Orthodoxy in Serbia

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Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the main religion in Serbia, with 6,371,584 followers or 84% of the population. Orthodox Christianity is the religion of ethnic Serbs, Romanians (including Vlachs and Aromanians), Montenegrins, Macedonians and Bulgarians living in Serbia.

Orthodox Churches in Serbia

^{Ethnic groups in Serbia by Orthodox Christian Church:}

• Serbian Orthodox Church
  • Serbs
  • Macedonians^{[citation needed]}
  • Bulgarians^{[citation needed]}
  • Roma^{[citation needed]}
• Romanian Orthodox Church (Minority)
  • Romanians^[1][2] (including Vlachs(Romanians))^[3][4]

Romanian Orthodox Church, Malajnica, built in 2004, is the first Romanian church in eastern Serbia in 170 years, during which time Romanians in Timoc had not been allowed to hear liturgy services in their native language.^[5][6][7] The Romanian church and the priest Bojan Aleksandrović were persecuted by the Serbian authorities.^[8][9]

History

Serbian Church in the Middle Ages

The identity of ethnic Serbs was historically based on Orthodox Christianity; the Serbian Orthodox Church, to the extent that some people claimed that those who were not Orhodox, were not Serbs. The Christianization of the Serbian lands took place in the 9th century, and Serbia (the Serbian Principality) is accounted Christian as of 870,^[10] when the Eparchy of Ras and Braničevo were founded, confirmed by the Eighth Ecumenical Council (879-880).^[11] The Serbian bishoprics became part of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, after the Byzantine conquest of the Bulgarian Empire in 1018. The Greek language replaced the Slavic in liturgical language.^[12] Among the first bishops are Leontius (fl. 1123-1126), Cyril (fl. 1141–1143), Euthemius (fl. 1170) and Kalinik (fl. 1196).

With the Great Schism in 1054 (the split between the Byzantine East and the Papal West), Serbia remained under Constantinople, while the neighbour Croatia remained under Rome. The Serbian Church was given autocephaly in 1219, when Archbishop Sava was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch. With the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans, many Serbs and Croats converted to Islam, particularly in Bosnia and Sandžak.

Demographics

Orthodox in Blue.

According to the last census in 2002, the most numerous religious groups in Serbia (excluding Kosovo) were:

• Orthodox Christians = 6,371,584
• Roman Catholic Christians = 410,976
• Muslims = 239,658 (97% Sunni, rest various Dervish orders)
• Protestant Christians = 80,837
• Observant Jews (Judaists) = 785
• Adherents of Oriental Cults = 530^{[citation needed]}

Orthodox Christianity by province:

• Central Serbia, - +90% Orthodox Christian
• Vojvodina, - ~70% Orthodox Christian
• Kosovo, - 5% Orthodox Christian

References

Sources