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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK
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DE RUEHBW #1512/01 3521602
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181601Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0472
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BELGRADE 001512 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KIRF SR
SUBJECT: SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH: A PRIMER 
 
REF: A) BELGRADE 1356; B) BELGRADE 217; C) BELGRADE 1080 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) is the largest and most 
influential religious institution in Serbia.  It also is the most 
privileged of the seven "traditional" religious communities 
recognized by the 2006 law on religion.  Public opinion polls 
consistently demonstrate that the Church is by far the most 
respected and trusted institution in society.  The November 15 
death of revered Patriarch Pavle following an extended illness has 
placed the Church at an important crossroads in its development. 
The expected late January 2010 selection and enthronement of a new 
Patriarch will be crucial in shaping the SOC's attempts to adopt 
its role to modern-day Serbia.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Background 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) is an 
autocephalous("self-headed" or "self-governed") Orthodox Christian 
church that includes bishoprics (dioceses) in Serbia, Kosovo, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, and 
overseas, including in the United States, Canada, and Australia. 
Among autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, the SOC ranks 
sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople (Istanbul, 
Turkey), Alexandria (Egypt), Antioch (Syria), Jerusalem (Israel), 
and Moscow (Russia). 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) Various estimates place the number of SOC adherents 
worldwide at between 7 and 11 million.  According to Serbia's 2002 
census, 85% of the population, or 6.3 million people, identified 
themselves as Orthodox.  (Note: Approximately five percent of the 
population was Roman Catholic and another three percent was Muslim. 
Protestant groups represented slightly more than one percent of the 
population.  End note.) In addition, more than 97% of ethnic Serbs 
responded that they were Orthodox.  Although some NGOs and minority 
religious communities dispute this last figure, Orthodoxy clearly 
is the predominant religion in Serbia. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) There is no state religion in Serbia; however, the 2006 law 
on churches and religious communities, which the USG has criticized 
as discriminatory and requiring amendment, recognizes seven 
"traditional" religious communities:  the Serbian Orthodox Church, 
Roman Catholic Church, Slovak Evangelical Church, Reformed 
Christian Church, Evangelical Christian Church, Islamic community, 
and Jewish community.  As a "traditional" community, the SOC was 
exempt from an invasive and burdensome registration process and 
enjoys preferential treatment such as tax exemptions.  The 
government also subsidizes salaries for Serbian Orthodox clergy 
working in other countries. 
 
 
 
Structure 
 
--------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) The SOC is headed by a Patriarch, who is considered the 
first among equals, and whose full title is Archbishop of Pec, 
Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch.  The 
Patriarch is elected for life during a session of the Sabor, or 
Holy Assembly of Bishops.  Pavle, the 44th Serbian Patriarch, 
passed away on November 15 after 19 years as Patriarch (Ref A). 
The SOC constitution allots 90 days for the election of a new 
Patriarch, and it was announced on November 25 that an electoral 
session of the Sabor would begin on January 22 following observance 
of the traditional 40 days of mourning.  Most commentators believe 
 
BELGRADE 00001512  002 OF 004 
 
 
that the Sabor would like to install the new Patriarch by January 
27, which is the Day of Saint Sava, the founder and first 
Archbishop of the SOC. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) The Holy Assembly of Bishops, or Sabor, brings together all 
SOC bishops.  Under the SOC constitution, the Sabor is required to 
meet on a yearly basis, but in recent times it has held bi-annual 
sessions in the spring and fall.  The Holy Assembly of Bishops is 
the highest body in the Church hierarchy and as such is empowered 
to take binding decisions concerning faith, worship, and internal 
discipline.  The Sabor selects the heads of Orthodox seminaries, 
approves the curriculum for secondary school Orthodox religion 
classes, and is responsible for "the moral upbringing of youth." 
It also oversees the Holy Synod, or Church government, and acts as 
the highest Church judicial authority in disputes between 
archbishops and on canonical errors by archbishops or the 
Patriarch. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Holy Synod, a five-person body headed by the 
Patriarch, essentially governs the Church on a daily basis.  The 
Sabor appoints members to the Synod for two-year terms with half of 
the Synod changing each year.  The Holy Synod is responsible for 
"supporting dogmatic and canonical unity and continual contacts 
with all autocephalous churches" and for advancing the Christian 
faith.  Currently headed by Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro 
and the Coastlands, who also is caretaker of the SOC following 
Pavle's death, the Synod oversees the work of the bishops, handles 
a host of administrative functions, and acts as a judicial body for 
disputes between bishops.  The other members of the Holy Synod 
currently are Bishop Irinej of Backa, Bishop Irinej of Nis, Bishop 
Fotije of Dalmatia, and Bishop Grigorije of Zahumlje and 
Herzegovina.  Both Irinejs and Grigorije are considered 
front-runners, along with Amfilohije, to be the next Patriarch. 
 
 
 
Patriarch Election Procedures 
 
----------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Current election procedures, which may come under 
challenge in the run-up to January 22, are complicated.  At least 
two-thirds of the 44 bishops must be present for the Sabor session 
to be considered valid.  Through repeated rounds of voting, bishops 
identify three "finalists," who must have served five years or more 
as a bishop to be nominated.  Retired bishops cannot be nominated 
or vote.  In order to advance to the final round, a nominee must be 
supported by at least half of the bishops.  The final choice is a 
"blind draw" or "apostolic choice" in which the oldest monk with 
the title of archimandrite, representing the "hand of God," chooses 
the Patriarch by selecting one of three sealed envelopes containing 
the candidates' names.  The new Patriarch typically is installed in 
the Cathedral Church in Belgrade the day after his election, while 
the final ceremony takes place in the old seat of the Serbian 
Orthodox Church in Pec Patriarchy (Kosovo).  Although long 
considered by SOC analysts to be the frontrunner to succeed 
Patriarch Pavle, Metropolitan Amfilohije steadily has lost ground 
to potential contenders Bishop Irinej of Backa and Bishop 
Grigorije.  (SOC election analysis to be reported septel.) 
 
