“Our faith is Orthodox.” Long-suffering Serbia is an ancient Orthodox land. (VIDEO)

Serbian Orthodox Church
(or
Serbian Patriarchate
), autocephalous local Church

• Official site:
• Canonical territory: b. Yugoslavia (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro); in the “diaspora” it is most represented in Germany and the USA, also in the countries of Western Europe and South America, Canada, Australia; in the canonical territory of several local Churches he is in charge of parishes for Yugoslavs
• Liturgical language: Church Slavonic and Serbian
• Calendar: Julian
• Cathedral: St. Michael the Archangel in Belgrade (with it the building of the Serbian Patriarchate)
• Primate: Porfiry, His Holiness Patriarch of Serbia, Archbishop of Pecs, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovac
• Place in the diptych: 7 (Rus.) or 6 (Const.)
• Composition: 50 bishops; 46 dioceses; more than 3,000 clergy (ca. 2005) [1]; 2974 parishes (ca. 2005) [2]; 204 monasteries (ca. 2001) [3]; 9 higher theological schools; 8 million members (ca. 2005) [2]

Canonical device

Dioceses

See also Episcopate of the Serbian Orthodox Church

1. Belgrade Archdiocese

• Metropolises:

• Dabro-Bosnian
• Zagreb-Ljubljana
• Montenegrin
• Bishoprics in Yugoslav lands:

• Bishoprics abroad:

• Serbian Orthodox Church in America:

• Autonomy

• Ohrid Archdiocese:

Religion in Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church

Religion in Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church

The Church of St. Sava in Belgrade is the largest Orthodox church and is one of the 10 largest Christian churches in the world.

According to the constitution, Serbia is a secular state that guarantees freedom of choice of religion. Serbia is one of Europe's most religiously diverse countries, with an Orthodox majority, Catholic and Islamic minorities, and other minor denominations.

Orthodox Christians (6,079,396 people) make up 84.5% of the country's population. The Serbian Orthodox Church has traditionally been the largest church in the country, whose adherents are overwhelmingly Serbs. Other Orthodox communities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Romanians, Vlachs, Macedonians and Bulgarians.

Catholics in Serbia number 356,957 people or approximately 5% of the population, and they live mainly in the autonomous region of Vojvodina (especially in its northern part), which is home to ethnic minorities such as Hungarians, Croats, Bunjevci, as well as Slovaks and Czechs. Protestantism is professed by only about 1% of the country's population - these are mainly Slovaks living in Vojvodina, as well as reformist Hungarians.

Muslims (222,282 people or 3% of the population) form the third largest religious group. Islam has a historical basis in the southern regions of Serbia, especially in southern Raska. Bosniaks represent the largest Islamic community in Serbia, with some estimates suggesting that about a third of the country's Roma are Muslim.

Only 578 Jews live in Serbia. Jews from Spain settled here after their expulsion from the country at the end of the 15th century. The community flourished and reached its peak numbering 33,000 people before the outbreak of World War II (of whom almost 90% lived in Belgrade and Vojvodina). However, the devastating wars that later devastated the region resulted in a significant portion of Serbia's Jewish population emigrating from the country. Today, the Belgrade Synagogue is the only one still in operation that was saved by the local population during World War II from destruction at the hands of the Nazis. Other synagogues, such as the Subotica Synagogue, which is the fourth largest synagogue in Europe, and the Novi Sad Synagogue have been converted into museums and art pavilions.

Languages ​​of Serbia and Serbian language

The official language is Serbian, which belongs to the group of South Slavic languages ​​and is native to 88% of the population. Serbian is the only European language that actively uses digraphy (graphic bilingualism), using both the Cyrillic and Latin scripts. Serbian Cyrillic was developed in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadzic, who created the Serbian alphabet based on phonemic principles. The Cyrillic alphabet originates from the converted Greek script of Cyril and Methodius of the 9th century.

Recognized minority languages ​​are: Hungarian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Ruthenian, as well as Bosnian and Croatian, which are similar to Serbian. All of these languages ​​are official and are used in municipalities or cities where more than 15% of the population is a national minority. In Vojvodina, the local administration uses, in addition to Serbian, five other languages ​​(Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian, Romanian and Ruthenian).

Historical sketch

The first seeds of the Gospel were brought to the Balkan Peninsula by the holy apostles. The Apostle Titus worked in Dalmatia, the historical region of Yugoslavia. In the century, on the territory that was part of Yugoslavia, there was the Metropolis of Sirmium and partly the Archdiocese of Thessaloniki. Christianity of the Eastern rite especially spread among the Serbs in the century when, at the request of the Serbian prince Mutimir, the Byzantine emperor Basil the Macedonian sent Greek priests to the Serbs in 869.

Since 1219 - autocephaly. Since 1346 - the first (so-called Pech) Patriarchate. The first Serbian Patriarch Ioannikis (+ 1354) was glorified by the Serbian Church as a saint. Patriarch Ioannikios participated in the compilation of the “Legalist,” a collection of laws famous in the history of Serbia. In the XIV century. fell under the yoke of the Turks and into ecclesiastical dependence on the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 1557 it gained independence, but two centuries later it was again subordinate to Constantinople. Only after the formation of the Serbian Principality in 1815, the Serbian Church again received autonomy in 1832, and in 1879 - autocephaly. In neighboring Macedonia, Christianity has been known since the time of the Apostle Paul. From century to century, the Macedonian Church alternately depended on Rome and Constantinople. At the end - beginning of the century, it had the status of autocephaly (with its center in Ohrid) and, possibly, participated in the Baptism of Rus. Montenegro and the so-called had a special ecclesiastical destiny. Bukovina Metropolis. The unification of all these Orthodox regions into a single Serbian Church took place in 1919. Since 1920, the Serbian Patriarchate has been restored. The fascist occupation and the subsequent socialist period caused significant damage to the Serbian Church. Nationalist tendencies intensified. In 1967, Macedonia separated into self-imposed autocephaly.

Kosovo Front of the Orthodox World

Tsargrad: Father Vitaly, exactly 20 years ago your church was seriously damaged during NATO bombing. Please tell us about this tragic event.

Archpriest Vitaly Tarasyev: Yes, it was in 1999 as part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Just 60 meters from the altar wall of our temple is the main television center of Serbia, which was bombed by the Americans on the night of April 22-23, as a result of which our temple was severely damaged: all the windows were broken, 27 holes in the roof, and suffered from the shock wave and the walls of the temple.

Ts.: As a result of those events, on June 20, 1999, Yugoslav troops were forced to leave Kosovo and Metohija. What did this forced surrender lead to?

Father Vitaly: The truce was signed, but peace did not come. Serbs were forced to leave Kosovo and Metohija en masse (and this is the cradle of Serbian Orthodoxy!), but we must remember that this process itself began not 20 years ago, but much earlier. Back in 1946, when communist power established itself in Yugoslavia, it passed a law according to which Serbs, forced to leave Albanian-occupied Kosovo during the war, were prohibited from returning to their native places. But the pressure continued after the war, and by the early 1990s many Serbs had already left their homes, a process that only intensified in the 1990s with Western support.

