Serbia.
Serbia is a historically Orthodox Christian nation, home to the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church, which traces its independence to Saint Sava in 1219 and counts roughly 5.4 million faithful today.
Orthodoxy in
Serbia.
A living tradition — its history, its faithful, its sacred places.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Serbia
Serbia is one of the historic heartlands of Eastern Orthodoxy in the Balkans. The Serbs were gradually Christianized from the Byzantine world during the early Middle Ages, and the country's spiritual identity has been shaped ever since by the Serbian Orthodox Church (Srpska pravoslavna crkva), an autocephalous member of the family of canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Saint Sava and the medieval Church
The decisive moment in the history of Serbian Orthodoxy came in 1219, when Saint Sava, son of the Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja, obtained recognition of an independent Serbian archbishopric. The Serbian Orthodox Church was given autocephaly in 1219, when Archbishop Sava received recognition from the exiled Ecumenical Patriarch, and was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate in 1346 under Emperor Stefan Dušan, with its seat at the Monastery of Peć.
Ottoman period and modern restoration
Under Ottoman rule the Patriarchate of Peć was abolished, restored in 1557, and abolished again in 1766, after which Serbian eparchies fell under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Following Serbia's international recognition as an independent state in 1878, the Church was recognized as autocephalous in 1879. After the First World War and the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918, the various Serbian Orthodox jurisdictions were united and the Patriarchate was restored in 1920.
The Church today
The Serbian Orthodox Church is led by the Patriarch of Serbia, who bears the historic title of Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch. Since 18 February 2021 the primate has been His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije, the 46th in the line of Serbian patriarchs. The Church ranks sixth in the order of primacy among the autocephalous Orthodox Churches and extends beyond Serbia into Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska), North Macedonia, Croatia, and a worldwide Serbian diaspora.
The ecclesiastical territory is organized into a patriarchal see and numerous metropolitanates and eparchies. According to published descriptions, the Church comprises around 39–40 dioceses, more than 3,500 parishes served by roughly 2,000 priests, and some 220 monasteries, which together constitute one of the densest networks of living Orthodox monasticism anywhere in the world.
Faith and public life
According to the 2022 Serbian census, 81.1% of the population of the Republic of Serbia — about 5.39 million people — identifies as Orthodox Christian, making Serbia one of the most confessionally Orthodox countries in Europe. Although Serbia is a secular republic, the Serbian Orthodox Church enjoys a privileged place in national culture: great feasts such as Pascha (Easter), Christmas (celebrated on 7 January according to the Julian calendar), and the family Krsna Slava — the patron-saint day of the household — are observed across much of society. Belgrade's towering Church of Saint Sava stands today as the symbolic center of Serbian Orthodox devotion.
Saints of
Serbia.
1 venerated soul with ties to this land — fathers and mothers of the faith who are remembered here still.
Famous Orthodox churches and monasteries in Serbia
The sacred architecture of Orthodox Serbia — cathedrals, parishes, and the mountain monasteries that keep the lamps burning.
- Church of Saint Sava, Belgrade — Dedicated to Saint Sava, the founder of the autocephalous Serbian Church, and built on the site where his relics were burned by the Ottomans in 1595. With a dome 70 m high and a crowning cross rising to 82 m, it is one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world and the symbolic center of Serbian Orthodoxy.
- Studenica Monastery (near Kraljevo) — Founded in the late 12th century by Stefan Nemanja, founder of the medieval Serbian state; its Church of the Mother of God houses the relics of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming (Nemanja) and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- Žiča Monastery (near Kraljevo) — Built in 1205–1208 by Grand Prince Stefan the First-Crowned and his brother Saint Sava, it served as the first seat of the autocephalous Serbian archbishopric and is traditionally the coronation church of the Serbian kings.
