.

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the local churches of the orthodox Christian East. With other orthodox churches it is connected by the unity of faith, holy fathers' tradition, mutual liturgy-beneficial practice and church organization. Such division is conditioned by exterior factors but before all by geographical conditions as well as by the division of mankind into peoples and states. Local churches get in such a way the national character and connect their destiny with the destiny of their people. That is how it is with the Serbs.

According to its significance in the history of human civiliation, the region of the Balkans and particularly its Southern part with the islands can be paralleled with the oldest civilisations of the ancient East. Concerning the first beginnings of the spreading of Christianity on the Balkans' region it is to be ascertained right away that that region, among the first ones in the world, entered into the world of the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ. Several epistles of St Apostle Paul (two to Corinthians, two to Thessalonians, two to Titus - the bishop on Crete and one to Philippians) are directed as early as in the first half of the lst century to the church communities on the Balkan, which this Apostle had founded at his Second missionary journey. The furthest SouthEast of the European Continent was, then, already at the very beginning of the new Christian era enthusiastic for the Christianity. Thereupon it can be rightly concluded that the regions of the Balkan peninsula have the Church from the times of Apostles with the origin of the Apostles as well.

Having arrived at the Balkan peninsula the Serbs had, as other South Slavs, found developed church organizations. According to the narration of Tsar Constantine Porphirogenite the first mass baptization of the Serbs was in the time of the Byzantium Tsar Iraklije (610-641). Already in IX century, particularly during the reign of Prince Mutimir, the vivid missionary activity was developed and the first eparchics in Serbia are also mentioned. That is why this period is called "the second baptization of the Serbs". Total consolidation of the Christianity with Serbs really happens only on the basis of the Slavic sermon and God's service which came into Serbian regions firstly from Panonic region and then from Slavic church centers in Macedonia and the Coastal region. On the shores of Ohrid and Prespansko Lake owing to St Clement and St Naum the Slavic literacy flourished, the clergy was educated, numerous monasticism was developed and new monasteries were sprouting.

In that period several Serbian states were formed. In central Serbian regions Raska was founded and in the coastal region Duklja was founded after the Roman name Doolea which was, afterwards, called Zeta after the little river Zeta. The King of Duklja Jovan Vladimir became famous by leading pious life and having died by martyr's death so in that way he was the first of the Serbian rulers who became worthy of saintly life. His body rests even today in the church dedicated to him near the place Elbasan in today's Albania. In Bosnia Serbian population have always cooperated with Serbian rulers whether from Ragka or Zeta, so they had the first mutual church organization, Slavic literacy and God's service practice.

When it is spoken of te beginnings of the Christianity with the Serbs it is good to mention also one specific religious custom deeply connected with the family life. It is "baptismal name" or "baptismal family patron's day" ie solemn celebration of one of the Christian saints as the protector and patron of certain family. This custom was accepted in the whole Serbian ethnical region in Raska, Zeta, the Coastal region and Bosnia. The family patron's day is exclusively Serbian national-church custom. That is why the saying appeared - "When there is the Family Patron's Day, there is a Serb." The family patron's day, from one part, connects those who celebrate it with the Heaven and simultaneously connects them in Christian love with their neighbors, their guests, unexpected guest travellers and beggars. Everyone who comes to the home of the host for the Family Patron's Day must be served and honorably seen off. That is how it used to be once and that is how it is also today.

The Serbian church organization started to change from its basis acquiring its final directon in the second half of XII century. The Great Parish Priest Stefan Nemania (1169-1196) united the majority of Serbian countries and created a great Serbian state. Nemanja was clearly committed to Eastern Orthodox Creed and energetically expelled from his state all heretics. He supported the clergy and bachelorhood and so he himself would spend the last days of his life in the monastery. He erected the monasteries in the country, used to send gifts to Christian holy objects also out of his state: to the Lord's Grave in Jerusalim, the Church of Holy Apostles in Rome, the Church of St Nicholas in Bari, the monastery of St mother-God Evergetika in Constantinople etc. Among the monasteries which he had erected the most famous is Studenica in which Nemania had also built the mausoleum for himself. This "mother of Serbian monasteries" by its architecture and biography represents the pride of Serbian national culture.

Stefan Nemanja had three sons: Vukan, Stefan and Rastko. Rastko was born around the year of 1175 when his parents were already of older age. On account of his tendency toward the pious life, reading, prayers and pious thoughts, Rastko, when he was 17, with one Russian monk who used to come to the Nemania's Court for the charity for the monastery, fled to Sveta Gora Atonska. There, in the Russian monastery St Pantelejmon, he entered a monastic order and got the name S A V A. Afterwards he prolonged his education and *Podvizavanje in the monastery Vatoped. With his modesty and strict *Podviznistvo" the Prince-Monk amazed the whole Sveta Gora. In the year of 1196 his father Stefan Nemania abdicated and ceded his throne to his second son Stefan. The following day after the abdication both Nemania and his wife Ana admitted to a monastic order and became the monks S i m e o n and A n a s t a s i j a. The folowing year the old man Simeon went to Sveta Gara to his beloved youngest son to spend the last days of his life with him in prayer and accomplishments.

At Sveta Gora Simeon and Sava acquired new cognitions and comprehended everyting that the church had done in Bysantium for the progress of alture and civilisation. They saw that at Sveta Gora also exist the monasteries of other peoples and therefore they undertook the action for the building of the Serbian monastery in this holy monastic country. The Tsar, at the proposal of the Manageffient Board of Sveta Gora (*protata), fulfilled the request of Simeon and Sava and allowed them in 1198 to restore the deserted monastery Hilandar so that it would be the shelter for the monks of Serbian nationality. The building of Hilandar was progressing rapidly and its founders moved into their monastery already in the summer of 1199. But, on February the 13th in 1200 the old man Simeon died. God soon celebrated his relies by pouring chrism. The Gathering of Sveta Gora canonized him then and gave Sava the assignment to write the hagiography and God's service for his holy father, Holy Simeon Mirotocivi.

Sava also built, in Kareja, in the middle of Sveta Gora, the house for two-three ascetic monks. He also wrote a typicon both for Hilandar and for the house for ascetic monks. The last typicon is inscribed into the marble board at the house of ascetic order which today also exists in it. In the time when Sava was arranging his monastery and enlarging the brotherhood in it, Sveta Gora met with hard days. The Crusaders captured Constantinople in 1204 and founded Latin Kingdom (1204-1261). The Crusaders together with Latin priests and monks, invaded Sveta Gora, were plundering it and taking away the valuables, particularly saints' relies and compelling the monks of Sveta Gora to acknowledge the Pope's authority. The sons of Nemania were worrying in the homeland for the holy relies of their father so they wrote the letter to their brother Sava in which they ask him to take their father's relics and carry them to Serbia. Sava, under the hardest circumstances and with greatest dangers, in 1207 carries his father's holy body to Serbia. Sava remained in the homeland all till 1217 working tirelessly on the educating of the clergy and people. Along with this educating work, Sava does not leave *podviznicki life - the renonuncing of all enjoyments and *revnovanje regarding Christian virtues. His activity is firmly woven into the national consciousness and spoke up through innumerable legends and stories. There is no Serbian region in which there is no tradition about the educating activity of Sava and many toponyms are connected with his name as "Sava's spring", "Sava's footstep", "Sava's rock" and alike.

By working diligently on religious and cultural upbringing of his people, Sava realized that cadres were needed for that work. From the Greek bishop in Ras, Prizren and Liplian which used to be under the jurisdiction of Ohrid arehbishopric which favored Greek culture, it could not have been expected that it would be wholeheartedly engaged in that field. Therefore it became clear to him that the education of the independent (autocephalous) national Serbian church in the independent state was the only way out and the only possibility for the church to execute its great task in the life of Serbian people. Carrying that idea in his sopul, Sava created the plan for the realization of it.In the half of 1219 he set off for the Patriarch of Constantinople with the escort and asked the Tsar and Patriarch Manojlo Saranten to give to his country the church independence and to, to that new, independent church, dedicate one Archbishop. They fulfilled the request of Sava. The Patriarch handed over to Sava the archpriest's seepter and *gramata of dedication. That is how Sava became the first Archbishop of "Serbian and coastal countries". It was also allowed that the future Serbian Archbishop did not have to come anymore to the Patriarch of Constantinople for dedication, but his bishops could ordain him.

For the seat of the archbishopric Zica was determined, the new memorial of his brother Stefan. On the occasion of the dedication of the finished monastery Zica, the Archbishop Sava crowned his brother Stefan the king. That is how Serbia got its "first-crowned king".

