This year’s regular session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church commenced with the solemn conciliar Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and the invocation of the Holy Spirit at the Memorial Saint Sava Temple on Vračar on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, presided over by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Kyr Porfirije, with concelebration by twenty-four bishops and the prayerful presence of four hierarchs of the Serbian Church from the fatherland and the diaspora.

The following day, May 14, in the lower church of the Saint Sava Temple on Vračar, dedicated to Holy Prince Lazar, the Holy Assembly of Bishops, under the presidency of His Holiness with the participation of all Their Eminences and Graces, the diocesan bishops, as well as all auxiliary bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, began the formal proceedings of its session. According to established practice, at the opening of the first working session, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Kyr Porfirije addressed the assembled metropolitans and bishops with a welcoming speech in which, among other things, He said:

“…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 serves in the Body of Christ, in communion, in obedience, within his own rank and in the place entrusted to him. Just as in the Liturgy everything has its proper time and place, so too in the life of the Church every ministry has its proper measure, blessing, and responsibility.

Táxis—order in the Christian experience of the Church—is not a chain imposed upon freedom, but a reflection of the Divine Logos in the order of creation and the life of the Church. Freedom in the Church is not self-will, but service in truth and love; it is not the rejection of order, but life within it, where love does not become an excuse for chaos, zeal does not turn into coercion, and authority is exercised not in domination but in service.

It is precisely from such liturgical and conciliar experience of the Church that its canonical structure proceeds. The people of God, the clergy, and monastics await the voice of the Assembly with attention and hope, and therefore it is our duty not to be led by passing pressures, media-created divisions, or artificially produced conflicts, but to preserve the freedom of ecclesial discernment. Yet that freedom does not mean closing our eyes to problems, but readiness for the Assembly, when the proper time comes and the questions have matured, to consider with spiritual responsibility, sobriety, and proper canonical-legal grounding even those wounds that arise within the life of the Church, correcting with spiritual responsibility what has proven harmful to the life of the Church, for the sake of the peace, order, and spiritual health of the Church…

…We gather, therefore, not to establish a new order, but, as brothers and hierarchs, to return anew to the order that Christ Himself, through His Apostles, Holy Fathers and Councils, as well as through the centuries-long experience of our local Church, entrusted to us for safekeeping. Táxis does not suppress charisma but preserves it from laxity and self-will. Communion, κοινωνία (koinōnia), is not the consequence of human agreement but the very grace-filled life of the Body of Christ, preserved in faith, love, and faithfulness  to the order given to the Church by the Holy Spirit…

…I pray to the Risen Lord to grant us the spirit of humility, sobriety, and love; a word that does not wound but heals; zeal that does not destroy but builds; freedom that does not grow into self-will but is transformed into obedience to the truth. And may we, in all that we do during these days, keep before our eyes not ourselves, nor transitory 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, reports on the work of the Holy Synod of Bishops, the Great Ecclesiastical Court, and the diocesan bishops were heard and analyzed, as well as reports from bishops responsible for military chaplains in the Armed Forces of Serbia and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Assembly also reviewed reports from the Patriarchal Administrative Board, the Patriarchal Library, the Museum and Archives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the charitable foundation “Čovekoljublje,” the pilgrimage agency “Dobročinstvo,” and other foundations, institutions, and services of the Serbian Orthodox Church regarding their work in the previous year.

The Assembly paid particular attention to reports concerning the pastoral ministry of hierarchs in the diaspora, with special focus on circumstances in the dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States, Australia, and the British Isles.

During this year’s session, the fathers of the Assembly added to the ranks of the saints the late nun Jefimija of Devič, popularly known as “Blessed Stojna” (Zarić), who reposed in 1895, recognizing in her life an example of virtue and ascetic struggle. Her first hagiography was prepared by Saint Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović. The Assembly designated February 28/15 each year as the date of her liturgical commemoration.

The Assembly analyzed the current state and challenges of church education and heard reports on all educational institutions of the Serbian Church. During this session, last year’s efforts to reform the curriculum in Serbian Orthodox theological seminaries were continued. To that end, a new Regulation on Theological Seminaries was adopted, along with new four-year educational programs for the seminaries. The Assembly also carefully heard a report on efforts to improve the educational process and elevate the Higher School – Academy for Arts and Conservation of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the rank of a faculty, which will henceforth operate as the “Despot Stefan Lazarević” Faculty. Special attention was also devoted to the topic of establishing the Serbian Orthodox University “Saint Sava.” Church universities and institutions of higher education founded or supported by Christian Churches are not a novelty in European or global educational space. On the contrary, they represent one of its oldest and most significant forms. Many of Europe’s most prestigious universities originated within the Church or with its direct support. Saint Sava himself founded a monastic school in Studenica while still an archimandrite, and later, as Archbishop, a cathedral school in Žiča. His sermons in Studenica and Žiča represent a kind of programmatic foundation of Saint Sava’s educational vision, with clearly defined spiritual, educational, and formative goals. The Assembly noted that the idea of establishing a church university reflects a sense of responsibility and care for all who wish to receive their education within the Church, especially in light of the understanding that education and enlightenment are not primarily interpreted as the acquisition of knowledge, but above all as the cultivation of virtue and a path toward the knowledge of God.