In general, this process is the implementation of the old idea of ​​the Anglo-Saxons about a “Great Albania” under their control, one of the elements of the geopolitical “Great Game” that began a very long time ago. And this applies not only to Kosovo and Metohija: a significant part of the territory of the same North Macedonia is today under the control of the Albanians, as are the three communities of Serbia - Presevo, Medveja and Bujanovac, which the Albanians also actively claim. As a result, the very project of “Greater Albania” is emerging, which does not allow Russia and China to spread their influence in the Balkans.

Ts.: It is known that some modern Serbian politicians were already ready to exchange territories with the Albanians. Did the Serbian Church stop them?

Father Vitaly: That’s right: the Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church clearly spoke out for the integrity of Serbia and the inadmissibility of any territorial divisions. In the interpretation of the conciliar decisions on the official website of the Serbian Orthodox Church it is written directly: the land that we give up will be impossible to return, and occupation is always temporary.

Ts.: What is the general situation on Kosovo territory today? Are services held in numerous Orthodox shrines, temples and monasteries in this occupied territory?

Father Vitaly: Divine services, of course, are taking place. There is a living Orthodox Church there, although the Serbs are, of course, small in number. There are living monasteries with inhabitants and nuns, and people go to their rural churches on Sundays. In 2004, as you know, there was a real destruction of shrines in Kosovo. But here we see the real schizophrenia of Western countries: on the one hand, it was they who contributed to this defeat, and on the other, a few years later, through UNESCO and other international foundations, they began to restore ancient shrines.

Ts.: Even the Kosovo Albanian authorities boast that they have restored something?

Father Vitaly: This is exactly clear. They do this in order to rename all the shrines of the Serbian Orthodox Church that they have restored to “Kosovo shrines,” which, in their opinion, gives them the right to “nationalize” these churches and monasteries in order to take them away from the Church in favor of their false state.

Primates

Metropolitan of Zic, Archbishop of Serbia

• St. Sava I (1219 - 1233)

Metropolitans of Pec, Archbishops of Serbia

• St. Arseny I (1233 - 1263)
• St. Sava II (1263 - February 8, 1271)
• Daniel I (1271 - 1272)
• St. Joannicius I (1272 - 1276)
• widowhood of the throne (1276 - 1279)

Archbishops of Pec, Patriarchs of Serbia

• St. Joannicius II (1346 - September 3, 1354)
• Sava IV (November 29, 1354 - April 29, 1375)
• St. Ephraim (October 3, 1375 - ca. 1380)
• St. Spiridon (1380 - 1389)
• St. Ephraim, 2nd time (1389 - 1390)
• Daniel III (1390 - 1396)
• Sava V (1396 - October 7, 1407)
• Daniel IV (1407)
• St. Cyril I (1407 - 1418)
• St. Nikon (1418 - 1435)
• Feofan (1435 - 1446)
• Nicodemus II (1446 - 1453) [4]
• Arseny II (1457 - 1463)
• 1463 - 1508 - widowhood of the throne (first Ottoman abolition)

• 1508 - 1524 - widowhood of the throne (second Ottoman abolition)

• 1524 - 1527 - widowhood of the throne (third Ottoman abolition)
• Pavel (1527 - 1535) Metropolitan. Smederevski, exarch and locum tenens
• 1535 - 1557 - widowhood of the throne (fourth Ottoman abolition)

• fifth Ottoman abolition - Serbian lands within the Ottoman Empire were administered by the Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1879. Outside Ottoman rule, the spiritual life of the Serbian Orthodox Church was organized as follows:

In the Austrian Empire:

• In exile (Metropolitans of Krušedol)
  , position undetermined
• Arseny III (Chernoevich) (1690 - October 27, 1706) patriarch b. Pecssky
• Isaiah (Djakovic) (early 1708 - July 20, 1708)
• Stefan (Metohiyats) (1708 - 1709)

• Sofroniy (Podgorichanin) (April 23, 1710 - January 7, 1711)
• Christopher (Dimitrievich) (1711 - November 16, 1712)
• Vikenty (Popovich) (1712 – 1725)

• Moses (Petrovich) (1721 - 1726)

• Moses (Petrovich) (1726 - 1730)
• Vincent (Jovanovic) (1731 - 1737)

• Arseniy IV (Jovanovic-Shakabenta) (1737 - 1748) patriarch, b. Pecssky
• Isaiah (Antonovich) (1748 - 1749)
• Pavel (Nenadovich) (1749 - 1768)
• John (Djordjevic) (1769 - 1773)
• Vincent (Ioannovich-Vidak) (1774 – 1780)
• Moses (Traveler) (1781 – 1790)
• Stefan (Stratimirovich) (1790 - 1836)
• Stefan (Stankovic) (1837 - 1841)
• Joseph (Rajacic) (1842 - February 3, 1848)

• Joseph (Rajacic) (February 3, 1848 - February 30, 1861)
• Samuil (Mazhirevich) (1861 - July 20, 1864) v/u

• Metropolitans of Dabro-Bosnia
  , autonomy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
• Savva (Kosanovich) (1881 - 1885)
• Georgy (Nikolaevich) (1885 - 1896)
• Nikolai (Mandic) (1896 - 1907)
• Evgeny (Letitsa) (1907 - 1920)

In Montenegro:

• Metropolitan princes, Bishops of Montenegro
  , are independent, combine spiritual and temporal power, the position is not defined, they were ordained in Russia
• Sava II (Petrovich-Njegos) (1735 - 1781)
• Arseny (Plamenach) (1781 - 1784)
• St. Peter I (Petrovich-Njegos) (October 13, 1784 - October 18, 1830)
• Peter II (Petrovich-Njegos) (1830 - 1851)
• Daniil II (Petrovich-Njegos) (1851 - 1852)

• widowhood of the department (1852 - 1858)
• Nikanor (Ivanovich-Njegosh) (1858 - 1860)
• Hilarion II (Roganovich) (1860 - 1882)
• Vissarion III (Lyubisha) (1882 - 1885)
• Mitrofan (Ban) (1885 - 1920)

In Serbia:

• Metropolitans of Belgrade
  , autonomy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople

• Peter (Jovanovic) (1833 - 1859)
• Mikhail (Jovanovic) (1859 - 1879)

• Archbishops of Belgrade, Metropolitans of Serbia
  , autocephaly

• Mikhail (Jovanovic) (1879 - 1881)
• Moses (Veresich) (October 30, 1881 - 1883) locum tenens [6]
• Feodosius (Mraovich) (1883 - 1889) [7]
• Mikhail (Jovanovic), 2nd time (1889 - 1898)
• Innocent (Pavlovich) (February 1898 - 1905)
• Dimitry (Pavlovich) (September 1, 1905 - November 25, 1920)

