List of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church facts for kids

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Location
Ecclesiastical province	Belgrade and Karlovci
Information
Established	1219 (Archbishopric) 1346 and 1920 (Patriarchate)

The Serbian Orthodox Church is a very old Christian church. Its leader is called the Serbian Patriarch. This article lists all the important leaders of the church, from when it became independent in 1219 until today.

The church started as an Archbishopric (led by an Archbishop) and later became a Patriarchate (led by a Patriarch). The current leader is Patriarch Porfirije. He became Patriarch on February 19, 2021. His official title is "Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch."

The Patriarch is chosen by a special meeting of church leaders called the Bishops' Council. He also leads the Holy Synod, which is like the church's main governing body.

The Serbian Church became independent in 1219. This happened thanks to Saint Sava, who was its first Archbishop. In 1346, when Stefan Dušan became Emperor, he made the church's leader a Patriarch. This created the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. Other Orthodox churches recognized this in 1375.

After the Ottoman conquest in 1459, the church faced many challenges. The Patriarchate was even abolished for a long time, from 1766 to 1920. During this time, other church leaders in places like Karlovci and Montenegro led parts of the Serbian Orthodox community.

In 1920, the church was reunited. The Patriarchate was brought back, and its main seat moved to Belgrade. Today, the Patriarch leads the Orthodox Church in the areas of the former Yugoslavia (except Macedonia). He also leads Serbian Orthodox communities around the world, including in Western Europe, Australia, and the Americas.

Understanding the Titles of Church Leaders

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church has a long official title. It is "Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch." For short, people just say "Serbian Patriarch."

Over history, the title has changed a bit. For example, Archbishop Sava was sometimes called "Archbishop of Serb Lands." Later, other Archbishops used titles like "Archbishop of All Serb and Littoral Lands."

Key to the Tables

Archbishops (1219–1346)

These leaders guided the Serbian Church when it was an Archbishopric.

Serbian Archbishopric (1219–1346)
No.	Leader	Picture	Years in Office	Important Facts
1	Sava I Сава I	Saint Sava, the first Archbishop	1219–1233	First Archbishop of the independent Serbian Church.
2	Arsenije I Арсеније I	Saint Arsenije I Sremac	1233–1263	A student of Sava I. Moved the church's main seat to Peć.
3	Sava II Сава II	Sava II	1263–1271	Nephew of Sava I.
4	Danilo I Данило I	No image available	1271–1272	Served for a short time.
5	Joanikije I Јоаникије I	No image available	1272–1276	A student of Sava II.
No Archbishop from 1276–1279
6	Jevstatije I Јевстатије I	Saint Jevstatije I	1279 – 1286	Moved the seat back to Žiča briefly, then to Peć.
7	Jakov Јаков	No image available	1286–1292	Moved the church's seat to Peć permanently.
8	Jevstatije II Јевстатије II	No image available	1292–1309	Helped create seven new church regions.
9	Sava III Сава III	No image available	1309–1316	Known as "Archbishop of All Serb and Maritime Lands."
10	Nikodim I Никодим I	Nikodim I	1316–1324	Helped found a monastery.
11	Danilo II Данило II	Danilo II	1324–1337	A writer of church history.
12	Joanikije II Јоаникије II	Joanikije II	1338 – 1346	Became the first Patriarch.

Patriarchs (1346–1766)

These leaders held the title of Patriarch during the first and second periods of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć.

