| Jurisdiction: | Archbishopric |
| Belgrade and Karlovci | |
| Local: | Serbian: Архиепископија београдско-карловачка |
| Country: | Serbia |
| Territory: | Belgrade |
| Residence: | Building of the Patriarchate, Belgrade |
| Headquarters: | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Denomination: | Eastern Orthodox |
| Sui Iuris Church: | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Rite: | Byzantine Rite |
| Established: | 1931 |
| Cathedral: | St. Michael's Cathedral, Belgrade |
| Language: | Church Slavonic Serbian |
| Calendar: | Julian calendar |
| Bishop: | Porfirije |
| Bishop Title: | Archbishop |
| Map: | Map of Eparchies of Serbian Orthodox Church (including Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric)-en.svg |
| Map Size: | 270px |
Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci (Serbian: 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.
See also: Metropolitanate of Belgrade and Patriarchate of Karlovci. 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.
See also: Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and Metropolitanate of Belgrade. 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. 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. Since 1018 it belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid. 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, 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 by the outcome of the Austro-Turkish War (1683–1699), with Belgrade and Lower Srem remaining under Ottoman rule, while Upper Srem came under Habsburg rule. In 1708, when the autonomous Serbian Metropolitanate in the Habsburg monarchy was created (Metropolitanate of Karlovci), the Eparchy of Srem became archdiocese of the Metropolitan, whose seat was in Sremski Karlovci. As a result of the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718), Lower Srem and Belgrade came under Habsburg rule. Two seats (Belgrade and Karlovci) were reunited from 1726 to 1739, and then separated again, following the outcome of the Austro-Turkish War (1737–1739).
Aftef that, Eparchy of Srem remained part of Metropolitanate of Karlovci until 1920, while the Eparchy of Belgrade was returned to jurisdiction of Serbian Patriarchs of Peć. After the abolition of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1766, Eparchy of Belgrade came under 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 Serbia. In that time, territory of the archeparchy was very large and included regions of present-day eparchies of Šumadija and Braničevo. The Metropolitanate gained autocephaly in 1879.
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.
There are 12 monasteries within the Archbishopric.
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.
| Name | Tenure | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergije | (around 878) | Bishop of Belgrade | |
| Jovan | (around 1317) | Bishop of Mačva and Belgrade | |
| Isidor | (around 1415—1423) | during the reign of Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević | |
| Grigorije | (around 1438—1440) | during the reign of Serbian despot Đurađ Branković | |
| Joanikije | (around 1479) | received royal charter from king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary | |
| Filotej | (since 1481) | during the time of titular Serbian despot Vuk Grgurević | |
| Teofan | (around 1509) | he established ties with Russia | |
| (died 1516) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | ||
| Roman | (around 1532) | under Archbishopric of Ohrid | |
| Longin | (around 1545—1548) | under Archbishopric of Ohrid | |
| Makarije | (around 1589) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | |
| Joakim | (around 1607—1611) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | |
| Avesalom | (around 1631—1632) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | |
| Ilarion | (around 1644—1662) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | |
| Jefrem | (around 1662—1672) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | |
| Elevterije | (around 1673—1678) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | |
| Pajsije | (around 1680—1681) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem | |
| Simeon Ljubibratić | (1682—1690) | migrated to Hungary in 1690, with Serbian patriarch Arsenije III Crnojević | |
| Mihailo | (around 1699—1705) | installed by new Serbian patriarch Kalinik I | |
| (1713—1730) | since 1718. under Habsburg rule, and since 1726. also Metropolitan of Karlovci | ||
| (1731—1737) | Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci | ||
| Sophronius | (around 1740—1745) | ethnic Greek, Metropolitan of Belgrade | |
| (around 1753) | ethnic Serb, Metropolitan of Belgrade, later became Serbian Patriarch | ||
| Callinicus | (around 1759—1761) | ethnic Greek, Metropolitan of Belgrade |
| 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 |
| 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 | ||
| Mojsije | Maksim Veresić Максим Вересић | 1881 | 1883 | Administrator of the Metropolitanate of Belgrade | Appointed by the Austrophile Serbian government | |||
| 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 Demetrius | 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) |
| 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 | ||||||||
| No. | Primate | Portrait | Personal name | Reigned from | Reigned until | Place of birth | Notes | |
| 1 | Dimitrije [I] Димитрије (I) Demetrius (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 [I] Герман (I) Herman (I) | 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 | |||
| 8 | Porfirije [I] Порфирије (I) Porphyrius (I) | Prvoslav Perić Првослав Перић | 19 February 2021 | Incumbent | Bečej, SFR Yugoslavia | |||