The activity of St Sava was very heterogeneous. In the year of 1229 he started out on the journey to the Holy Country. In Jerusalim he was kindly received by the Patriarch Atanasije. Thereafter he visited all holy places. On that journey the Saint, buying off the monasteries from the Latins and Saracens, or receiving the places from orthodox monasteries, created Serbian monasteries in Palestine as the monastery of St Georgije in Akon, St Jovan the Student of Divinity in Sion, the one on the ground of the monastery of St Jevtimije and many smaller monastic colonies which had to serve both to the future Serbian pilgrims and to the popularity of Serbia and its church. Everywhere he was passing through he led the discussions useful for the Serbian Church and State and when he returned home he continued his work enriched with still greater knowledge and experience.

In agreement with the King Vladislav of that time, in 1233 St Sava called the "Gathering of the Serbian Country" at which he submitted the resignation. For his successor he proposed his student Arsenije, the man very spiritual and full of virtues. As Arsenije was elected, St Sava ordained him and then he stayed one year more in Serbia to lead Arsenije into all work activities as better as possible. In spring 1234 he started off to his second journey throughout the Holy Country. He visited many monasteries in Jerusalim, he visited Alexandria, monk centers in Egypt, he went to Sinai, Antiohija and Constatinople. At the end of his journey he visited Trnovo, the capital of the Bulgarian Tsar Joyan Arsen, the father-in-law of the former Serbian King Vladislav. Exhausted by the long journey, the Saint, having served the liturgy and having performed the blessing of holy water, on the eve of Epiphany, was taken ill and soon, on January the 14th in 1236, died in Trnovo. King Vladislav, only after one year's time, managed to propitiate his father-in-law to allow him to carry the relies of his holy uncle to his homeland and to bury them in his memorial - the monastery Milegeva where they were laid down on May 6(19) in 1237.

Unfortuntely, the holy relies could not have stayed there untouched. Several centuries later, Turkish Sinan Pasha, as the answer to Serbian rebellions and uprisings burned down the miraculous relies of St Sava in 1594 in Belgrade.

The successors of St Sava devotedly continued his work. Although the times were often stormy, the Church still, during the whole time of the Serbian Medieval State, without particular disturbances, went on with the constant performance of its mission. On account of the uncertainty in Zica which was situated at the Northern border of the state and particularly after the invasion of Tartars (1242) and then of the Bulgarians and Kumans (1253), the Archbishop Arsenije transferred the Seat of the Archbishopric from Zica to Pec where he, in the picturesque region, at the entrance of the Rugovska gorge full of ascetic caves (the name Pec comes from the word cave), built the church of St Apostles as the small church with the land around it, of the monastery Zica. Afterwards the archbishops sometimes lived in Zica and sometimes in Pec all up to the end of XIII century when the Archbishop's Residence was finally transferred to Pec.

At this time, during the reign of Serbian kings Uros and Dragutin, Milutin and Stefan Decanski, the church architecture was flourishing, particularly the painting. The monasteries erected and covered by painting at that time amaze the world even today. The caligraphy and artistic adaption of the charters and books belong to the first-class achievements of that kind in the orthodox world.

Generally, Serbian Medieval State was developing both eenomically, culturally and territorially. Starting from King Milutin and particularly during the time of King Stefan Dusan, the Serbian State expanded to many South regions in Macedonia and Greece which it took over from Byzantium. Serbia became the greatest power on the Balkan peninsula. Constantinople shivered before Dusan who was, towards the end of 1345, by the State Assembly and Army proclaimed "the Tsar of Serbs and Greeks." On the holiday Cveti in 1346 Tsar Dusan called the local Assembly in Skoplje which brought the decision of the proclamation of the Serbian Church to be the Patriarchate.

After the death of Tsar Dusan, Turks were attacking Serbia more and more fiercely. In the battle on Kosovo on June 15, 1389, Turkish Tsar Murat was killed as well as Serbian Prince Lazar who used to have great respect of the whole nation. Kosovo marked the turning point in the history of Serbian people and of the Serbian Church as well. On Kosovo the flower of Serbian aristocracy and the greatest part of masculine strength were killed. Out of moral greatness of the heroes from Kosovo, who, with Prince Lazar as their head, unselfishly gave their lives for the salvation of their homeland, the generations to come drew moral strength which kept the consciousness that the people only lost the battle but were not destroyed since Serbia became a vassal subjected state acknowledging the supreme authority of the Turks. Nevertheless, the inheritance of Christian comprehension of life and its meaning entirely pervaded the national soul, It was clear to the Serbian orthodox people that it is dreadful to die dishonestly and sinfully. But, to die as a Christian defending his religion, for the justice, freedom, moral values, to die for Christ and with Christ, represents the death which leads to the resurrection.