First Serbian Patriarchate of Peć (1346–1463)
No.	Leader	Picture	Years in Office	Important Facts
1	Joanikije II Јоаникије II	Joanikije II	1346 – 1354	First Patriarch of the Serbian Church. Elevated during Emperor Dušan's coronation.
2	Sava IV Сава IV	No image available	1354–1375
3	Jefrem I Јефрем I	Patriarch Jefrem I	1375 – 1380	First time in office.
4	Spiridon I Спиридон I	Patriarch Spiridon I	1380 – 1389
(3)	Jefrem I Јефрем I	Patriarch Jefrem I	1389–1390	Second time in office.
5	Danilo III Данило III	Patriarch Danilo III	1390–1396
6	Sava V Сава V	No image available	1396–1406
7	Danilo IV Данило IV	No image available	1406
8	Kirilo I Кирило I	No image available	1407–1419
9	Nikon I Никон I	No image available	1420–1435
10	Teofan I Теофан I	No image available	1435–1446
11	Nikodim II Никодим II	No image available	1446–1455
12	Arsenije II Арсеније II	No image available	1457–1463
First Ottoman Abolishment (1463–1557)
The Patriarchate was abolished by the Ottoman Empire during this time.
No.	Leader	Picture	Years in Office	Important Facts
	Pavle I Павле I	No image available	1526–1541	Tried to bring back the Serbian Patriarchate.
Second Serbian Patriarchate of Peć (1557–1766)
No.	Leader	Picture	Years in Office	Important Facts
13	Makarije I Макарије I	Makarije I	1557–1571	The Patriarchate was restored during his time.
14	Antonije I Антоније I	No image available	1571–1575
15	Gerasim I Герасим I	No image available	1575–1586
16	Savatije I Саватије I	Savatije I	1586
17	Nikanor I Никанор I	No image available	1588	Information about his time is limited.
18	Jerotej I Јеротеј I	No image available	1589–1590
19	Filip I Филип I	No image available	1591–1592
20	Jovan II Јован II	Jovan II	1592–1613
21	Pajsije I Пајсије I	Patriarch Pajsije I	1614–1647
22	Gavrilo I Гаврило I	No image available	1648–1655
23	Maksim I Максим I	No image available	1655–1674
24	Arsenije III Арсеније III	Arsenije III	1674–1690 (1706)	Led the First Serbian Migration to the Habsburg Monarchy.
25	Kalinik I Калиник I	No image available	1691–1710	A Greek leader who kept the Patriarchate going during difficult times.
26	Atanasije I Атанасије I	No image available	1711–1712
27	Mojsije I Мојсије I	No image available	1712–1724
28	Arsenije IV Арсеније IV	Arsenije IV	1724–1737	Led the Second Serbian Migration to the Habsburg Monarchy.
29	Joanikije III Јоаникије III	No image available	1739–1746	A Greek leader who later became the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
30	Atanasije II Атанасије II	No image available	1746–1752
31	Gavrilo II Гаврило II	No image available	1752
32	Gavrilo III Гаврило III	No image available	1752–1758
33	Vikentije I Викентије I	No image available	1758
34	Pajsije II Пајсије II	No image available	1758	A Greek leader.
35	Gavrilo IV Гаврило IV	No image available	1758	A Greek leader.
36	Kirilo II Кирило II	No image available	1758–1763	A Greek leader.
37	Vasilije Василије	No image available	1763–1765
38	Kalinik II Калиник II	No image available	1765–1766	A Greek leader. He resigned, leading to the Patriarchate's abolition.
Second Ottoman Abolishment (1766–1920)
After 1766, the Ottoman Empire abolished the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć for the last time. Serbian Orthodox people were then under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1920. Many Serbs moved to the Habsburg monarchy in 1690. This led to the creation of a church region in Karlovci in 1708. This region became a Patriarchate in 1848. When the Principality of Serbia was formed, the Metropolitanate of Belgrade was created in 1831. It became fully independent in 1879. In 1920, these different Serbian church regions reunited to form the modern Serbian Orthodox Church.

Patriarchs (1920–Present)

These are the Patriarchs of the reunited Serbian Orthodox Church, based in Belgrade.

No.	Leader	Picture	Years in Office			Important Facts
39	Dimitrije Димитрије	Patriarch Dimitrije	1920	1930	9 years, 6 months and 25 days	First Patriarch of the reunited Serbian Church.
40	Varnava Варнава	Patriarch Varnava	1930	1937	7 years, 2 months and 11 days	His death is still debated.
41	Gavrilo V Гaврилo V	Patriarch Gavrilo V	1938	1950	12 years, 2 months and 16 days
42	Vikentije II Викентије II	Patriarch Vikentije II	1950	1958	8 years and 4 days	His death is also debated.
43	German Герман	Patriarch German	1958	1990	32 years and 16 days	Served the longest as Patriarch.
44	Pavle Павле	Patriarch Pavle	1990	2009	18 years, 11 months and 14 days
45	Irinej Иринеј	Patriarch Irinej	2010	2020	10 years, 9 months and 28 days
46	Porfirije Порфирије	Patriarch Porfirije	2021	Incumbent	4 years, 6 months and 4 days (as of 23 July 2025)	The current Serbian Patriarch.

Timeline of Recent Patriarchs

More About the Serbian Orthodox Church

• Serbian Orthodox Church
• Patriarchate of Peć (monastery)
• Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci
• Metropolitanate of Belgrade
• Metropolitanate of Karlovci
• Patriarchate of Karlovci
• Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
  • List of metropolitans of Montenegro
• Religion in Serbia

Important Notes

• The Ottoman rulers did not always officially recognize the title "Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch." However, church records still show these leaders as Patriarchs. They were seen as the protectors of the "throne of Saint Sava."
• The Patriarchs hold the title of Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch. They are considered the successors to the Patriarchal throne of Peć. But the main office of the Patriarch is in Belgrade, Serbia.