Archbishops of Pecs, Metropolitans of Belgrade and Karlovac, Patriarchs of Serbia

• Dimitry (Pavlovich) (November 25, 1920 - 1930)
• Varnava (Rosich) (April 12, 1930 - July 23, 1937)
• Gabriel (Dozic) (February 21, 1938 - May 7, 1950)
• Vikenty (Prodanov) (July 1, 1950 - July 5, 1958)
• Herman (Djoric) (September 14, 1958 - August 27, 1990)
• Pavel (Stojcevic) (December 1, 1990 - November 15, 2009)
• Amfilohiy (Radovich) (November 15, 2009 - January 22, 2010) locum tenens, metropolitan. Montenegrin [8]

• Chrysostom (Evich) (November 20, 2021 - February 18, 2021) locum tenens, metropolitan. Dabro-Bosnian

Holy Trinity Church in Belgrade: connection between generations

Ts.: Obviously, for the revival of our Orthodox peoples, it is important to turn to the spiritual experience of previous generations. Here, within the walls of the Russian Holy Trinity Church, built by white emigrants, the traditions of old, pre-revolutionary Russia were preserved even after the revolutionary tragedy of 1917. Is this memory still preserved today?

Father Vitaly: Yes, between the two wars (World War I and World War II – Tsargrad’s note) here in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and since 1929 in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, there were Russian Orthodox communities in all cities. And everywhere church life was not only preserved, but developed. In August 1944, when it became clear that the Yugoslav territories would be liberated from the Nazis by the Red Army, many Russian emigrants left these lands. After all, liberation from the fascists is one thing, and the NKVD lists that actually existed and were already known about are another.

As a result, our Holy Trinity Church and Iveron Chapel at the New Cemetery in Belgrade, by agreement of the Serbian and Russian Churches, were transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate and received the status of a Metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Unfortunately, until 1985, the attitude towards Russians in Tito’s Yugoslavia was very difficult, and therefore many descendants of Russian emigrants moved away from our church community.

And only from the late 1980s – early 1990s did it begin to revive. At first these were descendants of refugees, then they were joined by families of Russian diplomats, Russian entrepreneurs with businesses in Serbia, representatives of mixed marriages, and finally, employees of representative offices of various Russian companies in Serbia. Therefore, of course, the community of our church today is very different from what it was in the 1920s and 1930s, but the memory of those times in our parish, of course, is preserved.

Mikhail Tyurenkov, Tsargrad

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Saints and shrines

Saint Sava the Serbian (+ 1237) is considered the heavenly patron of the Serbian Church. The great shrines are the relics of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming (+ 1200), St. Stefan of Dečansky (+ 1331), St. Basil of Ostrog (+ 1671), the Serbian princes - the Great Martyr Lazar (+ 1389) and Stefan Šciljanovic (+ 1515).

The most famous of the monasteries are the Hilendar Monastery in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos-Guide on Mount Athos (founded in 1199); Holy Dormition Lavra "Studenica" (founded around 1183) - the mother of Serbian churches; Zhichsky Monastery (founded at the beginning of the 13th century); monastery "Pechskaya Patriarchy" (founded in the middle of the 13th century)

“Our faith is Orthodox.” Long-suffering Serbia is an ancient Orthodox land. (VIDEO)

In a country where mighty black mountains in smoking clouds and dense forests with a variety of inhabitants, where wonderful nature, like a mother, accepts Orthodox children into its warm and tender embrace, who with love for their Creator for centuries created monasteries and temples, where all this is not burdened the abundance of scientific and technological progress, where a person spends his entire earthly life in contemplation of the Wisdom of God - there, in this very place, it seems that the throne of God is located.

In this country, people cannot imagine their life without the church and the Orthodox faith, and are ready to shed their blood for Christ and their beloved native land. And they spill...

...The end of the 20th century. In the struggle for “human rights” the European Peacekeeping Union in Serbia “established order”:

— In Kosovo, Albanian extremists destroyed and burned 25 Orthodox churches and monasteries, including medieval architectural monuments. The number of destroyed churches and monasteries in this region since 1999 has exceeded 130 Orthodox shrines.

— In three days in Prizren, the cathedral church of the Virgin Mary, built by Tsar Milutin in 1306-1307, the Church of the Holy Savior, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels, built in the 14th century, the Church of St. George (15th century), the cathedral church of the Holy Great Martyr George were destroyed and burned. In the town of Srbic, the Devic Monastery (14th century) was set on fire.

— Temples and church buildings were burned in the towns of Pec, Bolo Polje, Brnjak Orahovce, Djakovce, Uroshevac, Kosovo Polje, the village of Bresie, and in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina, the Church of St. Nicholas was burned. The building of the Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius, as well as the Bishop's Courtyard in Prizren, were burned. Thousands of Orthodox Serbs suffered for the faith of Christ, defending their homeland.

Well, well, Orthodox Serbia is an alien entity in the body of “enlightened” and “democratic” Europe, and therefore the Serbs are subject to either de-Orthodoxization or physical destruction. All recent events on the territory of the former Yugoslavia show that this task has been set by NATO and the European Union and is being consistently implemented.

By the grace of God I had the opportunity to visit this country. Long-suffering little Serbia. It extends to the territory of the former Yugoslavia, is located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea and borders Albania, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Its area is 255,800 square meters. kilometers. The population of this country is over 23,600,000 people. Just over 2,000 people live in the Serbian capital Belgrade.

The Orthodox Slavic people live in this land, who have suffered many enemy attacks, repressions and discrimination throughout their history.

Serbia has a special significance for the entire Slavic Orthodox world, including Kievan Rus. The Serbs, like the Bulgarians, saved the Orthodox civilization during the Catholic persecution in Moravia and Pannonia. It is known that at the end of the ninth century, after the death of Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius, Slavic writing, invented by Cyril and Methodius, was on the verge of extinction: parishes were destroyed, clergy were expelled, and about five hundred students of Cyril and Methodius were sold into slavery in Venice. Slavic writing was saved thanks to the fact that rich Serbs and Bulgarians bought enlightened exiles from slavery.

After the Baptism of Rus' by the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the first Slavic liturgical books came to us from Serbia. Slavic writing, which gave historical life to our people, was saved by the Serbs. From there, from the borders of Serbia, where the sermon of Cyril and Methodius was heard live, and where they left their book school, the first lists of liturgical and theological texts came to us, and to this day, sorting through the ancient manuscripts of our libraries, we now and then come across the note : "Serbian letter". In the Serbian edition, we received not only Serbian literary monuments themselves, but also many Byzantine literary monuments. The fact that these facts are not insignificant is indicated by the diligence and painstakingness with which any mention of them was erased from our history in recent, godless times. Indeed, you will not find a single word about the Serbian literary influence on young Russian literature in any textbook of the Soviet period... Serbia is an ancient Orthodox land. In the Serbian city of Nis, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine was born, who established Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. In Kosovo and Metohija there are the most ancient shrines of the Orthodox Church - monasteries and temples.

