Christianity in Serbia

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Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, one of the largest Orthodox church buildings in the world Khram Svetog Save, Beograd (Cathedral of Saint Sava) - panoramio.jpg
Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, one of the largest Orthodox church buildings in the world

Christianity is the predominant religion in Serbia. The Constitution of Serbia defines it as a secular state with guaranteed religious freedom. Eastern Orthodox Christians with 6,079,396 members, comprise 84.5% of country's population. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest and traditional church of the country; adherents of it are overwhelmingly Serbs. Public schools in Serbia allow religious teaching, most commonly with the Serbian Orthodox Church. Serbian public holidays include the religious celebrations of Eastern Orthodox Christians. Other Orthodox Christian communities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Romanians, Macedonians, and Bulgarians. The Catholic Church is prominent in north Vojvodina amongst the Hungarian minority. Protestantism is most largely found in Slovak populations within Bački Petrovac and Kovačica. Christianity first arrived in Serbia in the 9th century. It became state-religion in the 9th century when Serbia began to identify as a Christian country. In a 2011 census, 91.22% of Serbians identified as Christian.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Early Christianity

Florus and Laurus, who are venerated as Christian martyrs, lived in the 2nd century in Ulpiana (Lipljan) in modern Serbia. According to traditions, they were twin brothers from Constantinople who were employed to build a pagan temple. They gave their salaries to the poor and are said to have cured the son of Mamertin, the local pagan priest, who then converted to Christianity. The temple was reconstructed into a Church, which prompted local pagans to kill the 300 Christians, including all aforementioned. [1]

Remains of the city Justiniana Prima, seat of the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima Tsarichin Grad 4.JPG
Remains of the city Justiniana Prima, seat of the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima

During the Diocletianic Persecution in 304, Sirmium became a place of martyrdom for saint Irenaeus, Anastasia and Fausta. Not much before 313 while emperor Licinius was present in Singidunum, he oversaw trial and murder of deacon Hermylus and Stratonicus whose bodies were thrown in the Danube but resurfaced downriver and were later buried by Christians and venerated as saints. Successor of Irenaeus as bishop of Sirmium was Domnus who attended the First Council of Nicaea. By the mid 4th century, Christian communities on territory of modern-day Serbia were numerous and influential. Sirmium, Singidunum, Naissus, Viminacium, Remesiana, Horreum Margi, Margum and Ulpiana are all mentioned as bishoprics by 343. [2] Bishops Germinius of Sirmium and Ursacius of Singidunum were influential in then ongoing Arian controversy. Four ecclesiastical Councils of Sirmium were important events for whole Christendom. Bishop Nicetas of Remesiana during his long tenure (366–420) contributed much to the spread of Christianity in the region and earliest mention of monastic communities dates from his time.

After the Edict of Milan (313), Kosovo and Metohia came under the jurisdiction of the Thessalonian vicariate; indicated in a letter from Pope Innocent I to the Thessalonian vicar Rufus in 412 that the vicariate included the area of Dardania. Bishopric of Sirmium lost much influence once Huns raided the city in 441/442. In 535 a new archdiocese of Justiniana Prima was formed and was given jurisdiction over most of aforementioned bishoprics. [3] Many new churches and basilicas were built during the reign of emperor Justinian I. However mere decades later entire established ecclesiastic structure collapsed under the impact of Avar raids and Slavic settlement that followed. The last known archbishop of Justiniana Prima and indeed of any bishopric on territory of modern-day Serbia for centuries to come was Ioannes (c. 595-602/3)

Early Middle Ages

The Serbs were baptised during the reign of Heraclius in 610–641 by "elders of Rome" according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his annals (r. 913–959). [4]

In 733, Leo III attaches Illyricum to Patriarch Anastasius of Constantinople. [5]

The forming of Christianity as state-religion dates to the time of Eastern Orthodox missionaries (Saints) Cyril and Methodius during Basil I (r. 867–886), [6] who baptised the Serbs sometime before sending imperial admiral Nikita Orifas to Knez Mutimir for aid in the war against the Saracens in 869, after acknowledging the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. The fleets and land forces of Zahumlje, Travunia and Konavli were sent to fight the Saracens who attacked the town of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) in 869, on the immediate request of Basil I, who was asked by the Ragusians for help. [7] A Serbian bishopric (Diocese of Ras) may have been founded in Stari Ras in 871 by Serbian Knez Mutimir, confirmed by the Council of Constantinople in 879–80. [3] [8]

The adherence is evident in the tradition of theophoric names in the next generation of Serbian monarchs and nobles; Petar Gojniković, Stefan Mutimirović, Pavle Branović. Mutimir maintained the communion with the Eastern Church (Constantinople) when Pope John VIII invited him to recognize the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Sirmium. The Serbs and Bulgarians adopt the Old Slavonic liturgy instead of the Greek. [4] [9]

Notable early church buildings include the Monastery of Archangel Michael in Prevlaka (Ilovica), built at the beginning of the 9th century, on the location of older churches of three-nave structure with three apses to the East, dating from the 3rd and 6th centuries, Bogorodica Hvostanska (6th century) and Church of Saints Peter and Paul. [10]

Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the seat of the Diocese of Ras the oldest known medieval church building of Serbia Petrova crkva 4.jpg
Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the seat of the Diocese of Ras the oldest known medieval church building of Serbia

A Seal of Strojimir (died between 880 and 896), the brother of Mutimir, was bought by the Serbian state in an auction in Germany. The seal has a Patriarchal cross in the center and Greek inscriptions that say: "Strojimir" (CTPOHMIP) and "God, Help Serbia". [11] [12]

In 1019, the Archbishopric of Ohrid is formed after the Byzantines conquers the First Bulgarian Empire. The Greek language replaces the Slavic. [7] Serbia is ecclesiastically administered into several dioceses; The Diocese of Ras , mentioned in 1019, becomes part of the Ohrid archbishopric and encompassed the areas of central Serbia, by the rivers Raska, Ibar and Lim, evident in the second charter of Basil II (r. 976–1025). Among the first bishops are Leontius (fl. 1123–1126), Cyril (fl. 1141–1143), Euthemius (fl. 1170) and Kalinik (fl. 1196). It joined the autocephalous Archbishopric of Zica in 1219, at the time of Saint Sava. [3]

The Diocese (Eparhy) of Prizren is mentioned in 1019, in the first charter of Basil II. [3]

Denominations

Eastern Orthodoxy

Most of the citizens of Serbia are adherents of the Serbian Orthodox Church, while the Romanian Orthodox Church is also present in parts of Vojvodina inhabited by ethnic Romanian minority. Besides Serbs, other adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy include: Romanians, Macedonians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Russians and Greeks.

The identity of ethnic Serbs was historically largely based on Eastern Orthodoxy and on the Serbian Orthodox Church, to the extent that some Serb nationalists claimed that those who are not its faithful are not Serbs. However, the conversion of the south Slavs from paganism to Christianity took place before the Great Schism, the split between the Greek East and the Latin West. After the Schism, those who lived under the Eastern Orthodox sphere of influence became Orthodox and those who lived under the Catholic sphere of influence became Catholic. Some ethnologists consider that the distinct Serb and Croat identities relate to religion rather than ethnicity. With the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, some Serbs and Croats converted to Islam. This was particularly, but not wholly, so in Bosnia. The best known Muslim Serb is probably either Mehmed Paša Sokolović or Meša Selimović.

Serbian Orthodox Church

Zica Monastery Tsrkva Vaznesenja Gospodnjeg u manastiru Zhicha.jpg
Žiča Monastery

The church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia.[ citation needed ] It is the second oldest Slavic Eastern Orthodox Church in the world (after the Bulgarian Orthodox Church). [13]

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the dominant church in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more than 84% of the population being adherents in all three. It is organized into metropolises and eparchies located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, but also in surrounding countries, and all over the world. Since many Serbs have emigrated to foreign countries, there are now Serbian Orthodox communities worldwide.

The Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Eastern Orthodox communion. The Serbian Patriarch serves as first among equals in his church; the current patriarch is Irinej. The Church achieved autocephalous status in 1219 under the leadership of St. Sava, becoming independent Archbishopric of Žiča. Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in the 14th century, and was known afterwards as the Patriarchate of Peć. This patriarchate was abolished by the Ottoman Turks in 1766. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was established in 1920 after the unification of the Patriarchate of Karlovci and the Metropolitanate of Belgrade.

The Serbian Orthodox Church owns many significant Christian relics, such as the right hand of John the Baptist, Saint George's hand and skull parts, [14] Holy Cross segments, St. Paraskevi's finger and body of St. Basil of Ostrog, among others.

Catholic Church

St. Theresa of Avila Cathedral in Subotica Katedrala Svete Tereze Avilske - panoramio.jpg
St. Theresa of Avila Cathedral in Subotica

The Catholic Church is present mostly in the northern part of Vojvodina, notably in the municipalities with Hungarian ethnic majority and in the polyethnic municipalities of Subotica and Bečej. The ethnic groups whose members are mostly adherents of the Catholic Church are: Hungarians, Croats, Bunjevci, Germans, Slovenes, Czechs, Šokci, Poles, etc. A smaller number of Serbs, Romani, Yugoslavs, and Slovaks are also adherents of the Catholic Church. In the disputed region of Kosovo, Catholics constitute 2.2% of the population, according to the 2011 census. [15] The ethnic Rusyns and a smaller part of the ethnic Ukrainians are adherents of the Eastern Catholic Church.

Protestant Christianity

Prayer House of Nazarene Christian Community in Novi Sad Novi Sad, Prayer House of Nazarene Christian Community.jpg
Prayer House of Nazarene Christian Community in Novi Sad

The largest concentration of the Protestant Christians in Serbia is in the municipalities of Bački Petrovac and Kovačica, where the absolute or relative majority of the population are ethnic Slovaks, most of them adherents of Protestant Christianity. Some members of other ethnic groups (especially Serbs in absolute terms and Hungarians and Germans in proportional terms) are also adherents of various forms of Protestant Christianity.

There are various Protestant groups in the country, including Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists and Evangelical Baptists (Nazarene). Many of these groups are situated in the culturally diverse province of Vojvodina. Prior to World War II, the number of Protestants in the region was larger.

Western Orthodox Church

The Western Orthodox (before 1985 known as Old Catholic) Church existed in Yugoslavia since 1921. Nowadays, the only representative of Old Catholic Churches in Serbia is Orthodox - Old Catholic General vicariate of St. Methodius, a canonically established organ of World Council of National Old Catholic Churches (distinct from The Utrecht Union). It is a member of World Council of Churches and was granted autonomy. In 2015., General Vicariate of St. Methodius was recognized as a legal successor of former Western Orthodox Church in Yugoslavia, because they share the same dogmas. Serbian Orthodox Church doesn't look at General Vicariate as its sister church, but as an opponent.

Jehovah's Witnesses

The Jehovah's Witnesses are active in Serbia since 1930. This community have its seat in Zemun. In 1937, the authorities of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia banned the activity of the community, but it was reestablished in 1953. According to 2002 census, there was 2,191 Jehovah's Witnesses in Serbia, while according to 2009 estimation their number was 3,871. [16]

Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) are active in Serbia since 1992 and Seat of the LDS community in Serbia is in Belgrade. There is also LDS meetinghouse in Novi Sad. The Book of Mormon is also translated into Serbian language and printed in Serbian Cyrillic script.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Orthodox Church</span> Second-largest Christian church

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 230 million baptised members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by them as primus inter pares, a title formerly given to the patriarch of Rome. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played an especially prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly known simply as the Orthodox Church is a communion composed of up to seventeen separate autocephalous (self-governing) hierarchical churches that profess Eastern Orthodoxy and recognise each other as canonical (regular) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principality of Serbia (early medieval)</span> Early Medieval state of Serbia

The Principality of Serbia was one of the early medieval states of the Serbs, located in the western regions of Southeastern Europe. It existed from the 8th century up to c. 969–971 and was ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty. Its first ruler known by name was Višeslav who started ruling around 780. While by that time, starting from the year 680–681, the Bulgarian state had taken the lands to the east. Vlastimir resisted and defeated the Bulgarian army in a three-year-war (839–842), and the two powers lived in peace for some decades. Vlastimir's three sons succeeded in ruling Serbia together, although not for long; Serbia became a key part in the power struggle between the Byzantines and Bulgarians, predominantly allied with the Byzantines, which also resulted in major dynastic wars for a period of three decades. The principality was annexed in 924 by Simeon I and subjected to Bulgarian rule until 933 when Serbian prince Časlav was established as ruler of the Serbian land, becoming the most powerful ruler of the Vlastimirović dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris I of Bulgaria</span> Knyaz of Bulgaria from 852 to 889

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbian Orthodox Church</span> Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulgarian Orthodox Church</span> Autocephalous jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Church

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and the oldest Slavic Orthodox church, with some 6 million members in Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2 million members in a number of other European countries, Asia, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It was recognized as autocephalous in 1945 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

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Mutimir was prince of the first Serbian Principality from ca. 850 until 891. He defeated the Bulgar army, and allied himself with the Byzantine emperor, and the Church in Serbia with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

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References

  1. ↑ "Martyr Florus of Illyria". Orthodox Church in America. 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  2. ↑ Zivota Jocic. Episkopija Remezijanska.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren
  4. 1 2 De Administrando Imperio
  5. ↑ A collection of dated Byzantine lead seals, page 47: "733... Church of Constantinople"
  6. ↑ "From Eastern Roman to Byzantine: transformation of Roman culture (500-800)". Indiana University Northwest. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Vladimir Corovic: Istorija srpskog naroda". Rastko.rs. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  8. ↑ Vlasto, A. P.; Vlasto (2 October 1970). The entry of the Slavs into Christendom: an introduction to the medieval ... - A. P. Vlasto - Google Boeken. CUP Archive. ISBN   9780521074599 . Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  9. ↑ The wars of the Balkan Peninsula: their medieval origins ISBN   0-8108-5846-0
  10. ↑ "Đorđe Janković: SERBIAN MARITIME FROM 7th TO 10th CENTURY, Summary of the monograph [Projekat Rastko]". Rastko.rs. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  11. ↑ Živković 2007, p. 23-29.
  12. ↑ "www.glas-javnosti.co.yu". Arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  13. ↑ Eparhija-dalmatinska.hr
  14. ↑ Србија : Мошти светог Ђорђа у Прокупљу : ПОЛИТИКА
  15. ↑ "Kosovo Population and Housing Census 2011 - Final Results: Quality Report". unstats.un.org. United Nations Statistics Division. 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  16. ↑ Zorica Kuburić, Verske zajednice u Srbiji i verska distanca, Novi Sad, 2010, pages 211-212.

Sources

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