Churches and Monasteries of Serbia

In Serbia, the dominant religion is Serbian Orthodox Christianity. There are also some Catholics (mostly Croatian), Protestant (mainly Hungarian), and Muslim Albanians (particularly in the Kosovo region). In 1219 the Serbian Orthodox Church sought to be more autonomous from the Eastern Orthodox Church. St. Sava became the first archbishop of this newly established Church.

Church Construction

The shape of Orthodox churches in Serbia varies. The large central area may be square/rectangular, or circular. Many have a dome, symbolizing the heaven above. There are no seats for the congregation; they must stand during the entire liturgy. There are often special chairs/thrones along the side near the front of the public area, reserved for distinguished people. In a number of churches I visited, there was a circular area near the front of the public area, around which a special wedding ritual takes place. The public part of the church is often separated from the apse with an iconostasis. This tall screen, usually made out of wood, is typically decorated with paintings of Mary, Jesus, and the saints - with the patron saint taking a prominent position. Portrait styles are reminiscent of the Serbo-Byzantine style, which emerged in the late 13th century.

Frescoes - the “stained glass windows” of the Orthodox Church

Walls, particularly those in older churches, are decorated with frescoes. These elaborate frescoes fulfilled the role of stained glass in Western churches, bringing the events and teaching of the Bible to a once illiterate society. Some of these were plastered over during Ottoman rule, restored only after the Ottomans withdrew. Many suffered damage from the Turks who gouged out the eyes of the portraits (out of superstitious fear that the Saints might see them and do something), and countless numbers were irreparably damaged from roof leakage after the Turks removed lead from the church roofs. Others were simply destroyed by the Turks and/or the Germans during the World Wars. Some of the frescoes have been copied and are on display in the Fresco Museum in Belgrade.