Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci

Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci (Serbian Cyrillic: Архиепископија београдско-карловачка) is the central or patriarchal eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with seat in Belgrade, Serbia.[1] The head of the eparchy is the Serbian patriarch.

Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci Архиепископија београдско-карловачка
St. Michael's Cathedral
Location
Territory	Belgrade
Headquarters	Belgrade, Serbia
Information
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox
Sui iuris church	Serbian Orthodox Church
Established	1931
Cathedral	St. Michael's Cathedral, Belgrade
Language	Church Slavonic Serbian
Current leadership
Bishop	Vacant
Map

History

History of the eparchy, since 1920

In 1920, after the unification of all Serbian ecclesiastical provinces into one united Serbian Orthodox Church, old Eparchy of Syrmia with its seat in Sremski Karlovci came under direct administration of the archbishop of Belgrade who was also the Serbian patriarch. Formal unification of two eparchies was completed in 1931 when Archbishopric of Belgrade was joined with the Eparchy of Syrmia into the Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci. In that time, the city of Pančevo was transferred from Eparchy of Vršac to the Archeparchy of Belgrade and Karlovci. In 1947, Eparchy of Syrmia and Eparchy of Šumadija were excluded from the Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci and were transformed into separate organizational units. The city of Pančevo was returned to the Eparchy of Banat. Although, the name of the Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci includes the name of the town of Karlovci (Sremski Karlovci), this town is today part of the Eparchy of Syrmia and not of the Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci.

Historical background, before 1920

Eparchy of Belgrade is one of the oldest ecclesiastical institutions in this part of Europe. Ancient Bishopric of Singidunum was an important ecclesiastical center of the late Roman Empire during 4th and 5th century. Its bishops Ursacius and Secundianus were actively involved in religious controversies over Arianism.[2] That ancient bishopric finally collapsed after 584 when ancient Singidunum was finally destroyed by Avars.

After the Christianization of Slavs, eparchy was renewed as late as 9th century. First medieval Bishop of Belgrade who is known by name was Sergije in 878.[3] Since 1018 it belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid.[4] At the end of the 13th century, Belgrade became the capital city of Serbian king Stefan Dragutin and Eparchy of Belgrad came under jurisdiction of Serbian Orthodox Church. At the beginning of the 15th century, during the rule of Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević,[5] metropolitans of Belgrade were among most influential hierarchs of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. Belgrade fell under Turkish rule in 1521, but Serbian Patriarchate was renewed in 1557 with its seat in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć. During 16th and 17th centuries, Serbian bishops of Belgrade were styled as "Metropolitans of Belgrade and Srem".

At the end of the 17th century, regions of Belgrade and Srem were separated. In 1708, when autonomous Serbian Metropolitanate in Habsburg Monarchy was created, Eparchy of Srem became archdiocese of the Metropolitan, whose seat was in Sremski Karlovci. Eparchy of Srem remained part of Metropolitanate of Karlovci until 1920. On the other hand, after the abolition of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1766, Eparchy of Belgrade came under direct jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

In 1831, Eastern Orthodox Church in Principality of Serbia gained its autonomy from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Belgrade became the seat of the archbishop who was now metropolitan of Belgrade. In that time, territory of the archeparchy was very large and included regions of present-day eparchies of Šumadija and Braničevo.

In 1920, the Metropolitanate of Belgrade merged with other Serbian ecclesiastical provinces to form united Serbian Orthodox Church. In the same year, region of Braničevo was separated from the archeparchy and old Eparchy of Braničevo was restored. In 1947, region of Šumadija was also separated from the archeparchy and new Eparchy of Šumadija was created. Since then, the archbishopric was reduced to the inner limits of the City of Belgrade.

Monasteries

There are 12 monasteries within the Archbishopric.

Heads

During the long history of the ecclesiastical seat of Belgrade, many bishops, metropolitans, archbishops and finally patriarchs were seated on the throne of this eparchy.

Bishops and metropolitans of Belgrade, until 1766

Name	Tenure	Notes
Sergije [3]	(around 878)	Bishop of Belgrade
Jovan [6]	(around 1317)	Bishop of Mačva and Belgrade
Isidor [7]	(around 1415-1423)	during the reign of Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević
Grigorije [8]	(around 1438-1440)	during the reign of Serbian despot Đurađ Branković
Joanikije [9]	(around 1479)	received royal charter from king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Filotej [10]	(since 1481)	during the time of titular Serbian despot Vuk Grgurević
Teofan [11]	(around 1509)	he established ties with Russia
Saint Maksim Branković [12]	(died 1516)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Roman [13]	(around 1532)	under Archbishopric of Ohrid
Longin [14]	(around 1545-1548)	under Archbishopric of Ohrid
Makarije [15]	(around 1589)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Joakim [16]	(around 1607-1611)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Avesalom [17]	(around 1631-1632)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Ilarion [18]	(around 1644-1662)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Jefrem [19]	(around 1662-1672)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Elevterije [20]	(around 1673-1678)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Pajsije [21]	(around 1680-1681)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem
Simeon Ljubibratić [22]	(1682—1690)	migrated to Hungary in 1690, with Serbian patriarch Arsenije III Crnojević
Hadži-Simeon	(fl. 1694)
Mihailo [23]	(око 1699—1705)	installed by new Serbian patriarch Kalinik I
Mojsije Petrović [24]	(1713—1730)	since 1718. under Habsburg rule, and since 1726. also Metropolitan of Karlovci
Vikentije Jovanović [25]	(1731—1737)	Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci
Sophronius [26]	(around 1740—1745)	ethnic Greek, Metropolitan of Belgrade
Vikentije Stefanović [27]	(around 1753)	ethnic Serb, Metropolitan of Belgrade, later became Serbian Patriarch
Callinicus [28]	(around 1759—1761)	ethnic Greek, Metropolitan of Belgrade

Under direct jurisdiction of Constantinople (1766–1831)

No.	Primate	Portrait	Personal name	Reigned from	Reigned until	Title	Notes
1	Jeremiah Јеремија Jeremiah			1766	1784	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Greek
2	Dionysius I Дионисије I			1785	1791	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Greek
3	Methodius Методије			1791	1801	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Greek
4	Leontius Леонтије		Leontije Lambrović Леонтије Ламбровић	1801	1813	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Greek
5	Dionysius II Дионисије II		Dimitrije Димитрије	1813	1815	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Serb
6	Agathangelus Агатангел			1815	1825	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Greek
7	Kiril Кирил			1825	1827	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Greek
8	Anthimus Антим			1827	1831	Metropolitan of Belgrade	Ethnic Greek

Autonomous (1831–1879) and Autocephalous (1879–1920)

No.	Primate	Portrait	Personal name	Reigned from	Reigned until	Title	Notes
1	Melentije Pavlović Мелентије Melenthius		Melentije Pavlović Мелентије Павловић	1831	1833	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	Serb
2	Petar Jovanović Петар Peter		Pavle Jovanović Павле Јовановић	1833	1859	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia
3	Mihailo Jovanović Михаило Michael		Miloje Jovanović Милоје Јовановић	1859	1881	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	First tenure
4	Teodosije Mraović Теодосије Theodosius		Teodor Mraović Теодор Мраовић	1883	1889	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia
--	Mihailo Jovanović Михаило Michael		Miloje Jovanović Милоје Јовановић	1889	1898	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	Second tenure
5	Inokentije Pavlović Инокентије Innocentius		Jakov Pavlović Јаков Павловић	1898	1905	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia
6	Dimitrije Димитрије Dimitrius		Dimitrije Pavlović Димитрије Павловић	1905	1920	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch (1920–1930)

Metropolitans of Belgrade and Karlovci (1920–present)