The scriptures which originated directly after Kosovo speak of it in the most eloquent way. In the speech of Prince Lazar to his dukes on the eve of the battle, besides other wonderful words we read: "... We used to live long for the world, at last, let's try a bit to accept the accomplishment in the way of suffering, in order to live eternally in the heavens, let's give ourselves the name of the soldiers of Christ, sufferers of *blagocastija, to be registered in the books of life. Let's not spare our bodies in fighting, in order to, from the One who judges the accomplishments, receive bright garlands. The pain gives birth to the glory and labor pains bring to the rest." And the dukes thank to the honest Prince for everything he did and thus they also decide on for Christ's and Christian way: "...We die to always be alive..." Here is shown how much Christianity matured for the past two centuries in the soul of Serbian people, how much it became their life wisdom and determination. The national poet, therefore, describing the suffering of Prince Lazar and the martyrs from Kosovo, composed: "... Earthly kingdom is the kingdom for the small but heavenly kingdom is for ever and ever.

The relation between the church and the state with the Serbs in medieval period represents coordinated *dijarhija, harmonized two authorities. The state takes care of the security and welfare of the citizens and the church is entrusted with the entire spiritual life of the people to cherish them, before all, in the religious moral sphere being the basis on which rests the whole medieval cultural superstructure, the whole education of the people, entire science and art, all the customs and entire behaviour. At the head of the Church there is the Archbishop (from 1346 the Patriarch) of Serbian and Coastal countries. The region of the Archbishopric coincided with the state territory. For the support of the bishop the state created eparchy manors and to support the priest, besides that which was given to him by the people, the landlord - nobleman gave to him as well, according to the Dusan's legal code. "Three fields by the law and the priest's cap should be free." Besides their God's service and pastor's duties, parish priests were also the teachers of literacy and thus they were really the founders of the first Serbian national schools.

The monasteries played a very important role in the life of the Serbian Medieval Church. They were the places not only of monastic achievements but also of cultural creativity and the cultural centers. Characteristical feature of Serbian monasteries really is in that that they are not closed, separated from the people, but are the institutions which want to, by all the achievements of their exploit activity of their monastic order, contribute not only to the evangelization, but through it to the general prosperity of their people as well. The entire supreme art and literature of our medieval century, having flourished in our monasteries, was intended not only for the monastery brotherhood or sisterhood, but also for all the visitors, the entire nation, all ancestral people. Serbian monasteries were then the gallery of painting which the world did not have. In them our harsh and primitive ancestors used to experience the heavens, their whole religion. That is how the known gentlehood of our patriarchal villager was created and how the taste regarding applied arts was developed of our female weavers and women embroiderers, our woodworkers and carvers and of all those who were dealing with anything which had for the aim to make the life nicer and to ennoble it.

Not smaller influence on the spiritual life of the people had our medieval literature whose originator was St Sava and which was continued by many rulers and monks. Serbian medieval writers expose religious truths and ethical norms not in the form of scholastic systems of Christian teachings, but they deduce those instructions presenting the lives of just and saintly people, the concrete personalities from their people. The people about whom they write are the examples to be followed "so that we should be taught by them and lifted up towards the virtue." This was very much necessary for the Serbian people in the centuries to come.

The fall of Serbian countries under the Turkish captivity brought to the Serbian people and their church the hardest days in the history. The conqueror wanted to destroy, with the hard blow, the national consciousness of their own strength and to present himself as the limitless master over the nonMuslim subjects (the subjugated people). The time of great plunder, the leading away of many slaves, the destruction of the churches and monasteries, arose. Such state provoked constant motion of the population, the migrations. And just on account of being acquainted with that and of knowing of the hard living of the Serbian people under the Turks, fearing for their own state and people, Hungarian kings and Austrian tsars were luring Serbs to go to their state and to, towards the Turkish border, form the military border as the alive wall towards the Turks. The settled Serbs were there the first protective zone of the Western Christian world from the Turks and Islam. When it is spoken of the bulwark of the Western Christianity (*antemurale christianitatis), then by that honorable name this suffering people should be meant in the first place, who used to leave their fire-sides in Serbia and Bosnia to avoid the evil of the Turks and they fought against them from the Christian region. The Church followed her children with maternal care and guarded them in the new settlements in the same way as at the old fire-sides which they had to leave to avoid the Turkish oppression and to be able to fight against it.

The epoch which follows is marked by the battles with the Turks. There were also the periods of short armistice which were used for the restoration and building of demolished temples but after that the Turkish revenge would always follow which was more dreadful each time. The monasteries were being burnt down and transformed into mosques and in them Turks kept horses and cattle. That is how on September 11, 1766 the Sultan issued the *Berat by which: "...From now on the very name of Pe6 Patriarchate is abolished provided that its restoration is not allowed under any condition nor even the submittance of the petition as regards the same." That was a real violent act over one autocephalous church. Nevertheless, every trace of Pec Patriarchate was not erased. That trace remained, before all, in the heart of the Serbian people and then in the Turkish administration because in the register of the memorials of individual chuches Pec Patriarchate was continually kept separately.

The time had come "when the alive envied the dead". The bishops became lesser and lesser in number, the clergy was divided into halves and the conditions regarding the mission for the people smaller and smaller. The churches were small in number and for the bulding of the new it was hard to get the permission, so the parish clergy used to visit the homes of their parish priests and there most frequently performed the rituals. Every Serbian home was a small domestic church which had icons and icon larips. In that lies the basis of the great respect which a Serbian man cherished for his fire-side, his home and his protector on the Patron Saint's Day.

Upon the abolishment of Pec Patriarchate in certain Serbian regions, so called provincial churches were formed which, expecting the unification, used to spend their life in accordance with the political and other occasions in which they found themselves. Those were: the Diocese of Metropolian of Karlovac which was conceived in the Austrian Empire; then the dioceses of Dalmatia, then in Serbia and finally the Serbs assembled in Bosnia and Herzegovina. About all of them much could be writtem because they were all very significant regarding the preservation of the tradition and faith of Serbian nation.

The liberation and unification of the South Slavs in 1918 was welcomed joyfully by all the parts of destroyed Pec Patriarchate. Already in May 1919 the bishops of all the parts of the forcibly abolished Patriarchate met in Belgrade in 1776 and proclaimed the spiritual and moral unity of all provincial churches in the State of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians. After that the united Serbian Church asked the Patriarchate in Constantinople to bring back the former dignity of a patriarchate to it. The Patriarchate of Constantinople adopted this and issued the Synod *Tomos (Decree) by which the establishment of the Serbain Patriarchate was allowed. Afterwards, the work on the coordination of individual former church regions with the new occasions followed and the church uniform legislation was brought.

But, very soon, the Serbian Orthodox Church found itself before the new temptations. The Second World War brought to the Serbian Patriarch Gavrilo a glass of martyrdom. The Germans led him through the jails and concentration camps in Germany. During the Second World War especially orthodox Serbs experienced many evils in the region of so called Independent State of Croatia. The bishops were being cruelly killed or interned, hundreds of priests and Serbian people were killed in the most fierce ways. The churches were demolished or transformed into Roman Catholic ones and the people were converted by baptization forcefully.

After the end of the Second World War, Patriarch Gavrilo started the restoration of the church life, and it was prolonged by his successors - Patriarch Vikentije, Patriarch German and today it is being prolonged by Patriarch Pavle. Unfortunately, in the newest history, the sufferings of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian people are being prolonged. In the areas of ex-Yugoslavia, in the period of 1991-1995 in the war sufferings the brunt was born by 10 eparchics of the Serbian Orthodox Church, in the region of Croatia by 5 eparchies and in the region of ex-Bosnia and Herzegovina by 5 eparchies. The Serbian Orthodox Church bore the brunt of two destructive armies of Croatians and Moslems which were often united. Many churches were burnt down and plundered and the people again had to run away from their homes. That's how many historical sights were destroyed and in addition to valuable liturgy objects the whole galleries of icons on the iconostases were destroyed and the works of known icon painters, around 5.500 icons were destroyed which is the real national catastrophe.The Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church published the book "Spiritual Genocide - the Review of Destroyed and Damaged Chuches, Monasteries and Other Church Objects in the War of 1991 - 1993." This book is accepted by the Hague Tribunal as the official document. His Holiness, Serbian Patriarch Pavle says., "It was hard to endure but it was endured because in our soul, out of the depth of centuries, the words of the Son of God resonded, directed to the end of the world to all believers: "Do not be afraid at all of that which you are to suffer ... Do not be afraid, I am the first and last and alive and was dead and here I am alive for ever and ever ... Be faithful to the point of death and I will give you the wreath of life. (Rev 2,10:1,17)