The agenda of this year’s regular session of the highest ecclesiastical and hierarchical body of the Serbian Orthodox Church also included a report on the state of the Church in Kosovo and Metohija. The Holy Assembly reaffirmed its enduring and unwavering spiritual concern and responsibility for the faithful people, clergy, monastics, and holy sites of the ancient seat of the Serbian Patriarchs and Archbishops—the Patriarchate of Peć—and of the Diocese of Raška and Prizren in Kosovo and Metohija, a region of particular spiritual and historical significance for the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Holy Assembly of Bishops is following with particular concern recent developments and the announced implementation of the controversial law on foreigners, which seriously threatens the survival and unhindered functioning of educational and healthcare institutions of vital importance for the life of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the increasingly frequent challenges faced by the faithful people, as well as our holy shrines and monastic communities, which, even in difficult circumstances, continue to persevere in preserving the living spiritual and liturgical presence of the Church in this region. It is particularly encouraging that our ancient shrines, despite numerous trials, continue to gather a large number of pilgrims from the country and from abroad, bearing witness that they are not merely cultural monuments, but above all living centres of liturgical, spiritual, and ecclesial life. The Holy Assembly of Bishops expresses its full support to His Eminence Metropolitan Teodosije of Raška and Prizren, the clergy, monastics, and the faithful people in their efforts, despite ongoing pressures and uncertainties, to preserve their centuries-old presence, spiritual, cultural, and historical identity, with the awareness of the need to continue, before domestic and international representatives, with renewed commitment, in the spirit of the Gospel of Christ, to bear witness to the truth concerning the necessity of protecting the human, religious, and property rights of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful people in Kosovo and Metohija, and to strengthen its position for the survival both of our faithful people and of the unique Christian culture and civilization on the soil of the historical cradle and spiritual heartland of the Serbian people.

At the Assembly sessions, the situation in the Diocese of Žiča, including its material and financial administration and the issue of responsibility of the diocesan bishop, was analyzed in detail. In order to establish regular ecclesiastical and legal order in the diocese, the Assembly decided to relieve His Eminence Metropolitan Justin of further administration of the Diocese of Žiča.

In its pastoral concern for the faithful in this era of technological innovation and ethical dilemmas, the Assembly also devoted part of its attention to the issue of bioethics, hearing reports from the Synodal Committee for Bioethics and the Committee for the Care of the Family and the Sanctity of Marriage.

This year’s session was also enriched by the ceremonial opening of the exhibition “Saint Sava,” marking the 850th anniversary of the birth of Rastko Nemanjić, later the first Serbian Enlightener and Archbishop, held at the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and organized by the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

During the session, the Assembly sent greetings and congratulations to the newly elected Georgian Patriarch-Catholicos, His Beatitude Kyr Shio (Simeon), to whose first official liturgical service in his new office, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church were delegated: Bishops Stefan of Remesiana and Nikon of Jenopolje.

Among the many issues addressed by the hierarchs at the Assembly, particular attention was devoted to relations with other sister Orthodox Churches. Consideration was also given, inter alia, to the consequences of the non-canonical activities of various religious groups within the canonical territory of our local Church, as well as to the relations of our Church with non-Orthodox Churches and religious communities, both in the surrounding region and throughout the world.

The Assembly also deliberated on the spiritual and geopolitical consequences of armed conflicts and crises throughout the world. In this regard, it also considered the still ongoing issue of the suffering of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the hands of the current authorities in Kyiv, the confiscation of its property, churches, and monasteries, and the persecution of the hierarchs, clergy, and monastics of this only canonical Church in Ukraine, who are deprived of fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed by international conventions. For this reason, the Assembly once again raises its voice in defense of its deprived and persecuted Orthodox brethren, appealing to all relevant international institutions not to turn a blind eye to this grave injustice.

During the Assembly, a session of the Central Body for the Completion of the Memorial Saint Sava Temple on Vračar was also held, at which a report of this body was received concerning all works carried out to date through the contributions of the faithful people and with the assistance of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the remaining works on this Memorial Temple of the Serbian people.

In the Holy Synod, the terms of Metropolitan Fotije of Zvornik-Tuzla and Metropolitan Teodosije of Raška and Prizren came to an end, and they will serve as substitute members of this body for the forthcoming one-year period. Metropolitan Irinej of Bačka and Metropolitan Metodije of Budimlje-Nikšić remain members of the Synod for the remainder of their one-year term, while Metropolitan Jovan of Šumadija and Metropolitan Ilarion of Timok have been elected as new members for the upcoming two-year term.