Serbian Patriarchs, Heads of the Holy Patriarchal See of Belgrade (1920–present)
Regnal title: Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch^[B]
No.	Primate	Portrait	Personal name	Reigned from	Reigned until	Place of birth	Notes
1	Dimitrije [I] Димитрије (I) Dimitrius (I)		Dimitrije Pavlović Димитрије Павловић	12 September 1920	6 April 1930	Požarevac, Principality of Serbia	First Patriarch of the reunified Serbian church
2	Varnava [I] Варнава (I) Barnabas (I)		Petar Rosić Петар Росић	12 May 1930	23 July 1937	Pljevlja, Ottoman Empire	Some believe he may have been poisoned
3	Gavrilo [V] Гaврилo (V) Gabriel (V)		Gavrilo Dožić Гaврилo Дoжић	21 February 1938	7 May 1950	Vrujci, Principality of Montenegro	Known unofficially as Gavrilo V Dožić-Medenica
4	Vikentije [II] Викентије (II) Vicentius (II)		Vitomir Prodanov Витомир Проданов	1 July 1950	5 July 1958	Bačko Petrovo Selo, Austria-Hungary	Not known as Vikentije II but entered just as Vikentije. Some believe he may have been second poisoned Patriarch
5	German [II] Герман (II) Herman (II)		Hranislav Đorić Хранислав Ђорић	14 September 1958	30 November 1990	Jošanička Banja, Kingdom of Serbia	Longest reigning Patriarch and only retired Patriarch during his life
6	Pavle [II] Павле (II) Paul (II)		Gojko Stojčević Гојко Стојчевић	1 December 1990	15 November 2009	Kućanci, Austria-Hungary	Not known as Pavle II but entered just as Pavle
7	Irinej [I] Иринеј (I) Irenaeus (I)		Miroslav Gavrilović Мирослав Гавриловић	23 January 2010	20 November 2020	Vidova, Kingdom of Yugoslavia

See also

• Serbian Orthodox Church
• List of the Eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church
• Religion in Serbia
• Eastern Orthodoxy in Serbia

References

1. History of the Archbishopric (in Serbian) Archived February 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
2. Калић 1967, pp. 18-20.
3. Калић 1967, pp. 27, 30.
4. Bulić 2013, p. 221-222.
5. Engel 2001, pp. 232-233. sfn error: no target: CITEREFEngel2001 (help)
6. Вуковић 1996, p. 239.
7. Вуковић 1996, p. 208-209.
8. Вуковић 1996, p. 139.
9. Вуковић 1996, p. 232.
10. Вуковић 1996, p. 497.
11. Вуковић 1996, p. 490.
12. Вуковић 1996, p. 299-300.
13. Вуковић 1996, p. 417.
14. Вуковић 1996, p. 286.
15. Вуковић 1996, p. 297.
16. Вуковић 1996, p. 228.
17. Вуковић 1996, p. 7.
18. Вуковић 1996, p. 194.
19. Вуковић 1996, p. 222.
20. Вуковић 1996, p. 184.
21. Вуковић 1996, p. 391.
22. Вуковић 1996, p. 451.
23. Вуковић 1996, p. 327.
24. Вуковић 1996, p. 333-337.
25. Вуковић 1996, p. 70-73.
26. Вуковић 1996, p. 462.
27. Вуковић 1996, p. 73.
28. Вуковић 1996, p. 273.

Literature

• Ивић, Алекса (1929). Историја Срба у Војводини. Матица Српска.
• Радослав Грујић, Духовни живот, у : Војводина (зборник радова), књ. 1, Нови Сад (1939). стр. 330–414.
• Поповић, Душан Ј. (1957). Срби у Војводини. књ. 1: Од најстаријих времена до Карловачког мира, 1699. Матица српска.
• Поповић, Душан Ј. (1964). Београд криз векове. Туристичка штампа.
• Калић, Јованка (1967). Београд у средњем веку. Српска књижевна задруга.
• Vlasto, Alexis P. (1970). The entry of the Slavs into Christendom. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521074599.
• Вуковић, Сава (1996). Српски јерарси од деветог до двадесетог века (Serbian Hierarchs from the 9th to the 20th Century). Евро, Унирекс, Каленић.
• Curta, Florin (2001). The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500–700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139428880.
• Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Țeicu, Dumitru (2002). Mountainous Banat in the Middle Ages. University Press Cluj. ISBN 973-610-141-X.
• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Engel, Pál (2005). The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526. I.B.Tauris Publishers. ISBN 9781850439776.
• Точанац, Исидора (2008). Српски народно-црквени сабори (1718-1735). Историјски институт САНУ. ISBN 9788677430689.
• Bulić, Dejan (2013). "The Fortifications of the Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period on the Later Territory of the South-Slavic Principalities, and their re-occupation". The World of the Slavs: Studies of the East, West and South Slavs: Civitas, Oppidas, Villas and Archeological Evidence (7th to 11th Centuries AD). Istorijski institut SANU. pp. 137–234. ISBN 9788677431044.