Feelings of Slavic solidarity, and among the Slavic peoples they were largely associated with the attitude towards Russia as the backbone of the Slavic world, manifested themselves very clearly. Ivan Aksakov expressed this in a brief formula: “All the strength of the Slavs is in Russia, all the strength of Russia is in its Slavs.” Montenegrin ruler Peter I Njegos left his successor Peter II the order: “Pray to God and hold on to Russia.” It is not without reason that Emperor Alexander III, during a visit to him by Prince Nikola Petrovich, dropped the phrase: “Europe can wait until Russia hosts its only ally in Europe.” When Russia was exhausted in the fire of the Civil War and convoys were stretched to all directions of the world, trains moved, steamships went with people saving their honor and lives. One of the countries where they found temporary refuge, and then their second home, was Orthodox Serbia. All this gives reason to say that Serbia and Rus' are sisters in Christ.

Almost all great wars have passed through Serbia since the 14th century. With the battle of Kosovo in 1389, where, under the pressure of a Turkish army three times larger than the Serbian army, almost all Serbian warriors fell without flinching, the enslavement of Serbia begins. The Turks not only massacre and enslave Serbs, they also destroy Christian books, scrape out the eyes of the Virgin Mary on frescoes, and “Turkishize” Serbian Orthodox churches, turning them into mosques. Book culture in the country is fading, the once highly developed literary tradition is breaking down, giving way to oral folk art and epic songs performed to the accompaniment of the harp. The fact that the Serbs at the beginning of the 18th century were forced to turn to Russia for the liturgical texts themselves speaks volumes about how much the “godless Hagarites” hated the word of God imprinted on the pages of books, about how fiercely they tried to eradicate it: and to this day Since then, the Liturgy in most Serbian churches is celebrated in the Church Slavonic language in the Russian edition...

Serbs began to become acquainted with monastic life during the spread of Christianity in the Balkans. Monasticism among them was affirmed by St. Clement and Naum are disciples of the Slavic apostles, the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius. Initially, monasticism in Sebria was of the cinnamon (communal) direction, but soon another direction developed - the anchorite (desert-dwelling).

From ancient times to this day, Orthodox Christians have suffered many blows from the Catholic Church, the Muslim community, and sometimes from the Serbian government. But there is no despair and despondency in the eyes of the faithful disciples of Christ and the patriots of their Motherland, because they always remember their holy heroes, in whom Serbia is rich. For example, the name of Saint Sava (in the world Serbian prince Rastko Nemanja) is known and revered not only in the church, but also in secular circles. Saint Sava I was the first bishop of the Serbs. His veneration by the Serbs is unusually great. The Serbian Church itself is called St. Sava. And it is no coincidence, because it was he who played a huge role in the formation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and also became an active participant in state affairs. Even when he was a simple monk, he was the closest advisor to his brother Prince Stefan, whom he later crowned king of Serbia. Saint Sava often carried out important diplomatic missions. Having been elevated to the high priestly throne of his native Church, he sought to create an inextricable union between the Church and the Serbian state in the name of the prosperity of Orthodoxy and the preservation of the Serbs as a nation.

It is appropriate to compare the two high priests of the Orthodox Church, St. Mitrofan, the first Bishop of Voronezh, and St. Sava, Bishop of Serbia - after all, their lives and ministry are very similar. The role of both of them in the matter of pastoral and public service is great. The activities of St. Mitrofan and St. Sava were a true blessing of God for those places where they carried out their ministry. Under the wise guidance of the saints, all aspects of not only church but also state life experienced beneficial changes. Monks, white clergy and laity were equally dear to both saints, they cared about everyone equally. Truly, both saints are examples of service to God and people for their compatriots: after all, their works have been reflected in the life of the Church and the Fatherland for centuries.

The SOC and the entire State of Serbia turn with love and reverence to the exploits of their heroes and patriots of the fatherland, and in difficult military trials and “democratic persecutions” they draw the strength of faith and sacrificial love for God and neighbors. But since the time of St. Sava, there has not been such an inspired and profound preacher and spiritual author among the Serbian people as St. Nicholas of Serbia. Bishop Nicholas is the greatest preacher of the word of God and, perhaps, the largest figure in Serbian spiritual literature of the 20th century. And not only the twentieth. It is noteworthy that, knowing perfectly well the European philosophy and science of his time, Vladyka Nicholas prophetically predicted the Second World War already in the early 1920s and described in detail the weapons and methods that would be used in it by “civilized Europe.” He believed that the cause of the war was the removal of European man from God. The Lord dubbed the godless culture of his time “White Plague”...

By studying world history, we will undoubtedly be able to discover the fact that such a state, where the Church and the government are subordinate to one law - the Law of God - is invincible. How you cannot defeat good with evil. But in our lawless times we can only dream about this. That Great Union was destroyed by the human will and what awaits us - “God knows.” We go into battle self-confidently, proudly throwing away the Strong Shield, and find ourselves wounded and maimed, and even struck to death.

Well, so far Serbia does not look like such a crazy warrior. The entire Serbian people are like a single warrior, protected by the strong armor of the Orthodox faith. And the fruit of this intelligent and wise life is the spiritual growth of the people and the prosperity of the Serbian Church. Today the Serbian Orthodox Church has 36 dioceses. It includes more than 3,500 parishes, 204 monasteries, about 1,900 priests, 230 monks and 1,000 nuns.

But the Serbian people endured everything with the help of God and their spirit remained unbroken. Serbia survived everything - the Turkish invasion, world wars, and the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 90s of the 20th century.

In five days it is impossible to get acquainted with the life of Serbian monasteries. Therefore, my impressions are inevitably fragmentary and subjective, however, I still managed to catch certain patterns. There are practically no “city monasteries” in Serbia - all monasteries are, as a rule, located at some distance from large populated areas. Basically, all the monasteries are embraced by gentle nature with its green embrace, fresh air and black mountains. All constructions do not violate the harmony of nature and it even seems that they were born as its legitimate heirs, which testify to the great wisdom of God.

Serbian monasticism is a living factor in the religious and moral development of society and, as a center of mental, or rather bookish, education of the people, owes its origin and further existence entirely to Athos. The direction given to Serbian Orthodox monasticism by St. Savva, is still observed today.

The most powerful impression from the trip was, of course, the people. Serbs are very friendly, open, benevolent, and in recent years - also very pious. Despite the most difficult trials that befell them, they maintained a bright, joyful state of mind.

