27-924: 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 Orthodox Church under the Serbian Archbishopric and Serbian Patriarchate of Peć . Today, the church is unified under a patriarch who is officially styled as Archbishop of Peć , Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci , and Serbian Patriarch ( Serbian : Архиепископ пећки, митрополит београдско-карловачки, и патријарх српски , romanized : Arhiepiskop pećki, mitropolit beogradsko-karlovački, i patrijarh srpski ). According to
54-543: A local church was promulgated by canons of the ecumenical councils . There developed the pentarchy , i.e., a model of ecclesiastical organization where the universal Church was governed by the primates ( patriarchs ) of the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Empire : Rome , Constantinople , Alexandria , Antioch , and Jerusalem . The independent (autocephalous) position of the Church of Cyprus by ancient custom
81-660: A metropolitan, still having no autocephaly since his province was under supreme jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Sava III Saint Sava III ( Serbian : 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 office as bishop, he worked on
108-659: 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 charter, while Domentijan ( fl. 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 (s. 1309–16)
135-589: 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 Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The status has been compared with that of the churches ( provinces ) within the Anglican Communion . In the first centuries of the history of the Christian church , the autocephalous status of
162-721: The Bogorodica Ljeviška church in Prizren . In 1309 he became the Archbishop. Sava III was an important figure of the development of architecture in Medieval Serbia . Prior to the founding of the Banjska monastery , which Sava III did not survive, King Stefan Milutin consulted with him. In his charters confirming the endowments of King Milutin, he is styled "Archbishop of All Serbian and Maritime Lands ". He rebuilt
189-741: The Russian Orthodox Church (the Moscow Patriarchate), which insists that one autocephalous jurisdiction has the right to grant independence to one of its components. Thus, the Orthodox Church in America was granted autocephaly in 1970 by the Moscow Patriarchate, but this new status was not recognized by most patriarchates. In the modern era , the issue of autocephaly has been closely linked to
216-909: The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later Kingdom of Romania ) in 1878. In late March 1917, following the abdication of the Russian tsar Nicholas II earlier that month and the establishment of the Special Transcaucasian Committee , the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in Georgia, then within the Russian Empire , unilaterally proclaimed independence of the Georgian Orthodox Church . This
243-585: The former Yugoslavia (with the exception of Macedonia ), and also over the Serbian Orthodox diaspora in Western Europe , Australia , and the Americas . 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
270-552: The proclamation of independence of Ukraine and the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The Moscow Patriarchate has condemned it as schismatic, as it claims jurisdiction over Ukraine . Some Orthodox churches have not yet recognized Ukraine as autocephalous. In 2018, the problem of autocephaly in Ukraine became a fiercely contested issue and a part of the overall geopolitical confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between
297-593: The Church of Cyprus by a resolution which conditionally states: "If, as it is asserted in memorials and orally by the religious men who have come before the Council - it has not been a continuous ancient custom for the bishop of Antioch to hold ordinations in Cyprus, - the prelates of Cyprus shall enjoy, free from molestation and violence, their right to perform by themselves the ordination of bishops [for their island]". After
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#1732794128794324-525: The Council of Ephesus, the Church of Antioch never again claimed that Cyprus was under its jurisdiction. The Church of Cyprus has since been governed by the Archbishop of Cyprus , who is not subject to any higher ecclesiastical authority. In Eastern Orthodoxy , the right to grant autocephaly is nowadays a contested issue, the main opponents in the dispute being the Ecumenical Patriarchate , which claims this right as its prerogative, and
351-541: The Moscow Patriarchate and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Historically, within the Patriarchate of Constantinople , adjective autocephalous was sometimes also used as an honorary designation, without connotations to real autocephaly. Such uses occurred in very specific situations. If a diocesan bishop was exempt from jurisdiction of his metropolitan, and also transferred to
378-574: The ancient throne of the Serbian patriarchs in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć on 14 October 2022. The autocephalous Serbian Archbishopric was founded in 1219 by Sava , under the authority of the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople . In 1346, when Stefan Dušan proclaimed himself emperor , he also elevated the archiepiscopal see of Peć to the rank of a patriarchate, creating the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć . This
