Eastern Orthodoxy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

[1] The end of the High Middle Ages saw Eastern Orthodoxy firmly establish itself – in the form of the Serbian Orthodox Church – in the east of Herzegovina, namely Zachlumia, following a period of rule by the Kingdom of Serbia.

[3] While Bosnian Catholics were only allowed to repair existing sacral objects, a large scale construction of Orthodox monasteries and churches throughout Bosnia started in the northwest in 1515.

Even the high-ranking Orthodox clergymen, however, were very poorly educated and corrupt; they were reportedly ignorant of the basic principles of the faith, such as the Ten Commandments, confession, prayers and the importance of the cross.

[2] The tide eventually turned against the church, however, when Orthodox clergy renounced loyalty to the sultans and started encouraging and aiding peasant rebellions.

[2] In 1920, following the First World War and the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the area again came under the religious authority of the newly reunited Serbian Orthodox Church, under Patriarch Dimitrije.