God cannot be mocked.
Help them, Lord! Keep the faith and strengthen the spirit of our long-suffering brothers in Christ! VPDS student
Alexey Fedyanin

Statistics

• OK. ser. 2001 - more than 3,500 parishes; OK. 1900 priests; 204 monasteries, 230 monks and 1000 nuns; 6 seminaries (in Belgrade, Sremski Karlovci, Niš, Cetinje, in the Krka monastery and Kragujevac), 2 theological faculties (in Belgrade and Libertyville), the Theological Institute at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade and the Theological Academy in Srbinje; more than 1000 students study in seminaries, more than 1000 students in theological faculties and academies [3]
• no later than January 1, 2006 - 8 million members; 45 bishops; 37 dioceses; 3000 priests; 2974 parishes [2]

Prayers

Troparion, tone 4

:

High Hierarchy of God-bearing, our fathers, / as the enlightener of Serbia, / holy chief shepherd and patriarch, / true guardian of the apostolic traditions, / pillars of steadfastness, / instructions of Orthodoxy Nice, / pray to the Lord of all Christ / to grant universal peace / and great mercy to our souls

.

Kontakion, tone 3

:

Live piously on the thrones of the hierarchs/ and teach your people to the wisdom of God,/ pleasing goodness to God,/ for this reason from Him incorruptibility and miracles are glorified quickly,// like disciples of God’s grace ́ti

.

Orthodox monasteries of the Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska is part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many Serbs live here, they profess Orthodoxy, and in these parts there are 25 Orthodox monasteries, both ancient and completely new. During the five years of living in this country, I managed to visit a good half of them, and I’ll tell you about the most impressive ones.

Krupa na Vrbas (Banja Luka Diocese)

The Krupa na Vrbasu Monastery was the first one I found myself in after moving to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now I am no longer surprised at the modesty of local monasteries, I know that it is so here, but the first time it was unusual. A small church with a new carved iconostasis, next to it there is a two-story building - the residential part of the monastery, and that’s all. There isn't even a fence.

The monastery, located on the Krupa River, was supposedly founded in the 13th century. It is dedicated to Saint Elijah. The monastery was for a long time under the protection of the Greben fortress, which towered on a cliff above the entire area. Then these lands were captured by the Turks, Greben was destroyed. The monks continued their ministry for another two centuries, but in the 17th century they left these lands.

The monastery was revived three decades ago through the efforts of Father Savva. The Church of St. Elijah was restored, and a residential building for the monks was built nearby.

The monastery houses a valuable gift from Russia - a piece of the relics of St. Matrona of Moscow, and believers from all over the country and even from Serbia come here to ask the saint for protection and help.

Where is it located: 25 kilometers south of Banja Luka (the main city of the Republika Srpska).

Lovnitsa (Zvornitsa-Tuzlan diocese)

According to popular legend, the Lovnica monastery was founded by King Dragutin. This monastery stands in a secluded place among the mountains near a healing spring.

Lovnica is a real treasure among Balkan monasteries. The iconostasis and part of the frescoes in the church are the works of Longin, a Serbian painter of the 16th century, whose influence on Balkan icon painting was felt for centuries. The painting of the church is connected with almost a detective story, the solution to which is still unknown. In 1589, Longin painted three dozen icons for the iconostasis and began work on the murals, but suddenly put down his brush and left the monastery. After that, traces of him were lost for seventeen years. And then Longinus returned - but not to the brush, but to the pen, becoming the author of church hymns.

To complete the abandoned work in 1607, the abbot of Lovnica invited a painting team, presumably from Macedonia. These masters (Nikola, Georgiy, Jovan and another Jovan) could not compete with the brilliant Longinus, but they tried their best.

The monastery more than once went through difficult times, burned, was attacked and destroyed, but the church with its most valuable iconostasis and paintings remained intact.

Where is it located: in the west of Republika Srpska, 40 km from Zvornik – the border point between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Monastery of St. Petka (Zvornitsa-Tuzlan diocese)

The Monastery of St. Petka (Paraskeva) near Bijeljina is one of the newest monasteries, founded in 2005. It is unusually luxurious: most monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina look very modest, they are not about luxury, but about sincerity.

The monastery was conceived as a place of life for clergy who, due to age and health conditions, cannot continue to serve - something like a home for the elderly. Its vast territory has been turned into a Garden of Eden, where something is constantly blooming and fragrant.

In the middle of the garden is a church with gilded onion domes: the same as those of Russian churches. The church has two floors, the crypt is dedicated to St. Sergius of Radonezh. It contains a piece of the relics of this saint - a gift from Patriarch Alexy II. On the walls are images of Russian saints. The upper church of St. Petka is even more luxurious; its domes are supported by fancy tree columns with the faces of saints and martyrs in medallions.

Well, the house for retired monks is just a palace. Five floors, turrets, galleries, a luxurious portal with mosaic peacocks.

Where is it located: in the north-west of Republika Srpska, 5 km from Bijeljina

Dobrun (Dabro-Bosnian Metropolitanate)

From Visegrad with its famous bridge on the Drina to Dobrun is 12 kilometers. It was a coincidence that I ended up in Dobrun on the day of his glory on the cross - his patronal feast day. Already at the entrance to the monastery there were a surprising number of people, chevapchichi and sausages were sizzling on the braziers at the entrance, beer was flowing like a river, music was thundering over the silent mountains.

Dobrun is dedicated to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On August 28, hundreds of believers come here to attend the festive liturgy and then have a lot of fun.

According to legend, the Dobrun monastery, founded by the local ruler Pribil in the 14th century, was once the largest in these parts: sources give information about 700 monks, although this is difficult to believe. After the Turkish conquest, the brethren left the monastery. Over the centuries, there have been several attempts to revive spiritual life in Dobruna, but only the last one was successful: it became the spiritual center of the region in 1994.

Now Dobrun is a large monastery with many buildings, two museums, a publishing house, an ancient church and a monumental monument to Karageorgi on a high rock. The church has preserved frescoes from the 14th century. Alas, only partially.

Where is it located: in the west of Republika Srpska, 8 km from the border with Serbia

Dobrichevo (Zakhumi-Herzegovina and Primorsky diocese)

Dobrichevo is a traveler monastery. In the 1960s, he moved to a new location with all its walls, roofs and paintings. Then a dam was built nearby to create the Bilech reservoir, and the monastery found itself in the flood zone. It had to be saved for the very reason that the walls of the church were decorated with frescoes by Georgiy Mitrofanovich, a Serbian master of the 17th century. The monastery was carefully dismantled pebble by stone, having first transferred the frescoes to a new base, then they were assembled on a high bank and the frescoes were returned to the walls.

Dobrichevo was founded in the 13th century, most likely by one of the Nemanjićs, a medieval dynasty of Serbian rulers. It is dedicated to the Entry of the Mother of God into the temple. In the 17th century, the monastery was rich and influential enough to invite George Mitrofanovich, at that time the best Serbian icon painter, to paint the church. During the Turkish rule, the monastery suffered many troubles.

Now Dobrichevo is a convent. Mother Tekla, the abbess of the monastery and a wonderful icon painter, moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina from Greece. Mother taught icon painting to the nuns of the nearby monastery of Saints Peter and Paul, and in recent years they have painted several churches in the vicinity of Trebinje.