405-808: The course of the 1848 revolution , following the proclamation of the Serbian Vojvodina ( Serbian Duchy ) within the Austrian Empire in May 1848, the autocephalous Patriarchate of Karlovci was instituted by the Austrian government. It was abolished in 1920, shortly after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918 following the Great War . Vojvodina was then incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes . The Patriarchate of Karlovci
432-621: The current constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church , the patriarch is elected by a special convocation of the Bishops' Council , and serves as the chairman of the Holy Synod . The current patriarch is Porfirije , elected on 18 February 2021. He acceded to this position the next day, following his enthronement in the St. Michael's Cathedral in Belgrade . Porfirije was formally enthroned to
459-403: The direct jurisdiction of the patriarchal throne, such bishop would be styled as an "autocephalous archbishop" (self-headed, just in terms of not having a metropolitan ). Such honorary uses of the adjective autocephalous were recorded in various Notitiae Episcopatuum and other sources, mainly from the early medieval period. For example, until the end of the 8th century, bishop of Amorium
486-659: The end of World War II and after decades of schism. By that time, Bulgaria was ruled by the Communist party and was behind the " Iron Curtain " of the Soviet Union . Following the Congress of Berlin (1878), which established Serbia 's political independence, full ecclesiastical independence for the Metropolitanate of Belgrade was negotiated and recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1879. Additionally, in
513-639: The issue of self-determination and political independence of a nation; self-proclamation of autocephaly was normally followed by a long period of non-recognition and schism with the mother church . Following the establishment of an independent Greece in 1832, the Greek government in 1833 unilaterally proclaimed the Orthodox church in the kingdom (until then within the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate) to be autocephalous; but it
540-681: Was maintained in Belgrade from 1766 afterwards. There were also independent Serbian Orthodox sees based in Karlovci and in Montenegro . 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
567-538: Was merged into the newly united Serbian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Dimitrije residing in Belgrade , the capital of the new country that comprised all the Serb-populated lands. The autocephalous status of the Romanian Church , legally mandated by the local authorities in 1865, was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1885, following the international recognition of the independence of
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#1732794128794594-595: Was not recognized by the Moscow Patriarchate until 1943, nor by the Ecumenical Patriarchate until 1990. In September 1922, Albanian Orthodox clergy and laymen proclaimed autocephaly of the Church of Albania at the Great Congress in Berat . The church was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1937. The independent Kyiv Patriarchate was proclaimed in 1992, shortly after
621-650: Was not until June 1850 that the mother church (i.e. the Ecumenical Patriarchate), under the Patriarch Anthimus IV , recognized this status . In May 1872, the Bulgarian Exarchate , set up by the Ottoman government two years prior, broke away from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, following the start of the people's struggle for national self-determination. The Bulgarian Church was recognized in 1945 as an autocephalous patriarchate, following
648-556: Was only recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1375. After the Ottoman conquest of the Serbian Despotate 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
675-630: Was recognized against the claims of the Patriarch of Antioch , at the Council of Ephesus (431); it is unclear whether the Church of Cyprus had always been independent, or was once part of the Church of Antioch . When the Patriarch of Antioch claimed the Church of Cyprus was under its jurisdiction, the Cypriot clergy denounced this before the Council of Ephesus. The Council ratified the autocephaly of
702-456: Was styled "Archbishop of All Serb and Littoral Lands". Autocephaly Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: Autocephaly ( / ɔː t ə ˈ s ɛ f əl i / ; from Greek : αὐτοκεφαλία , meaning "property of being self-headed")
729-422: Was under the jurisdiction of metropolitan of Pessinus , but was later exempt and placed under direct patriarchal jurisdiction. On that occasion, he was given an honorary title of an autocephalous archbishop , but with no jurisdiction over other bishops, and thus no real autocephaly. Sometime later ( c. 814 ), metropolitan province of Amorium was created, and local archbishop gained regional jurisdiction as
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