Christianity in Serbia
[citation needed] Florus and Laurus, who are venerated as Christian martyrs, lived in the 2nd century in Ulpiana (Lipljan) in modern Kosovo.
They gave their salaries to the poor and are said to have cured the son of Mamertin, the local pagan priest, who then converted to Christianity.
The temple was reconstructed into a Church, which prompted local pagans to kill the 300 Christians, including all aforementioned.
Not much before 313 while emperor Licinius was present in Singidunum, he oversaw trial and murder of deacon Hermylus and Stratonicus whose bodies were thrown in the Danube but resurfaced downriver and were later buried by Christians and venerated as saints.
Sirmium, Singidunum, Naissus, Viminacium, Remesiana, Horreum Margi, Margum and Ulpiana are all mentioned as bishoprics by 343.
Bishop Nicetas of Remesiana during his long tenure (366–420) contributed much to the spread of Christianity in the region and earliest mention of monastic communities dates from his time.
However mere decades later entire established ecclesiastic structure collapsed under the impact of Avar raids and Slavic settlement that followed.
The last known archbishop of Justiniana Prima and indeed of any bishopric on territory of modern-day Serbia for centuries to come was Ioannes (c. 595-602/3) The Serbs were baptised during the reign of Heraclius in 610–641 by "elders of Rome" according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his annals (r.
[5] The forming of Christianity as state-religion dates to the time of Eastern Orthodox missionaries (Saints) Cyril and Methodius during Basil I (r. 867–886),[6] who baptised the Serbs sometime before sending imperial admiral Nikita Orifas to Knez Mutimir for aid in the war against the Saracens in 869, after acknowledging the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire.
The fleets and land forces of Zahumlje, Travunia and Konavli were sent to fight the Saracens who attacked the town of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) in 869, on the immediate request of Basil I, who was asked by the Ragusians for help.
[3][8] The adherence is evident in the tradition of theophoric names in the next generation of Serbian monarchs and nobles; Petar Gojniković, Stefan Mutimirović, Pavle Branović.
Mutimir maintained the communion with the Eastern Church (Constantinople) when Pope John VIII invited him to recognize the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Sirmium.
The seal has a Patriarchal cross in the center and Greek inscriptions that say: "Strojimir" (CTPOHMIP) and "God, Help Serbia".
Besides Serbs, other adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy include: Romanians, Macedonians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Russians and Greeks.
However, the conversion of the south Slavs from paganism to Christianity took place before the Great Schism, the split between the Greek East and the Latin West.
It is organized into metropolises and eparchies located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, but also in surrounding countries, and all over the world.
The ethnic groups whose members are mostly adherents of the Catholic Church are: Hungarians, Croats, Bunjevci, Germans, Slovenes, Czechs, Šokci, Poles, etc.
There are various Protestant groups in the country, including Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists and Evangelical Baptists (Nazarene).
In 2015., General Vicariate of St. Methodius was recognized as a legal successor of former Western Orthodox Church in Yugoslavia, because they share the same dogmas.
