Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC; Serbian: Српска православна црква, СПЦ, Srpska pravoslavna crkva, SPC) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.

The majority of the population in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina are baptised members of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is organised into metropolitanates and eparchies, located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia. Other congregations are located in the Serb diaspora. The Serbian Patriarch serves as first among equals in his Church. The current patriarch is Porfirije, enthroned on 19 February 2021.

The Church achieved autocephalous status in 1219, under the leadership of Saint Sava, becoming the independent Archbishopric of Žiča. Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in 1346, and was subsequently known as the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. This patriarchate was persecuted by the Ottoman Empire in 1766, though several regional sections of the Church continued to exist, most prominent among them being the Metropolitanate of Karlovci, in the Habsburg monarchy. After the restoration of Serbia, ecclesiastical autonomy was regained in 1831, and the autocephaly was recovered in 1879. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was a result of the unification in 1920 of the Serbian Metropolitanate of Belgrade, Patriarchate of Karlovci, and Metropolitanate of Montenegro. The church itself is the only Serbian institution from Serbia which has operated uninterruptedly since the Middle Ages.