Where is it located: in the south of Republika Srpska, 20 km north of Trebinje

Tvrdosh (Zachumi-Herzegovina and Littoral Diocese)

I will not be mistaken if I say that the most famous of the monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Tvrdosh. First of all, with their wines. One of the best wineries in the country operates at the monastery. A visit to the monastery often ends with a tour of the cellars followed by a tasting of the magnificent monastery wines.

Through the glass floor you can see the foundations of the 4th century church. In the XV-XVI centuries Tvrdosh was one of the most influential in the region. Here Vasily Ostrogsky, one of the most revered saints of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was tonsured, and before his expulsion from Herzegovina he was the abbot of the monastery.

In 1694, the Venetians blew up Tvrdosh to prevent the Turks from using it as a military fortification. The revival of the monastery began only in the 1920s. It is still under construction: quite recently, for example, a pirg tower has grown, similar to the towers of Hilandar, a Serbian monastery on St. Athos.

Location: south of Republika Srpska, 8 km from Trebinje

Duzhi (Zachumi-Herzegovina and Littoral Diocese)

Duji by status is a metoh (branch) of Tvrdosh. However, there was a period when Duzhi was the center of the Zachumi-Herzegovina diocese. After the destruction of Tvrdosh, some of the monks went to Montenegro, and some, together with the ruler, moved to Duzhi. The tiny Church of St. Panteleimon was rebuilt over time to correspond to the new status; in place of the shacks, konaks grew up - housing for monks. In 1777, the center of the diocese was moved to Mostar, and Duzhi remained the spiritual center for the Orthodox of Herzegovina.

Numerous threads stretch from Duzha to Russia and back. The book of travel notes by the first Russian consul in Bosnia, Alexander Hilferding, opens with a chapter about the Duzhi Monastery. He also contributed to the restoration of the monastery when it was destroyed by the Turks. Between the two world wars, the brethren of the monastery were Russians who left their homeland after the revolution (all were killed by the bullets of Yugoslav partisans). One of the bells of the ancient church is a gift from Russia.

Now Duzhi is a convent. It stands away from the main road, visitors there are rare, but every guest is welcome. They will treat you to brandy and coffee, show you the monastery, and tell you about its history.

Location: south of Republika Srpska, 12 km west of Trebinje

And others

In conclusion, I will list the remaining Orthodox monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Zvornica-Tuzlan diocese (northeast of the country) includes the ancient monasteries of Tavna, Ozren, Papraca, Sase and the new ones - St. Basil of Ostrog in Bijeljina and St. Nicholas in the ethnic village of Stanisici. In the vicinity of Banya Luka there are the monasteries Moštanica, Gomionica, Stuple, Liple. In the Bihac-Petrovac diocese (northwest) - Rmanj, Glogovac, Klisina and Veselina. In addition to the mentioned Dobrun, in the Dabro-Bosnian Metropolis there is also the Vozuca Monastery. There are seven monasteries in Herzegovina: in addition to Tvrdos, Duza and Dobrichevo - Žitomislić near Mostar, the monasteries of St. Peter and Paul and Zavala near Trebinje, and in Trebinje itself the monastery of Hercegovačka Gračanica was built in 2000.

Jelena Arsenijevich, tour guide and author of an online guide to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Photo by the author

Russia and Serbia: United Faith. One pain. United future?

The rector of the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade, Archpriest Vitaly Tarasyev, in an exclusive interview with Constantinople, spoke about the modern life of the Serbian Church, its relationship to the Russian Church and preserving the memory of pre-revolutionary Russia

We met with Archpriest Vitaly Tarasyev, the grandson of Russian refugees who found themselves in Belgrade as a result of the revolutionary upheavals and civil war of 1917-1922, in the Holy Trinity Church of the Belgrade metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose rector Father Vitaly has been for almost a quarter of a century. Before that, the rector was his father, Archpriest Vasily, and before him, from 1950 to 1974, his grandfather, Archpriest Vitaly.

While maintaining the continuity of generations, the Tarasyev family also preserved the memory of that old, pre-revolutionary Russia, which we, Russian people, have long lost. And at the same time, Father Vitaly and his relatives understand better than others the inextricable spiritual connection that unites Russians and Serbs, Orthodox Slavic peoples, who suffered a lot in the tragic 20th century and are under constant external pressure even today, in the 21st century.

Archpriest Vitaly Tarasyev and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade in 2011. Photo: mospat.ru

We talked about this and much more with Father Vitaly on the salt of the Holy Trinity Church, a few meters from the grave of the legendary white general, Baron Peter Wrangel, buried in Serbian soil within the walls of this particular Russian shrine.

Kosovo Front of the Orthodox World

Tsargrad : Father Vitaly, exactly 20 years ago your church was seriously damaged during NATO bombing. Please tell us about this tragic event.

Archpriest Vitaly Tarasyev : Yes, it was in 1999 as part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Just 60 meters from the altar wall of our temple is the main television center of Serbia, which was bombed by the Americans on the night of April 22-23, as a result of which our temple was severely damaged: all the windows were broken, 27 holes in the roof, and suffered from the shock wave and the walls of the temple.

Ts .: As a result of those events, on June 20, 1999, Yugoslav troops were forced to leave Kosovo and Metohija. What did this forced surrender lead to?

Temple of Our Lady of Leviska in the Kosovo city of Prizren (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Photo: novorosinform.org

Father Vitaly : The truce was signed, but peace did not come. Serbs were forced to leave Kosovo and Metohija en masse (and this is the cradle of Serbian Orthodoxy!), but we must remember that this process itself began not 20 years ago, but much earlier. Back in 1946, when communist power established itself in Yugoslavia, it passed a law according to which Serbs, forced to leave Albanian-occupied Kosovo during the war, were prohibited from returning to their native places. But the pressure continued after the war, and by the early 1990s many Serbs had already left their homes, a process that only intensified in the 1990s with Western support.

In general, this process is the implementation of the old idea of ​​the Anglo-Saxons about a “Great Albania” under their control, one of the elements of the geopolitical “Great Game” that began a very long time ago. And this applies not only to Kosovo and Metohija: a significant part of the territory of the same North Macedonia today is under the control of the Albanians, as are the three communities of Serbia - Presevo, Medveja and Bujanovac, which the Albanians also actively claim. As a result, the very project of “Greater Albania” is emerging, which does not allow Russia and China to spread their influence in the Balkans.

Ts .: It is known that some modern Serbian politicians were already ready to exchange territories with the Albanians. Did the Serbian Church stop them?

Father Vitaly : That’s right: the Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church clearly spoke out for the integrity of Serbia and the inadmissibility of any territorial divisions. In the interpretation of the conciliar decisions on the official website of the Serbian Orthodox Church it is written directly: the land that we give up will be impossible to return, and occupation is always temporary.

