 till:2009 color:PT text:"
Pavle Pavle ( Macedonian and sr-cyr, Павле; ka, პავლე) is a Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian and Georgian male given name corresponding to English Paul; the name is of biblical origin (cf. Saint Paul). People known mononymously as Pavle in ...
(1990–2009)" from:2010 till:2020 color:PT text:"
Irinej Irinej is the Slavic form of the name Irenaeus. People bearing this name include: *Irinej, Serbian Patriarch (1930–2020), the 45th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (2010–2020). *Irinej Bulović Irinej Bulović (born Mirko Bulović ...
(2010–2020)" from:2021 till:end color:PT text:" Porfirije (2021–present)" barset:skip


See also

*
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
*
Patriarchate of Peć (monastery) The Patriarchate of Peć Monastery ( sr, Манастир Пећка патријаршија, Manastir Pećka patrijaršija, ; sq, Patrikana e Pejës) or the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, is a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery located near ...
*
Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci ( sr-cyr, Архиепископија београдско-карловачка) is the central or patriarchal eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with seat in Belgrade, Serbia.Metropolitanate of Belgrade The Metropolitanate of Belgrade ( sr, Београдска митрополија, Beogradska mitropolija) was an Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical province (metropolitanate) which existed between 1831 and 1920, with jurisdiction over the territo ...
*
Metropolitanate of Karlovci The Metropolitanate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка митрополија, Karlovačka mitropolija) was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713 ...
*
Patriarchate of Karlovci The Patriarchate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка патријаршија, Karlovačka patrijaršija) or Serbian Patriarchate of Sremski Karlovci ( sr, Српска патријаршија у Сремским Карловцима, Srpska ...
*
Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Митрополија црногорско-приморска Српске православне цркве, Mitropolija crnogorsko-primorska Srpske pravoslav ...
** List of metropolitans of Montenegro *
Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia sr, Гркокатоличка црква у Хрватској и Србији , native_name_lang = sh , image = Coat of arms of Đura Džudžar.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = ...
**
Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci The Eparchy of Križevci is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia eparchy of the Catholic Church in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its current eparch is Milan Stipić. The cathedra is in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinit ...
**
Greek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur The Eparchy of San Nicola di Ruski Krstur ( sr, Крстурска гркокатоличка епархија) is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Serbia. It was founde ...
* Religion in Serbia *
Religion in Vojvodina The dominant religion in Vojvodina is Orthodox Christianity, mainly represented by the Serbian Orthodox Church, while other important religions of the region are Catholic Christianity, Protestant Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Demographics ...


Annotations

* The
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
did not recognize the official title of "Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch". However, church records still record these three men as Patriarchs even though they did not serve in full title. They were still known as the guardians or protectors of the "throne of Saint Sava". * The patriarchs hold the title of Archbishop of
Peć Peja (Definiteness, Indefinite Albanian language, Albanian Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest List of cities and towns in Kosovo, city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipali ...
, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and
Serbian Patriarch This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Serbian Ortho ...
and are considered the successors to the Patriarchal throne of Peć. However, the Patriarchy is based in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * *


External links


Serbian Orthodox Church, history
at spc.rs

(''in Serbian'')

from the Orthodox Research Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Heads Of The Serbian Orthodox Church *list Primates of the Serbian Orthodox Church Serbian
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
Orthodox Church heads * * *