 
 
Role and Status of the SOC 
 
-------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) Public opinion polls consistently have shown that the SOC 
enjoys the public's trust, especially in comparison to governmental 
institutions, and some observers believe this trend generally has 
held true over the past 20 years.  The results of a poll presented 
by Balkan Monitor on December 2 showed that 67% of respondents 
expressed confidence in the SOC and other religious institutions, 
as opposed to 37% in the courts, 35% in the government, and 22% in 
political parties. 
 
BELGRADE 00001512  003 OF 004 
 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The outpouring of emotion following the Patriarch's 
death, while also attributable to his humility and monasticism, 
further reinforced the impression that the SOC remains a respected 
force in society.  More than 600,000 people from across Serbia and 
the region turned out in the streets on the day of Pavle's funeral, 
and many thousands stood wordlessly in miles-long lines throughout 
the night during the three-day mourning period to pay their last 
respects.  Embassy observers were struck by the solemnity that 
marked these events, in particular the respectful silence, 
punctuated only by the sound of shoes slapping the ground, during 
the funeral procession throughout usually bustling downtown 
Belgrade.  With the exception of Bishop Grigorije who rode by car 
as master of the procession, Metropolitan Amfilohije and the top 
church leadership walked the entire funeral route, as did leaders 
from across the political spectrum, including Serbian Progressive 
Party president Tomislav Nikolic and Liberal Democratic Party 
president Cedomir Jovanovic.  President Tadic and his entire 
cabinet attended the funeral, which was broadcast live on public 
television in its entirety. 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In a November 5 meeting, pensioned (but still a member 
of the Sabor) Bishop Lavrentije of Sabac, who will preside over the 
January Sabor as the longest-serving bishop, painted an optimistic 
picture of the SOC's future.  Arguing that the Church emerged from 
World War II "as an invalid" but was all the stronger for the 60 
years that it suffered under socialism, Lavrentije told us that 
there has been an "awakening" since 2000.  The number of 
christenings has risen dramatically, and, most importantly, those 
who have returned to the Church have remained.  Asked to explain 
the level of popular support for the SOC, Lavrentije replied that 
the Church has been above politics and therefore is not seen as 
responsible for problems currently faced by the population. "For 
centuries, the Church has been seen as a guardian," he said, 
explaining that historically Serbs, due to their experiences with 
the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires, have never seen the state 
as their own. 
 
 
 
Relations between Church and State 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Over the past year, there has been a noticeable uptick 
in government efforts to engage with the Church, perhaps in an 
attempt to capitalize on the SOC's standing and popularity. 
President Tadic attended Orthodox Christmas Mass at Belgrade's 
Saint Sava Cathedral in January 2009 and pointedly stood among the 
parishioners instead of taking his spot in the VIP section.  The 
President and Foreign Minister Jeremic on several occasions met 
with the Holy Synod, ostensibly to discuss preservation of cultural 
and Church heritage in Kosovo.  Following the Patriarch's death, 
the President observed the emergency Holy Synod session, drawing 
criticism from civil society, and he spoke at the funeral.  In a 
December 10 article in the daily "Vecernje Novosti," Protosyncellus 
Metodije (Ostojic), assigned by Metropolitan Amfilohije to care for 
Patriarch Pavle, described how the President, upon arriving at the 
Military Medical Academy after the Patriarch died, reportedly asked 
rhetorically "What will I do now? On whom will I rely?" 
 
 
 
¶13.  (SBU) The Church also has sought to reassert itself in the 
political arena.  During the past year, the SOC, in particular 
Metropolitan Amfilohije, Bishop Irinej of Backa, and Bishop 
Artemije of Raska and Prizren, spoke out publicly on political 
hot-button issues such as the draft Vojvodina statute and draft 
anti-discrimination law (Ref B), the Pride Parade (Ref C), and the 
status of Kosovo.  Even though some of these statements crossed the 
line of apostolic advocacy, the government countered criticism by 
arguing that the Church was entitled to express its stance.  As 
Bishop Irinej of Backa told us on November 5, the mission of the 
Church is to "create a society in which Christianity has influence" 
and democracy dictates that the Church, given its standing and 
support, should be one of the factors in decision-making. 
 
 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Critics of Amfilohije argue that the Church should spend 
more time teaching the tenants of Christianity to a Serbian public 
traumatized by decades of communism and war, rather than advocating 
 
BELGRADE 00001512  004 OF 004 
 
 
for government policies.  Charge has suggested to a number of 
Church officials the example of John Paul II who devoted a visit to 
Poland, early in the Solidarity government, to teaching the Ten 
Commandments. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Although it stagnated during Pavle's two-year illness, 
the Serbian Orthodox Church retains its prominent role in Serbian 
society.  It, however, faces a number of challenges - both internal 
and external - as it seeks to ensure its continued relevance and 
adapt to the 21st century.  The campaign to succeed the Patriarch 
will sharpen competing directions for the Church's future.  The new 
Patriarch will need to unify the Church and undertake a missionary 
role in re-introducing Christianity to Serbia's Orthodox.  He also 
will need to find the correct balance in addressing Serbia's 
serious social issues while not blurring the line between church 
and state. End Comment. 
BRUSH