Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America

Eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North America

The Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America (Serbian: Српска православна црква у Северној и Јужној Америци is the name for the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) in the Americas. It has five eparchies (dioceses), that were reorganized in 2009.[1] It also has a central church council made up of diocesan bishops. With almost 220 churches, chapels, monasteries and sketes in the United States, Canada and South America, the Serbian Orthodox Church has the largest number of monasteries per capita among all other Eastern Orthodox national churches, one for every 11 parishes.

History

Serbian Orthodox priest Sebastian Dabovich (1863-1940), born in San Francisco

The arrival of first Serbian Orthodox Christian emigrants to the Americas began in the first half of the 19th century. Those were mainly Serbs from the Austrian Empire (later Austria-Hungary), and also, by the end of the century, from the Kingdom of Serbia and Principality of Montenegro. Emigration was mainly directed to the United States. Among emigrants, there were several Serbian Orthodox priests, and by the end of the 19th century first parish communities were established and churches built. In 1893-1894, Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church was built in Jackson, California, thanks to the efforts of priest Sebastian Dabovich, who was the first Eastern Orthodox priest born in the USA.[2] Since there was no Serbian Diocese in the USA, parishes that were formed during that period were temporary placed under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Diocese in North America.

In the eave of the First World War, first steps were made towards the creation of a particular Serbian Orthodox Diocese in the United States, under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It was officially established as Serbian Orthodox Diocese of America and Canada, in 1921, by the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1923, administration of the Diocese was entrusted to archimandrite Mardarije Uskoković, who was elected and consecrated as Serbian Orthodox bishop of America and Canada in 1926. After his death in 1935, the diocese was administered until the election of new bishop Dionisije Milivojević in 1939.[3]

By the middle of the 20th century, the network of Serbian Orthodox communities in the USA and Canada was much expanded due to constant immigration, and soon after the Second World War it was proposed on several occasions to reorganize the wast continental diocese by division into two or three regional dioceses. Those proposals were opposed by bishop Dionisije who favored centralized administration. Gradually, various administrative problems escalated and by 1963 final decisions were made by the central authorities of the Serbian Orthodox Church to reorganize and divide the diocese into three regional dioceses.[3]

Since 1963, Serbian Orthodox Church in USA and Canada consisted of:

  • Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America and Canada
  • Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Midwestern America
  • Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America

Reorganization was strongly opposed by bishop Dionisije, who was supported by several fractions of Serbian political emigration in the USA. Conflict resulted into schism since Dionisije refused to recognize decisions of the Holy Synod. Thus, two parallel ecclesiastical structures were created, the official "patriarchal" branch organized into three dieceses, and alternative "free" branch headed by Dionisije, who was officially deposed.[3]

Eparchies

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Decision of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on redistribution of dioceses
  2. ↑ Vuković 1998, p. 38, 255.
  3. 1 2 3 Vuković 1998.

Sources

  • Radić, Radmila (2007). "Serbian Christianity". The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 231–248.
  • Vuković, Sava (1998). History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and Canada 1891–1941. Kragujevac: Kalenić.
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