Denomination Eastern Orthodox | Established 1219 | |
 | ||
Territory Central parts of Republic of Serbia Headquarters Kraljevo, Republic of Serbia Sui iuris church Serbian Orthodox Church Language Church Slavonic
Serbian | ||
Eparchy of Žiča is one of the eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Serbia, and is seated in Kraljevo, in the Monastery of Žiča.
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History
The Eparchy of Žiča is named after the Monastery of Žiča that was built around 1208 by Grand Prince Stefan Nemanjić of Serbia, who brought in Greek builders to construct the monastery. In 1219, first Serbian Archbishop Saint Sava chose Žiča to be the Serbian Archiepiscopal seat (Archbishopric of Žiča). Since then, Archdiocese of Žiča was the central eparchy of Serbian Orthodox Church and the cathedral church of Žiča was serving for coronations of Serbian kings of the Nemanjić dynasty.
The seat of the Serbian Church was moved in 1253 to the Monastery of Peć. The collection of church law known as "Nomocanon of Sava" was copied at the Monastery of Žiča and was for several centuries influential in southeastern Europe and Russia. In the middle of the 15th-century, a return of the archiepiscopal seat to Žiča was contemplated due to the Turkish invasion, but the move was not made. In the 16th century, after the Serbian Patriarchate was renewed, several Metropolitans of Žiča were appointed.