The Catholic Church in

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 ...

( sr, Католичка црква у Србији, Katolička crkva u Srbiji) is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. There are 356,957 Catholics in Serbia according to the 2011 census, which is roughly 5% of the population. Catholics are mostly concentrated in several municipalities in northern

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

, and are mostly members of ethnic minorities, such as

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

and

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

Katedrala Svete Tereze Avilske - panoramio

History

The first official

Concordat A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Ed ...

between the former

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

and the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

was concluded on 24 June 1914. Through the Second Article of Concordat, it was decided that the regular Archdiocese of Belgrade should be created. Because of the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, those provisions could not be implemented, and only after the war were new arrangements made. In 1918, Serbia became part of the newly formed

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

. By 1924, the Archdiocese of Belgrade was officially created and the first Archbishop appointed. Negotiations on a new Concordat between the Kingdom and the Holy See were led by the Yugoslav

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Ljudevit Auer and Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (who later become

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

). The Concordat was signed in 1935, but was never officially ratified because of a political crisis in Yugoslavia (1936-1937).

Hierarchy

Within Serbia, the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

Catholic hierarchy consists of one

archdiocese 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 ...

, three

dioceses 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 associat ...

and one

apostolic administration An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

. In addition, the

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 ...

was established in 2002 for

Eastern Catholics The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

of the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...

in Serbia and Montenegro. In 2013, jurisdiction of the Eparchy was reduced to Serbia only. The Diocese of Srijem is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the

Archdiocese of Đakovo-Osijek 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 ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Since 2000,

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

is under the Diocese of Prizren-Pristina,INTERNATIONAL BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF ST. CYRIL AND METHODIUS
''APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATION OF PRIZREN''
/ref> which also covers some Albanian-populated parts of southern Serbia.

Statistics

Bishops' Conference of St. Cyril and Methodius

The International Bishops' Conference of Saints Cyril and Methodius is the International Catholic

Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

that includes Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia. Permanent members are the Catholic bishops and archbishops from the four countries. Two bishops are authorized (Apostolic Exarchate) for jurisdictional districts of the Byzantine rite. As of 2012, the Chairman of the Conference is the Archbishop of Bar Zef Gashi. The conference is a member of the

Council of European Bishops' Conferences The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe ( la, Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae;,CCEE) is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop ...

Notes

External links

Conference of the Saints Cyril and Methodius

Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade

Radio Maria of Serbia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church in Serbia