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

. 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

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

, 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

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

Orthodox Church heads * * *