Serbian Patriarch

The coat of arms of the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade & Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The Serbian Patriarch is the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and also holds the titles of Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Karlovci.

The episcopal see was founded by St Sava in 1219 as an archdiocese under the Patriarchs of Constantinople. In response to a declaration of the Serbian Empire, the archdiocese unilaterally declared itself as a patriarchate in Peć in 1346. This was not recognized by Constantinople until 1379.