The Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Ljubljana
Slovenia is one of the smallest European countries with an area of 7,827 square miles—one and a half times smaller than the Brest region of Belarus.1 Slovenia has a population of just over two million people; the majority of believers are Roman Catholics. Orthodox Christians make up about three percent of the population, although their number has been growing in recent years.
In the central part of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, on Presernova Street, majestically dominates the city’s only Orthodox church dedicated to the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles. It belongs to the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The building of the church was completed in 1940, and it was constructed primarily thanks to the Serbs who were relocating here within a single state—the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Today, four priests and one deacon serve in the main Orthodox church of Slovenia. Services are celebrated mainly in Church Slavonic, with some Serbian interpolations. This is how it historically developed, and there are no plans to change this tradition here.
During my short stay in Ljubljana, I managed to talk with Deacon Petar Kozakijevic, who has lived in the Slovenian capital since 2024. A native of Serbia, he graduated from the Department of Orthodox Theology of the University of Belgrade, after which he was in secular employment. Then his spiritual father, the then Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana, and now Patriarch Porfirije (Peric) of Serbia, invited his spiritual son to move to Croatia.
Parish House of the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Ministry in Croatia
“In 2014, Vladyka Porfirije ordained me deacon, and I went to serve in Zagreb,” relates Fr. Petar. “I served there for only six months, because then I was blessed to continue my studies in Athens, where I spent the next two years. I returned to Zagreb from Greece in 2017.
“It was important for me to be in a church environment in Zagreb—that is, to feel at home,” he continues. “There are many thousands of Orthodox believers in Croatia, mostly Serbs. They are not ‘foreigners’ because they have lived in these lands for centuries and speak Croatian. In addition, the ethnic tensions between Serbs and Croats, which are more noticeable in the provinces, are not felt in the capital. Many Croats were kind to me just because I came from Serbia. Of course, there are also opposite examples: Some Serbs lose their jobs precisely because of their ethnic origin. Therefore, some Orthodox people conceal that they go to church. Services broadcast by Croatian television, for example on Pascha, are often celebrated in half-empty churches, because many are afraid of being caught on camera and being recognized. But there are also Croats who embrace Orthodoxy. There aren’t many of them though—maybe about ten people a year.”
Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Zagreb (Croatia) —How does it happen and what inspires them to make this choice?
—In most cases, they learn about Orthodoxy through online publications, then they find the nearest Orthodox church and start attending services. Some Croats have prejudices against the Serbian Church, but over time they realize that we speak about Christ, the Gospel, the Church and the feasts, and not about politics. This gives them confidence in the Orthodox Church.
—Do such people face a negative reaction from their Catholic relatives?
—Many Croats do not demonstrate this decision, although, of course, sooner or later they have to tell their families about it. It’s easier for young people in this regard, because they don’t have the memories of the war that the older generation has.
Ministry in Slovenia
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia
Deacon Petar is known in the Balkans as a teacher of Byzantine Church singing and one of the leading experts in this field. A group of believers who wanted to study it invited him to teach in Ljubljana. At first, Fr. Petar traveled from Zagreb every week, but later Bishop Kirilo (Bojovic), who replaced Patriarch Porfirije at the cathedra of Zagreb and Ljubljana, invited him to serve in Ljubljana. Besides, there was not a single Orthodox deacon in Slovenia at that time.
“We have fifteen parishes all over the country,” says Fr. Petar. “However, only one church was built specifically for worship—in Ljubljana. Elsewhere we mostly use rented premises. In Maribor and Postojna, we have acquired buildings for worship. By the way, there used to be Orthodox churches in Maribor and Celje, but the Germans destroyed them during the Second World War. The Ljubljana church survived because this part of Slovenia was under Italian, not German occupation.
—What other jurisdictions are represented in Slovenia besides Serbian parishes?
—The Macedonian Church has opened two parishes—in Ljubljana and Koper. In addition, a Russian priest comes to our church once a month and a Ukrainian priest also once a month. In this way, we give representatives of these communities the opportunity to pray with their clergy.
The Ljubljanica River
—The Russian and Ukrainian communities in Slovenia are probably not very large?
