Sremski Karlovci, Serbia, May 16, 2022
Photo: spc.rs
The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrated the 100th anniversary of the restoration of the Serbian Patriarchate in Sremski Karlovci, one of the three cathedras of the Serbian Patriarchate, over the weekend.
The Serbian Church was initially granted the dignity of a Patriarchate in the 14th century. This was abolished by the Ottomans in 1463, though it was later restored in 1557, lasting until 1766. Following the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918, all Serbian ecclesiastical provinces were gain united in the single Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate in 1920. The centennial celebration was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: spc.rs
The celebration of the great jubilee began on Saturday, May 14, at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, with the solemn reception of His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije and other hierarchs and the celebration of Vespers, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The Serbian primate then opened a multimedia exhibition entitled “One Century Since the Establishment of the Serbian Patriarchate 1920-2020” in the famous Patriarchal Palace of Srem. Among the most important items displayed were the Panagia of the Serbian Holy Hierarchs of 1923.
The Patriarchal Divine Liturgy was celebrated the next morning at the same cathedral with a host of other Serbian hierarchs.
Following the service, a joint message of the Patriarch and all Serbian hierarchs for the occasion was read out.
The hierarchs express their great appreciation for the unity of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the spiritual inheritance coming down from those who brought the Orthodox faith to the Serbian land. Even when the Peć Patriarchate was abolished in 1766 and the Serbian Church covered the territory of divided states, the Church always strove to maintain “the spiritual and national identity of its flock,” the message reads.
Photo: spc.rs
“This great holiday is a holiday of unity and harmony, a day when everyone confirmed the general, everyday awareness of the unity and continuity of our holy Orthodox Church in history, especially since the great event of acquiring autocephaly, more than eight centuries ago.”
“In all troubles, hardships and sufferings, the Serbian Orthodox Church shared the joys and sorrows of the entire Serbian people, and the Serbian Patriarchate was and remains a symbol of national unity even when the state system and unity were broken.”
The Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, including all Serbian hierarchs, also opened a new session yesterday. It is expected that the hierarchs will issue a response to the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s recent decision to enter into communion with the Macedonian Orthodox church under the title of the Ohrid Archbishopric.
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