From nearly every hill in Belgrade, the monumental Cathedral of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, dominates the horizon. Its history reflects, in many ways, the evolving relationship between the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) and the state, as well as the Church’s place within society. The idea for the Cathedral on Vračar Hill first emerged after the Berlin Congress in 1878, when Serbia gained independence, as the pursuit of national sovereignty was inseparable from the quest for religious autonomy, fusing the two identities into a single bond….