—After the war had begun, a large number of Ukrainians arrived in the Balkans, but most of them went to Croatia, not Slovenia. I served in Zagreb at the time. The Serbian Church tried to cater to Ukrainian refugees actively, visiting them and celebrating the Liturgy in their places of accommodation. A Croatian language course was organized at the church Community in Zagreb, and Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine was asked to send a priest who could meet the refugees’ spiritual needs better. In those days, it was especially important to provide Orthodox Ukrainians with their own priest, as there was a danger of them joining the Unia. There were cases when people were taken to Uniate (Greek Catholic) services without being warned that the services were not Orthodox. Therefore, it was vital for us to have a canonical priest from Ukraine, so that the refugees could receive spiritual guidance instead of going to schismatics or Uniates.
Deacon Petar Kozakijevic —Given the influx of refugees, does the parish in the Slovenian capital remain predominantly Serbian?
—First and foremost, our parish in Ljubljana is Orthodox. Like Orthodox communities around the world, we form our identity from the awareness that we are citizens of the “Jerusalem Above” and that we belong, above all else, to the Christian family, to the Orthodox family. Of course, the prevailing cultural expressions and local traditions are Serbian. Serbian, along with Church Slavonic, is also the most used language both during services and outside them. This is explained by the simple fact that the majority of our parishioners are Serbs.
However, our community is also known for its openness to others. Not only Serbs, Russians and Ukrainians come to us, but also North Macedonians, Greeks, Romanians and Arabs. In addition, we have a family of Palestinians from Gaza who regularly attend our services. And we have a significant and continually growing number of Orthodox Slovenes. They see us as the true Church and the true expression of the Christian faith. They admire our services, prayers, and fasts. By the way, there used to be a movement in Slovenia before the Second World War of people who were interested in Orthodoxy.
Parishioners of the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
—Is there no such movement today?
—In terms of mass character or in an institutionalized sense, no. However, understanding the spiritual needs and interest of Slovenes in Orthodoxy, our diocese and the church community are involved in various projects to translate Orthodox literature into Slovene and are their initiators. The most significant example is the translation of The Philokalia. One or two Orthodox books are translated annually, which makes a great contribution to the Slovenes’ acquaintance with Orthodoxy.
—Does the State help the Church in any way?
—Slovenia is a secular state and does not provide financial assistance to religious communities. Unlike in Croatia, the Law of God is not taught in Slovene schools. This pronounced secularism is evident in all spheres of public life.
The interior of the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
—Does it mean that studying the basics of Orthodoxy is possible only in Sunday schools attached to churches?
—Yes, that’s right. Our cathedral church in Ljubljana has a Sunday school for children of all ages. After the Sunday Liturgy, lunch is organized for the parishioners, while the children go to classes. After the lessons, they also join a common meal. The Sunday school is attended by children between the ages of five and thirteen. In addition, we have a youth group for people from sixteen to thirty-five. They meet on Wednesdays, and, under the guidance of one of our priests, discuss various topics of interest to young people.
—Is the problem of young people (especially teenagers) leaving the Church widespread in Slovenia?
—Thank God, I would not say that this is a serious issue for us. At least, not among those children who grew up in the Church and whose parents live a church life. We have a significant percentage of young people who regularly attend Sunday services. It seems to me that young people learn in Orthodoxy the genuine expression of the Christian experience—something that gives them not only answers to their questions, but also the experience of living in the Church as the mystical Body of Christ. Orthodoxy offers a genuine quality of life and a meaning that modern Western people have largely lost. I think that Orthodoxy is becoming more and more relevant in the modern world, where people are exposed to forces that deprive them of their human dignity.
One of the most serious challenges for our community today is the lack of a new church in Ljubljana. The present church, although it is not small, has become too cramped for the ever-growing community. Unfortunately, we have no opportunity to celebrate two Divine Liturgies on Sundays and the great feasts. Plenty of believers come, the church is always packed, and Communion takes a long time. That is why we are thinking of opening another church in Ljubljana.
—Are you going to buy a building?
—No, we want to purchase a plot of land and build a church. Negotiations are already underway. Besides, we are building a convent near Novo Mesto, where a nun currently labors. So far there are no Orthodox monasteries in Slovenia, but it is gratifying that there are active parishes and their number is growing.
