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territory=Serbia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Hungary, FYROM (disputed), Montenegro, some former Yugoslav republics|

The Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member restoration of the Patriarchate was of great importance for the Orthodox communionSerbs, located primarily because it helped the spiritual unification of all Serbs in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and FYROMthe Ottoman Empire. Since many Serbs have emigrated to foreign countriesAfter consequent Serbian uprisals against the Turkish occupation in which the church had a leading role, now there are now many Serbian Orthodox communities on all continentsthe Turks abolished the Patriarchate once again in 1766. Soon after their arrrival The church returned once more to Balkans, the Serbian tribes were successively [[baptism|baptised]] by Christian [[missionary|missionaries]] and became Orthodox Christiansjurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constintinople. The This period of so-called "[[consecrationPhanariots]] " was a period of St. great spiritual decline because the Greek [[Sava of Serbia|Savabishop]] as autocephalous Archbishop s had very little understanding of Serbia in 1219, strengthened various their Serbian principalities even more in their ecclesiastical allegiance flock. This was also the period when a great number of Christians converted to [[Church of Constantinople|ConstantinopleIslam]] and to avoid the Christian East. Later, as severe taxes imposed by the medieval kingdom of Serbia grew Turks in size retaliation for uprisings and prestige and as Stefan Dusan, king of Serbia from 1331, assumed the imperial title of tsar (1346 continued resistance. Many Serbs with their [[hierarch]]s migrated to 1355), southern Hungary where the Archbishopric of Pec church was correspondingly raised to the rank of Patriarchateautonomous. The period before the arrival seat of the Turks archbishops was the time of the greatest flourishing of the moved from Pec to Karlovci. The Serbian Orthodox Church. After the final Turkish conquest of the most influental Serbian principality finally regained its independence and became autocephalous in 14591879, the greater portion of Serbian lands became a Turkish pasalik (province). After year after the recognition by the death of Patriarch [[Arsenios II Allied powers of Serbia|Arsenios II]] in 1463, a successor was not electedas an independent state. The [[Patriarchate]] was thus de facto abolishedAfter World War I, and all the Serbian Church passed Serbs were united under one ecclesiastical authority, and the jurisdiction of the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]]. The Serbian Patriarchate was restored reestablished in 1557 by the Turkish sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]]. 1920 with election of Patriarch [[Macarios Demetrius (SokolovicPavlovic) of PecSerbia|MacariosDimitry]], brother the Patriarch's full title being ''Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of the famous Mehmed Pasha SokolovicBelgrade and Karlovci, was elected and Patriarch in Pecof the Serbs''.

The restoration of the Patriarchate was of great importance for the Serbs because it helped the spiritual unification of all Serbs in the [[Turkish Empire]]. After consequent Serbian uprisals against the Turkish occupators in which the Church had a leading role, the Turks abolished the Patriarchate once again in 1766. The Church remained once more under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constintinople. This period of so called "Phanariots" was a period of great spiritual decline because the Greek [[bishop]]s had very little understanding for their Serbian flock. This was also the period when great number of Christians converted to [[Islam]] to avoid severe taxes imposed by the Turks in retaliation for uprisings and continued resistance. Many Serbs with their [[hierarch]]s migrated to Southern Hungary where they had been granted the Church autonomy. The seat of the archbishops was moved from Pec to Karlovci. The Serbian Orthodox Church finally regained its independence and became autocephalous in 1879, the year after the recognition by the Great Powers of Serbia as an independent state. After World War I, all the Serbs were united under one ecclesiastical authority, and the Patriarchate was reestablished in 1920 with election of Patriarch [[Demetrius (Pavlovic) of Serbia|Dimitry]], the Patriarch's full title being "Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Patriarch of the Serbs."  During the Second World War, the Serbian Orthodox Church passed through severe trials in which many bishops, [[priest]]s and about 700,000 [[laity|lay]] Orthodox Christians were killed by Croatian and Muslim fascists (according to the Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren). Hundreds of [[church]]es were completely destroyed or desecrated. After the Second World War the Church church experienced new trials under the communists who prohibited teaching of religion in schools, confiscated the property of the Churchchurch, and used various overt and covert means of persecution in order to diminish the influence the Church church had among the people. It was only after 1989 that the position of the Church has church became tolerable, although the Church church estates have not yet been returned to their lawful owners.

The supreme authority of the Serbian Orthodox Church is the [[Holy Synod]], composed of all its bishops, who meet once a year. A permanent synod of four members carries out the administration of the day-to-day affairs of the church. The Serbian Orthodox Church is divided into 40 [[diocese]]s , each headed by its own metropolitan, archbishop, or bishop: