This year’s regular session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Serbia commenced with a concelebrated hierarchical Divine Liturgy and the invocation of the Holy Spirit at the monumental Church of Saint Sava in Vračar on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, under the presidency of Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, with the participation of twenty-four concelebrating hierarchs and the prayerful presence of four additional hierarchs of the Serbian Church from the homeland and the diaspora.
On May 14, in the lower church of the Church of Saint Sava in Vračar, dedicated to Saint Prince Lazar, the Holy Assembly of Bishops, under the presidency of the Patriarch and with the participation of all diocesan bishops as well as all auxiliary bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, began its deliberations. In accordance with established practice, at the opening of the first working session, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia addressed the assembled metropolitans and bishops with a greeting, in which he stated, among other things:
“…In the Church, none of us lives as an isolated individual, nor is anyone the owner of the ministry and gift entrusted to him. Each person serves within the Body of Christ, in communion, in obedience, within his own office, and in the place assigned to him. Just as in the Divine Liturgy everything has its proper time and place, so too in the life of the Church every ministry has its own measure, blessing, and responsibility.
Order, the ecclesiastical order according to the Christian experience of the Church, is not a constraint imposed upon freedom, but a reflection of the divine Logos within the order of creation and the life of the Church. Freedom in the Church is not arbitrariness, but ministry in truth and love; it is not the rejection of order, but life within it, where love does not become a pretext for chaos, zeal is not transformed into coercion, and authority serves not domination but ministry.
It is precisely from this liturgical and conciliar experience of the Church that her canonical structure proceeds. The people of God, the clergy, and the monastic community await with attention and hope the voice of the Assembly; therefore, it is our duty not to be guided by temporary pressures, by divisions created through the media, or by artificial conflicts, but to preserve the freedom of ecclesiastical judgment. Yet this freedom does not mean closing our eyes to problems; rather, it means that the Assembly, when the proper time comes and matters have matured, will examine with spiritual responsibility, sobriety, and proper canonical foundation even those wounds that arise within the very life of the Church, correcting with spiritual accountability whatever has proved harmful to the life of the Church, for the sake of the Church’s peace, order, and spiritual health…
…We gather, therefore, not to establish a new order, but to return once again, as brothers and hierarchs, to that order which Christ Himself, through His Apostles, the Holy Fathers, and the Councils, as well as through the timeless experience of our local Church, entrusted to us for safekeeping. Order does not suppress the gift, but protects it from laxity and arbitrariness. Communion is not the result of human agreement, but the very grace-filled life of the Body of Christ, preserved through faith, love, and fidelity to the order that the Holy Spirit bestowed upon the Church…
…I pray to the Risen Lord to grant us a spirit of humility, sobriety, and love; speech that does not wound but heals; zeal that does not destroy but builds up; freedom that does not degenerate into arbitrariness but is transformed into obedience to the truth. And in all that we do during these days, may we have before us not ourselves, nor fleeting glory, nor fear of men, but the Lord Christ, before Whom we shall all give account for the flock entrusted to us…”
During the sessions that followed, the reports of the Holy Synod, the Great Ecclesiastical Court, and the diocesan hierarchs were heard and examined, as well as the reports of the hierarchs responsible for military chaplains in the Serbian Army and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Reports were also reviewed from the Administrative Board of the Patriarchate, the Patriarchal Library, the Museum and Archive of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the charitable organization “Philanthropy,” the pilgrimage organization “Benefaction,” and other institutions and services of the Serbian Church concerning their activities during the past year.
The Assembly gave particular attention to reports concerning the episcopal ministry in the diaspora, with special reference to conditions in the dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States of America, Australia, and the British Isles.
During this year’s proceedings, the synodal fathers entered into the diptychs of saints the late nun Euphemia of the Monastery of Devič, known among the people as “Blessed Stojna” (Zarić), who reposed in 1895, recognizing in her person an example of virtuous and ascetic life. Her first biography had been composed by Saint Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović. Her feast day was established as 28/15 February each year.
The Assembly analyzed the current condition and challenges of ecclesiastical education and heard reports from all educational institutions of the Serbian Church. During this session, last year’s efforts concerning the reform of curricula in Serbian Orthodox theological schools continued. To this end, a new operational statute for the theological schools was approved, and new four-year academic programs were adopted.
Careful consideration was also given to the report concerning efforts to elevate the Higher School – Academy of Arts and Conservation of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the level of a university faculty, which henceforth will operate as the “Despot Stefan Lazarević” Faculty. Particular emphasis was placed on the issue of founding the Serbian Orthodox University “Saint Sava.” Ecclesiastical universities and higher educational institutions founded or supported by Christian Churches are not an innovation in the European or global educational sphere; on the contrary, they represent one of its oldest and most significant forms. Many of Europe’s most distinguished universities were founded precisely within the bosom of the Church or with its direct support.
