The Eastern Orthodox Church is the most widespread Christian denomination in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the second most widespread religious group in the country, following Islam and followed in turn by Roman Catholicism. Orthodox Christians in Bosnia and Herzegovina belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church. According to the CIA World Factbook, Orthodox Christians make up 30.7% of the country's population. [2]
The end of the High Middle Ages saw Eastern Orthodoxy firmly establish itself – in the form of the Serbian Orthodox Church – in the east of Herzegovina, namely Zachlumia, following a period of rule by the Kingdom of Serbia. [3] Zachlumia was conquered by Bosnian ban Stephen II Kotromanić in the late 1320s and was henceforth part of the Banate of Bosnia (later kingdom), in which the Roman Catholic Church and the indigenous Bosnian Church vied for supremacy. In this political climate, the Eastern Orthodoxy never seems to have penetrated the medieval Bosnia proper beyond Podrinje. [3] [4]
The Ottoman conquest of the Kingdom of Bosnia in 1463 led to drastic changes in the confessional structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Islam taking root and Orthodox Christianity spreading into Bosnia. Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror vowed to protect Orthodox Christianity and, like all Orthodox churches, the Serbian Orthodox Church enjoyed great support from the Ottoman state. The Ottomans introduced a sizeable Orthodox Christian population into Bosnia proper, including Vlachs from the eastern Balkans. The conversion of the adherents of the Bosnian Church also aided the spread of Eastern Orthodoxy. Later, areas abandoned by Catholics during the Ottoman–Habsburg wars were settled with Muslims and Orthodox Christians. [3] The Ottoman regime consistently favored the Orthodox Church over the Catholic and encouraged conversions of Catholics to Orthodoxy due to political expediency: while the entire Orthodox hierarchy was subjected to the sultan, the Catholics were suspected of conspiring with their brethren outside the Ottoman Empire. [4]
While Bosnian Catholics were only allowed to repair existing sacral objects, a large scale construction of Orthodox monasteries and churches throughout Bosnia started in the northwest in 1515. An Orthodox priest was present in Sarajevo already in 1489, and the city's first Orthodox church was constructed between 1520 and 1539. By 1532, Bosnian Orthodox Christians had their own metropolitan bishop, who took up official residence in Sarajevo in 1699. By the end of the 18th century, the Metropolitan of Bosnia had authority over the Orthodox bishops of Mostar, Zvornik, Novi Pazar and Sarajevo. Even the high-ranking Orthodox clergymen, however, were very poorly educated and corrupt; they were reportedly ignorant of the basic principles of the faith, such as the Ten Commandments, confession, prayers and the importance of the cross. Syncretism was widespread among the Bosnians, with Catholics (as late as the 1880s) and Muslims celebrating the Orthodox slava. [3]
The tide eventually turned against the church, however, when Orthodox clergy renounced loyalty to the sultans and started encouraging and aiding peasant rebellions. The Ottomans abolished the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and, from the late 1760s until 1880, the Orthodox in Bosnia and Herzegovina were directly under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. As such it was led by Phanariotes, Greeks from Istanbul. In the mid-19th century, there were more than 400 Orthodox priests in Bosnia and Herzegovina; it was a time of renewed prosperity for the country's Eastern Orthodoxy. [3] In 1920, following the First World War and the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the area again came under the religious authority of the newly reunited Serbian Orthodox Church, under Patriarch Dimitrije.
Five eparchies (dioceses) of the Serbian Orthodox Church cover the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Regional Council of Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of all five diocesan bishops. The Council is presided by the Metropolitan of Dabar and Bosnia.
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.
The Bosnian Church was a schismatic Christian church in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina that was independent from and considered heretical by both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches.
The Eparchy of Zahumlje, Herzegovina and the Littoral is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its seat in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has jurisdiction over the region of Herzegovina, the littoral region of southern Dalmatia in Croatia and a small part of Montenegro. Since 2018, the bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina has been Dimitrije Rađenović.
The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to as Bosnian Serbs or Herzegovinian Serbs, are native and one of the three constitutive nations of the country, predominantly residing in the political-territorial entity of Republika Srpska. Most declare themselves Orthodox Christians and speakers of the Serbian language.
The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church in modern Montenegro. Founded in 1219 by Saint Sava as the Eparchy of Zeta, it has continued to exist, without interruption, up to the present time, and has remained one of the most prominent dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The current Metropolitan bishop is Joanikije II. His official title is "Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral".
The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Herzegovina lasted from 1463/1482 to 1878 de facto, and until 1908 de jure.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Montenegro refers to adherents, religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Montenegro. It is the largest Christian denomination in the country. According to the latest census of 2011, 446,858 citizens of Montenegro (72.07%) registered as Eastern Orthodox Christians. The majority of Eastern Orthodox people in Montenegro are adherents of the Serbian Orthodox Church. A minor percentage supports the noncanonical and unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which has the status of a religious non-governmental organization (NGO) since its founding in 1993.
A significant number of people in the former Kingdom of Bosnia converted to Islam after the conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 15th century, giving it a unique character within the Balkan region. It took over one hundred years for Islam to become the majority religion. Many scholars agree that the Islamization of the Bosnian population was not violent, but was, for the most part, peaceful and voluntary.
The Church of Saint George, Sopotnica is a Serbian Orthodox church and the protected National Monument located at the village of Donja Sopotnica in the Municipality of Novo Goražde in eastern Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The church stands on the left bank of the Drina River, four kilometres from the town of Goražde. The church was built in 1454 and expended in 1455. Its benefactor was Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, while the patron saint of this church is Saint George of Lydda.
The Eparchy of Dalmatia is a diocese or eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, having jurisdiction over the region of Dalmatia, in Croatia. Since 2017, Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Dalmatia is Nikodim Kosović.
The Metropolitanate of Dabar-Bosnia is a metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, seated in Sarajevo. Since 2017, Metropolitan of Dabar and Bosnia is Hrizostom Jević.
The Eparchy of Banja Luka is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its seat in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has jurisdiction over the north-western regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, or simply Peć Patriarchate, was an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate that existed from 1346 to 1463, and then again from 1557 to 1766 with its seat in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć. It had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Eastern Orthodox Christians in Serbian Lands and other western regions of Southeastern Europe. Primates of the Patriarchate were styled Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch.
The Eparchy of Zvornik and Tuzla is an eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its seat in Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has jurisdiction over the north-eastern regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 2017, Bishop of Zvornik and Tuzla is Fotije Sladojević.
The Eparchy of Bihać and Petrovac is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its seat in Bosanski Petrovac, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has jurisdiction over the western regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 2017, Bishop of Bihać and Petrovac is Sergije Karanović.
Eparchy of Debar and Kičevo was an Eastern Orthodox eparchy (diocese) of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, an autonomous and canonical branch of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North Macedonia. Its historical seat is in the city of Debar. During its existence, the eparchy was under administration of Bishop Joakim Jovčevski of Polog and Kumanovo.
Petar Zimonjić was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church serving as the metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1920 until the beginning of World War II.
Evgenije Letica was a Serbian theologian, Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Banja Luka (1900–1907) and Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosna (1907–1920).
Grigorije Živković was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Hrizostom Jević is a Bosnian prelate of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He has been the metropolitan bishop of Dabar-Bosna since 2017. Jević, formerly a monk of the Krka monastery, has also served as bishop of Bihać and Petrovac (1991–2013) and Zvornik and Tuzla (2013–2017).