Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Encyclopedia
Eparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina
The Eparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina is an eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its seat in Mostar, temporarily transferred to the Tvrdoš monastery near Trebinje, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Early:The region was under the Metropolitanate of Durazzo, which in turn was under...
was founded as part of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
by Saint Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
, although Orthodox Christians were present from before that time. The majority of Orthodox in the country are Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. From the late 1760s until 1880, the Orthodox in Bosnia and Herzegovina were directly under the Patriarchate of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, following the fall of the Patriarchate of Peć
Patriarchate of Pec
The Patriarchate of Peć is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near Peć. The complex of churches is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of the Serbian archbishops and patriarchs....
. As such it was led by Phanariotes
Phanariotes
Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Phanariote Greeks were members of those prominent Greek families residing in Phanar , the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is situated.For all their cosmopolitanism and often Western education, the Phanariots were...
, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
from Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. In 1920, following the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
, the area again came under the religious authority of the newly-reunited Serbian Orthodox Church, under Patriarch Dimitrije
Patriarch Dimitrije
Dimitrije was the first patriarch of the reunified Serbian Orthodox Church, from 1920 until his death.He was styled "His Holiness, the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch".-Biography:...
.
According to the CIA Factbook, Orthodox Christians make up 31% of the country's population, although this is at best a rough estimate, as the last census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
was conducted in 1991, before the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
.
Orthodox Christian sites of interest
- Serb Orthodox Cathedral (Sarajevo)
- Sarajevo Old Orthodox ChurchSarajevo Old Orthodox ChurchThe Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel is a Serbian Orthodox church in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.It was first mentioned in Ottoman sources dating to 1539, the Church was, however, built on older foundations.- See also :...
- Church of Sveto PreobraženjeChurch of Sveto PreobraženjeThe Temple or Church of the Holy Transfiguration is a Serbian Orthodox church in Novo Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.It is the only Orthodox church in Novo Sarajevo, and was built in 1940 by Aleksandar Deroko, the project was initially made for Split in Croatia, but ended up here. It...
- Tavna (monastery)Tavna MonasteryMonastery Tavna is located in the southern part of the Bijeljina municipality. The date of foundation is hidden somewhere in the shadows of the far past. The cronichles of monasteries Tronosha and Pech say it was built by Dragutin's sons Vladislav i Urosic. Stefan Dragutin was the King of Serbia...
- Tvrdoš (monastery)TvrdošTvrdoš is a 15th-century Serb Orthodox monastery near the city of Trebinje, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 4th-century foundations of the first Roman church on the site are still visible today....
- Žitomislić (monastery)Žitomislic MonasteryŽitomislić is а monastery of the Serb Orthodox Church located near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its church is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Mother of God....