Ts .: What is the general situation on Kosovo territory today? Are services held in numerous Orthodox shrines, temples and monasteries in this occupied territory?

Father Vitaly : Divine services, of course, are taking place. There is a living Orthodox Church there, although the Serbs are, of course, small in number. There are living monasteries with inhabitants and nuns, and people go to their rural churches on Sundays. In 2004, as you know, there was a real destruction of shrines in Kosovo. But here we see the real schizophrenia of Western countries: on the one hand, it was they who contributed to this defeat, and on the other, a few years later, through UNESCO and other international foundations, they began to restore ancient shrines.

The first Liturgy in 12 years at the ruins of the Kosovo Holy Trinity Monastery. 2011. Photo: pravoslavie.ru

Ts .: Even the Kosovo Albanian authorities boast that they have restored something?

Father Vitaly : This is exactly clear. They do this in order to rename all the shrines of the Serbian Orthodox Church that they have restored to “Kosovo shrines,” which, in their opinion, gives them the right to “nationalize” these churches and monasteries in order to take them away from the Church in favor of their false state.

Serbian Church - Stronghold of Orthodoxy

Ts .: Father Vitaly, undoubtedly, the clear canonical position of Patriarch Irenaeus of Serbia and all Serbian bishops on the Ukrainian church issue is very important for the Russian Church. To what extent do people in Serbia generally understand the importance of what is happening?

Father Vitaly : The Episcopate of the Serbian Orthodox Church understands perfectly well what is happening in Ukraine. Firstly, because there are a lot of personal contacts. Secondly, the Serbs are also going through difficult trials on their canonical territory. This is a long-term schism in North Macedonia, which began under the communists, and a schism in Montenegro (the so-called “Montenegrin Orthodox Church” has direct ties with the “Kyiv Patriarchate” - note Tsargrad). All of them are formed on the basis of nationalist hatred of the Serbian people and the Serbian Orthodox Church, just as the schisms in Ukraine are based on hatred of the Russians and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ts .: But what is the goal of these pseudo-Orthodox schismatic projects? Is it just a split among Orthodox peoples and a weakening of their Churches?

Father Vitaly : All this is also connected with the process of unification. There have already been examples in history of how splintered parts of one nation went into union, and these Uniates have always been more aggressive towards the Orthodox than the Roman Catholics themselves. This is exactly the process that is now happening in Ukraine, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. And, of course, this is supported by the United States and other Western countries both financially and politically: the Serbs are seen as sort of “little Russian men” in the Balkans.

Ts.: What kind of support are they now expecting from Russia in Serbia? Not in 1999, when we were unable to transfer the S-300 systems to the Serbs in order to protect, among other things, the Russian Holy Trinity Church, in which we are now located, but right now.

Father Vitaly : Thank God, now we have a different situation in Russia, a different president and a different worldview than in 1999. Russia has shown that it knows how to defend its national interests, including in Syria. The Serbs would like her to demonstrate this in relation to their country, where over 90% of the population are Orthodox Christians. And I completely agree with this, because, on the one hand, we are peoples of the same blood and the same faith, and on the other hand, this is completely in the interests of Russia. By the way, the Balkans and the Middle East are both spiritually and geopolitically interconnected regions.

Serbs - Russians in the Balkans

Ts .: But isn’t there social apathy in Serbia now, due to the fact that today’s authorities, despite patriotic rhetoric, are deepening the process of “European integration”, which does not consist of increasing the living standards of the population, but of holding annual “gay parades”?

Father Vitaly : If we look at the world through the eyes of a church person, we see that in reality a lot can be done even in a seemingly hopeless situation. Let me remind you that the Russian people and the Russian Church began their revival in 1988, in the year of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'. Also the Serbian people and the Serbian Church - in 1985, when the Yugoslav state returned to the Church a site in Belgrade with the 12-meter walls of the Temple of St. Sava on the site where, according to legend, the Turks burned his relics in the 16th century.

Then, in May 1985, the ever-memorable Serbian Patriarch Herman celebrated the Divine Liturgy at this place with a gathering of several hundred thousand worshipers. My late father, Archpriest Vasily, was then among the serving priests, and I was there too. And that was the beginning. Obviously, the process of revival cannot be very fast; three or four generations must change. In a history textbook, 100-150 years is half a paragraph, but in personal terms, this is a long time.

Belgrade. View of the Church of St. Sava the Serbian. Photo: patriarchia.ru

Therefore, what is happening today does not surprise me. All of this is part of a long spiritual struggle between God and the devil. At the same time, the Serbian Church, which, however, is not always allowed to freely enter the public space, has its own firm canonical position regarding the same so-called “European values” that contradict Christian, evangelical values. And the people hear it.

Holy Trinity Church in Belgrade: connection between generations

Ts.: Obviously, for the revival of our Orthodox peoples, it is important to turn to the spiritual experience of previous generations. Here, within the walls of the Russian Holy Trinity Church, built by white emigrants, the traditions of old, pre-revolutionary Russia were preserved even after the revolutionary tragedy of 1917. Is this memory still preserved today?

Father Vitaly : Yes, between the two wars (World War I and World War II - Tsargrad) here, in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and since 1929 - the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, there were Russian Orthodox communities in all cities. And everywhere church life was not only preserved, but developed. In August 1944, when it became clear that the Yugoslav territories would be liberated from the Nazis by the Red Army, many Russian emigrants left these lands. After all, liberation from the fascists is one thing, and the NKVD lists that actually existed and were already known about are another.

Holy Trinity Church. Metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Photo: patriarchia.ru

As a result, our Holy Trinity Church and Iveron Chapel at the New Cemetery in Belgrade, by agreement of the Serbian and Russian Churches, were transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate and received the status of a Metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Unfortunately, until 1985, the attitude towards Russians in Tito’s Yugoslavia was very difficult, and therefore many descendants of Russian emigrants moved away from our church community.

Patriarch of Serbia Irenaeus performs a divine service at the Russian Holy Trinity Church in Belgrade. Photo: mospat.ru

And only from the late 1980s - early 1990s did it begin to revive. At first these were descendants of refugees, then they were joined by families of Russian diplomats, Russian entrepreneurs with businesses in Serbia, representatives of mixed marriages, and finally, employees of representative offices of various Russian companies in Serbia. Therefore, of course, the community of our church today is very different from what it was in the 1920s and 1930s, but the memory of those times in our parish, of course, is preserved.

Introduction

For many centuries, the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches have been united by the most diverse and often close ties. At the beginning of the 20th century, Serbia already had a monastery inhabited by Russian monks and two churches built with Russian participation, but this was only the beginning. The 20th century became a unique period when representatives of two fraternal Slavic Churches constantly interacted with each other, provided each other with various assistance and mutually enriched each other spiritually.

