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The Church of Serbia


The Church of Serbia was de facto autocephalous in 1832, but not recognized by the Church of Constantinople until 1879. Some claim that Serbia's autocephaly goes back to 1219. The Serbian Orthodox Church or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia. It is the second oldest Slavic Orthodox Church in the world, as well as the westernmost Eastern church in Europe.
The Church of Serbia
It exercises jurisdiction over Orthodox Christians in Serbia and surrounding Slavic and other lands, as well as exarchates and patriarchal representation churches around the world. The Patriarch of Serbia serves as first among equals in his church; the current patriarch is His Holiness Pavle. The Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Orthodox communion, located primarily in Serbia (including Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Republic of Macedonia, as well as Croatia. Since many Serbs have emigrated to foreign countries, there are now Serbian Orthodox communities worldwide. Serbian Orthodox Church claims to own many significant Christian relics, such as the right hand of John the Baptist, Saint George's hand and skull parts, Holy Cross segments, St. Paraskevi's finger, body of St. Vasilije of Ostrog, etc. The Serb Patriarch's full title is "Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Patriarch of the Serbs."




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