Saint Sava, already as an archimandrite, founded a monastic school at Studenica, and as Archbishop established a cathedral school at Žiča. His discourses at Studenica and Žiča constitute characteristic programs of Saint Sava’s educational vision, with clearly defined spiritual, intellectual, and pedagogical aims. The Holy Assembly concluded that the idea of founding an ecclesiastical university expresses responsibility and care for all those who wish to receive their education within the Church, especially because education and learning are understood not primarily as the acquisition of knowledge, but above all as the cultivation of virtue and the path toward the knowledge of God.
Also included on the agenda of this year’s regular session of the highest ecclesiastical body of the Serbian Orthodox Church was the report on the condition of the Church in Kosovo and Metohija. On this occasion as well, the Holy Assembly reaffirmed its enduring and unwavering spiritual care and responsibility for the faithful people, clergy, monastics, and holy shrines of the ancient see of the Patriarchs and Archbishops of Serbia, the Patriarchate of Peć, and the Diocese of Raška and Prizren in Kosovo and Metohija, a region of particular spiritual and historical importance for the local Church.
The Assembly follows with particular concern the recent developments and the announced implementation of the controversial law on foreigners, which seriously endangers the survival and uninterrupted functioning of educational and healthcare institutions of vital importance to the life of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija. At the same time, grave concern was expressed regarding the increasingly frequent challenges faced by the faithful people, the holy shrines, and the monastic brotherhoods, which, even under difficult conditions, persist in preserving the living spiritual and liturgical presence of the Church in the region.
Especially encouraging is the fact that the ancient holy shrines continue, despite numerous trials, to gather large numbers of pilgrims from the country and abroad, demonstrating that they are not merely cultural monuments, but above all living centers of liturgical, spiritual, and ecclesiastical life.
The Holy Assembly expresses its full support for Metropolitan Theodosije of Raška and Prizren, the clergy, the monastic community, and the faithful people in their efforts to preserve, despite continual pressures and uncertainties, their centuries-old presence and their spiritual, cultural, and historical identity.
During the synodal sessions, the situation in the Diocese of Žiča was also analyzed in detail, together with the financial administration and the question of responsibility of the diocesan hierarch. With the aim of restoring canonical ecclesiastical order in the diocese, the Assembly decided to relieve Metropolitan Justin of further administration of the Diocese of Žiča.
As part of its pastoral concern for the faithful in this age of technological innovation and moral dilemmas, the Assembly devoted part of its attention to the issue of bioethics, hearing the report of the synodal commissions on Bioethics and on Care for the Family and the Sanctity of Marriage.
This year’s work of the Holy Assembly was further enriched by the official opening of the exhibition entitled “Saint Sava,” marking the 850th anniversary of the birth of Rastko Nemanjić, later the first Serbian Enlightener and Archbishop. The exhibition was held at the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts under the auspices of the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
During its proceedings, the Assembly also sent congratulations and good wishes to the newly elected Patriarch-Catholicos Shio of Georgia, on the occasion of his first official liturgical presidency at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, where the Serbian Church was represented by Bishops Stefan of Remesiana and Nikon of Genopolis.
In addition to the numerous issues that occupied the hierarchs during the Assembly, special attention was also given to relations with the other sister Orthodox Churches. The consequences of the uncanonical activities of various religious groups within the canonical territory of the Serbian Church were likewise examined, as were its relations with heterodox Churches and religious communities both in the wider region and internationally.
The Assembly also discussed the spiritual and geopolitical consequences of wars and crises throughout the world. In this context, the issue of the persecution suffered by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the hands of the present authorities in Kyiv was once again examined, including the confiscation of property, churches, and monasteries, as well as the persecution of hierarchs, priests, and monks of the only canonical Church in Ukraine, who are being deprived of fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed by international conventions.
During the Assembly, a session was also held of the Central Committee for the Completion of the Memorial Church of Saint Sava in Vračar, during which a report was presented concerning all works completed thus far, thanks to the offerings of the faithful people and the assistance of the Serbian state, as well as the projects that remain to be completed in this national sanctuary of the Serbian people.
At the Holy Assembly, the terms of Metropolitan Fotije of Zvornik-Tuzla and Metropolitan Theodosije of Raška and Prizren came to an end, and during the coming year, they will serve as alternate members of that body. Metropolitan Irinej of Bačka and Metropolitan Metodije of Budimlja and Nikšić remain regular members of the Synod for the remainder of their terms, while Metropolitan Jovan of Šumadija and Metropolitan Ilarion of Timok were elected as new members for the next two-year term.
