Metropolitanate of Belgrade

The Metropolitanate of Belgrade (Serbian: Београдска митрополија, romanized: Beogradska mitropolija) was an Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical province (metropolitanate) which existed between 1831 and 1920, with jurisdiction over the territory of Principality and Kingdom of Serbia. It was formed in 1831, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople granted church autonomy to its eparchies in the Principality of Serbia.^[1] Territorial enlargement and full canonical autocephaly were gained in 1879.^[2] The Metropolitanate existed until 1920, when it was merged with Patriarchate of Karlovci and other Serbian ecclesiastical provinces to form the united Serbian Orthodox Church. The seat of the Metropolitanate was in Belgrade, Serbia.

For other uses, see Metropolitanate of Belgrade (disambiguation).

Metropolitanate of Belgrade Београдска митрополија Beogradska mitropolija
Location
Territory	Serbia
Headquarters	Belgrade, Serbia
Information
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox
Established	1831
Dissolved	1920
Language	Church Slavonic Serbian
Governance	Self-governing Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate

Territorial development of the Principality of Serbia and Kingdom of Serbia (1817–1913).

The Metropolitanate and all of its eparchies suffered significant loses during World War I (1914–1918), particularly after 1915, during the occupation of Serbia by the Central Powers.^[3]

Eparchies

The Metropolitanate included the following eparchies:

Eparchy	Seat	Notes
Eparchy of Belgrade	Belgrade	Now Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci.
Eparchy of Žiča	Čačak	Eparchy of Užice until 26 June 1884. Now seated in Kraljevo.
Eparchy of Šabac	Šabac	Part of the Eparchy of Belgrade from 1886 to 1898.
Eparchy of Timok	Zaječar	Formed after 1833. Part of the Eparchy of Niš from 1886 to 1891.
Eparchy of Niš	Niš	Added in 1879. Eparchy of Nišava (seated in Pirot) abolished and merged with Eparchy of Niš on 1 November 1880.
Eparchy of Raška and Prizren	Prizren	Administration from 1912.
Eparchy of Skopje	Skopje	Administration from 1912.
Eparchy of Debar and Kičevo	Kičevo	Administration from 1912.

Metropolitans, 1831–1920

No.	Primate	Portrait	Personal name	Reign	Title	Notes
1	Melentije Мелентије Melenthius		Melentije Pavlović Мелентије Павловић	1831–1833	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	First Serb Metropolitan of Belgrade
2	Petar Петар Peter		Pavle Jovanović Павле Јовановић	1833–1859	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia
3	Mihailo Михаило Michael		Miloje Jovanović Милоје Јовановић	1859–1881	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	First tenure
	Mojsije Мојсије Moses		Maksim Veresić Максим Вересић	1881–1883	Administrator of the Metropolitanate of Belgrade	Appointed by the Austrophile Serbian government
4	Teodosije Теодосије Theodosius		Teodor Mraović Теодор Мраовић	1883–1889	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia
(3)	Mihailo Михаило Michael		Miloje Jovanović Милоје Јовановић	1889–1898	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	Second tenure
5	Inokentije Инокентије Innocentius		Jakov Pavlović Јаков Павловић	1898–1905	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia
6	Dimitrije Димитрије Dimitrius		Dimitrije Pavlović Димитрије Павловић	1905–1920	Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia	Elevated to Patriarch

See also

• Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci
• Serbian Orthodox Church
• List of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church
• Religion in Serbia

References

1. Ćirković 2004, p. 192-193.
2. Kiminas 2009, p. 20-21.
3. Radić 2015, p. 263–285.

Sources

• Bataković, Dušan T., ed. (2005). Histoire du peuple serbe [History of the Serbian People] (in French). Lausanne: L’Age d’Homme.
• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
• Fotić, Aleksandar (2008). "Serbian Orthodox Church". Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Infobase Publishing. pp. 519–520.
• Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs. Wildside Press LLC.
• Pavlovich, Paul (1989). The History of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Serbian Heritage Books.
• Pavlowitch, Stevan K. (2002). Serbia: The History behind the Name. London: Hurst & Company.
• Popović, Radomir V. (2013). Serbian Orthodox Church in History. Belgrade: Academy of Serbian Orthodox Church for Fine Arts and Conservation.
• Radić, Radmila (2007). "Serbian Christianity". The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 231–248.
• Radić, Radmila (2015). "The Serbian Orthodox Church in the First World War". The Serbs and the First World War 1914-1918. Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. pp. 263–285.
• Radojević, Mira; Mićić, Srđan B. (2015). "Serbian Orthodox Church cooperation and frictions with Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Bulgarian Exarchate during interwar period". Studia Academica šumenesia. 2: 126‒143.