Belgrade, May 12, 2026
Photo: spc.rs
The Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian government signed an agreement last week to jointly build an Orthodox university in Belgrade.
His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije and Prime Minister Đuro Macuta signed the relevant memorandum, to build the Serbian Orthodox University of St. Sava, on Friday, May 8, reports the Serbian Church.
The signing ceremony took place at the Patriarchate in Belgrade and was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who noted that Serbian education has historically been connected to faith. The school will provide theological studies alongside programs in medicine, law, natural sciences, technical sciences, and the arts.
Pat. Porfirije explained that establishing the university continues the deep, historically rooted educational path of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Serbian people, and the Serbian state.
“Many of the most prestigious universities in Europe arose precisely within the Church or with its direct support,” the Patriarch said.
His Holiness traced the history of Serbian Orthodox educational efforts back to St. Sava, who founded monastic and cathedral schools in Studenica and Žiča in the medieval period.
He added that the Church doesn’t close itself off, but remas present in society and opens its doors, placing its spiritual, educational, and cultural experience in service of the entire community.
The Serbian government adopted the text of the Memorandum in early April 2026, with the aim of continually improving the educational system and raising its quality in accordance with the principles of knowledge, upbringing, and morality.
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