- Sopoćani Monastery (near Novi Pazar) — An endowment of King Stefan Uroš I built from 1259 to 1270 near the source of the Raška River; its frescoes of the Dormition of the Theotokos are regarded as masterpieces of 13th-century European painting and it is listed by UNESCO together with Stari Ras.
- Monastery of the Patriarchate of Peć (Kosovo) — Historic seat of the Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs from the 13th century onward; it is the canonical spiritual center of the Serbian Orthodox Church and part of the UNESCO "Medieval Monuments in Kosovo" World Heritage site.
- Visoki Dečani Monastery (Kosovo) — Founded by King Stefan Dečanski and completed around 1335, it is the largest medieval church in the Balkans and, together with Gračanica Monastery (founded 1321 by King Stefan Milutin), forms part of the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo inscribed by UNESCO.
Orthodoxy
kept here.
The shape of the faith as it is lived and prayed across Serbia today.
Orthodoxy in Serbia is embodied almost entirely in the Serbian Orthodox Church, the national autocephalous Church whose canonical territory covers Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, and much of the Serbian diaspora. The liturgical language is Church Slavonic, with increasing use of modern Serbian for readings, sermons, and some hymnography; services follow the Byzantine rite according to the Julian (Old) Calendar, which is why Christmas in Serbia falls on 7 January.
The Church is governed by the Holy Assembly of Bishops and its standing Holy Synod, presided over by the Serbian Patriarch, who resides in Belgrade. Serbia itself is organized into the Archdiocese of Belgrade–Karlovci and several eparchies, while the historic Monastery of the Patriarchate of Peć in Kosovo remains the Church's spiritual and canonical seat. Relations with the state are governed by the 2006 Law on Churches and Religious Communities, which recognizes the Serbian Orthodox Church among the "traditional" religious communities of Serbia.
A distinctive feature of Serbian Orthodox piety is the Krsna Slava, the annual celebration of the patron saint of a family, inscribed by UNESCO as part of Serbia's intangible cultural heritage. Pilgrimage to the medieval monasteries — Studenica, Žiča, Sopoćani, Mileševa, Gračanica, Visoki Dečani, and the Patriarchate of Peć — remains central to Serbian religious life, together with reverence for national saints such as Saint Sava, Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming (Stefan Nemanja), the Holy Martyr Prince Lazar, and Saint Nikolai (Velimirović) of Žiča and Ohrid.
The Serbian diaspora has given rise to canonical Orthodox parishes on every continent, organized into eparchies of Western Europe, the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Western and Central Europe, all under the Patriarchate in Belgrade.
Asked
of this land.
Frequently asked questions about Orthodoxy in Serbia
Is Serbia an Orthodox country?
Yes. According to the 2022 census, about 81.1% of the population of Serbia — roughly 5.39 million people — identifies as Orthodox Christian, belonging overwhelmingly to the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Which Orthodox Church does Serbia belong to?
Serbia is the home territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church, one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It ranks sixth in the order of primacy among the autocephalous Churches.
When did the Serbian Orthodox Church become autocephalous?
The Serbian Church was granted autocephaly in 1219 through the efforts of Saint Sava, and was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate in 1346 under Emperor Stefan Dušan, with its seat at the Monastery of Peć. After being abolished under Ottoman rule, its autocephaly was renewed in 1879 and its patriarchal rank restored in 1920.
Who is the current head of the Serbian Orthodox Church?
His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije has served as the 46th Serbian Patriarch since his election by the Holy Assembly of Bishops on 18 February 2021 in the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade.
What calendar and language does the Church use?
The Serbian Orthodox Church follows the Julian (Old) Calendar, so Christmas is celebrated on 7 January. Services are served in Church Slavonic, with increasing use of modern Serbian, according to the Byzantine rite.
What is a Slava?
The Krsna Slava is the uniquely Serbian Orthodox custom by which each family honors its own patron saint annually with the blessing of slavski kolač (Slava bread) and koljivo (boiled wheat) by the parish priest. It is inscribed on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.