This was due primarily to the fact that in Yugoslavia in the 1920s - the first half of the 1940s. the center of activity and the highest governing bodies of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad were located. After the revolution of 1917, the Russian Orthodox Church continued and even expanded its missionary activities outside the country. As a result of the defeat of the white movement during the civil war of 1918–1920. About two million citizens of the country left Russia because they did not accept the victory of Soviet power. Of these, more than 200 thousand by the beginning of the 1920s. settled in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula, primarily in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1929 - Yugoslavia). Such a number of emigrants contributed to a significant intensification of Russian church life abroad. Among those who left Russia were more than two thousand clergy, including over 40 bishops; the Serbian Orthodox Church alone accepted 250 Russian priests into service.

Primarily 1920-40s. represented a unique period when the Russian clergy played a significant role in the general religious life of Yugoslavia. It was often more educated, active, and creative than the local Orthodox clergy, and therefore, from the beginning of the 1920s. often initiated many important spiritual processes: contributed to the revival of Serbian female monasticism, the creation of theological educational institutions (seminaries, theological faculties at Belgrade and Zagreb universities), the development of theological science, etc.

After the end of the First World War, in 1918, a virtually new state arose on the basis of Serbia - the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, therefore much of its internal structure, including church life, had to be created anew, and in this case, Russian clergy were able to express themselves clearly. This was facilitated by the historical, centuries-old tradition of perceiving the Church of the powerful Russian Empire (although no longer existing after 1917) as leading in the Orthodox world.

The overwhelming majority of Russian clergy and laity who settled in Yugoslavia belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Although this Church was relatively small in number, it had significant authority and therefore played a significant role in determining the general church situation in South-East Europe. In total, on the territory of Yugoslavia in the early 1920s. About 85 thousand Russian emigrants settled (although their number then decreased significantly).

They built six churches and chapels, formed more than 10 parishes, spiritual brotherhoods - St. Seraphim of Sarov, Father John of Kronstadt, St. Prince Vladimir, Holy Rus', etc. Monks from Russia lived in many Serbian monasteries and, in addition, formed two more independent ones - men's in Milkovo and women's in Khopovo. At the Faculty of Theology of the University of Belgrade in 1939, two Russian professors taught and 23 Russian students studied. In the city of Sremski Karlovci there was the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - the Synod of Bishops, headed by its chairman, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), who was replaced by Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky) in 1936[1].

The end of World War II brought with it major changes. A significant part of Russian emigrants left Yugoslavia, but more than 10 thousand still remained in this country. Since 1945, there was a Russian deanery in Yugoslavia under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, but since 1955 there was only one metochion of the Russian Church with two churches in Belgrade. In the second half of the 20th century, the history of Russian church emigration in Yugoslavia is characterized by a gradual decline. A new significant revival of Russian church life in this country began in the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, and continues to this day.

It should be noted that the phenomenon of the Russian diaspora of the 20th century consisted in its service to eternal truths (including Christianity), familiarizing the European public with Russian age-old cultural, moral and religious values, which was especially evident in Yugoslavia. Russian Orthodox world abroad in the 1920s-1940s. was an entire continent that had almost disappeared. Only recently has it attracted the attention of researchers. Their work is also important for understanding the modern church situation. It was the Russian émigré clergy who did extremely much for the development of Orthodoxy in the Balkans, and the fruits of these efforts are still felt today.

The historiography of the chosen topic is not very extensive. Only in the early 1990s. began turning to colossal, previously inaccessible layers of documents from Russian archives, as well as to foreign archives of the Russian Orthodox Church, which have not yet been sufficiently introduced into scientific circulation.

The activities of the Russian church emigration in Yugoslavia are discussed in the small but interesting book by V. I. Kosik “The Russian Church in Yugoslavia (20-40s of the XX century)”[2]. In 2007–2014 Three monographs by A. A. Kostryukov, a teacher at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Humanitarian University, were published, dedicated to the history of the Russian Church Abroad in the 1920-1980s, especially during the period of its governing bodies being in Yugoslavia[3].

The missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox diaspora is partially examined in the monograph by A. B. Efimov, who paid special attention to the history of Russian Spiritual Missions and the fate of Russian religious philosophers and theologians who found themselves abroad[4]. A significant contribution to the study of connections between the Local Orthodox Churches, including the Serbian Church, and Russian church emigration was made by K. E. Skurat[5]. Among the published works about famous figures of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, it is worth noting books about the sainted Archbishop John (Maksimovich) who served for some time in Yugoslavia[6].

Many valuable facts can be extracted from review works on the history of Yugoslavia and its individual regions, written by German historians T. Bremer, K. Buchenau and L. Steindorf[7]. And in 2011, Klaus Buchenau published a fundamental monograph on Russian influence on the Serbian Orthodox Church[8]. Of the descendants of Russian emigrants of the first wave currently living in Serbia, the main contribution to the study of the topic was made by A. B. Arsenyev, who published a number of books and articles on the history of various Russian parishes and monasteries in Yugoslavia. In preparing this book, the works of Slavic, primarily Serbian, Croatian and Montenegrin historians were also used: R. Radic, P. Pozar, V. Djuric, J. Kristo, V. Puzovich and others.[9]

A valuable source is the ten volumes published in 1957–1963. the work of Bishop Nikon (Rklitsky), dedicated to the first hierarch of the ROCOR, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky)[10]. In 1988, the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville published the collection “Letters of His Beatitude Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky)”[11].

Of interest is also the published narrative heritage of figures of the Russian church emigration (memoirs, diaries, autobiographies, letters, etc.): Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov), Metropolitan Evlogii (Georgievsky), Archbishop John (Shakhovsky), director of affairs of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad Bishop Gregory (Grabbe), secretary of the Patriarch of Serbia Varnava V. A. Mayevsky and others.[12]

A number of important topics from the history of the Russian church diaspora in Yugoslavia, despite their obvious scientific importance, remain unstudied. Meanwhile, documents stored in archives make it possible to illuminate many little-known or previously unknown pages of this history. This book used documents from many Russian and foreign archives, both state and church.

Among them: the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Military Archive, the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, the Federal Archive in Berlin (Bundesarchiv Berlin), the Political Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bonn (Politisches Archiv des Auswartigen Amts Bonn), the archive of the Institute of Modern history in Munich (Institut fur Zeitgeschichte Mimchen), Archive of Serbia, Archive of Yugoslavia in Belgrade, Croatian State Archives in Zagreb, Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European History and Culture at Columbia University in New York (The Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European History and Culture, New York), archive of the Hoover Institution on war, revolution and peace Archives, Stanford University, special collection of the library of Stanford University in California (Stanford University, Special collections Librarian), Archive of the Department of External Church connections of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archive of the St. Petersburg Diocese, Synodal Archive of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in New York, Archive of the Holy Trinity Theological Seminary of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in Jordanville (New York), Archive of the German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in Munich.

The monograph was prepared by Doctor of Historical Sciences, chief archivist of the Central State Archives of St. Petersburg, teacher of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Mikhail Vitalievich Shkarovsky.