The Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch Porfirije (Peric) was born on 22 July 1961 in Becej, northern Serbia.

He was the first of three children of Radivoje and Radojka Peric and his baptismal name was Prvoslav. He completed his primary school education in Curug, and later on the Gymnasium “Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj” in Novi Sad. He was tonsured as a small-schema monk, by his spiritual father, the then hieromonk Dr. Irinej (Bulovic), at the Visoki Decani Monastery in 1985.

He graduated from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade in 1986. and was later ordained as a hierodeacon at the monastery of the Holy Trinity in Musutiste (Kosovo and Metohija), by the then Bishop of the Raska and Prizren Diocese and the future Serbian Patriarch Pavle, of blessed memory.

He was a postgraduate theology student in Athens from 1986 until 1990. In 1990. with the blessing of Bishop of Backa, Dr. Irinej, he joined the Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Kovilj, near Novi Sad, where he was ordained as a hieromonk and became the abbot.

Many young monks and novices followed him to the monastery. At this time, the Kovilj Monastery became a spiritual centre for the young intellectuals, artists, popular actors and rock musicians, especially from Novi Sad and Belgrade. During his time as an abbot, he paid particular attention to the people with the drug problem. In order to help them, in 2005. he founded a drug rehabilitation community called “The Land of the Living”, which has been recognised as the most successful drug-addiction treatment project in Serbia so far.

At the regular session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Belgrade on 14 May, 1999. he was elected as the Bishop of Jegar, a Vicar (an auxiliary bishop) of the Bishop of Backa.

He successfully defended his PhD dissertation The Possibility of Divine Knowledge in St. Paul’s Understanding Acccording to the Interpretation of St. John Chrysostom at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Athens in 2004.

He then became a lecturer in Pastoral Psychology at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Belgrade, succeeding the famous psychiatrist and academician Dr. Vladeta Jerotic.

Patriarch Porfirije has been a real spiritus movens of the Humanitarian Fund “Privrednik”, which has provided scholarships for a great number of gifted but poor pupils and students, regardless of their nationality or religious affiliation.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia elected him as a member of the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency, on behalf of all the Churches and religious communities, and in 2008. the RBA elected him as its president.

The Patriarch says the following about the fundamental values which inform his mission: “Although I am a Serb, I  am a Christian first and foremost, which is a universal identity, and that is why I will continue to preach and bear witness to Christ. I love my compatriots, but I also love all the other nations, and that includes every man, every (bearer) of the image of God.”

He was also tasked with the establishment of a military chaplaincy in the Serbian Armed Forces (2010 – 2011).

Patriarch Porfirije has published his expert theological works both in Serbia and abroad. He has taken part in numerous scientific conferences and symposiums throughout the world.

He speaks Greek, English, German and Russian.

He was enthroned as the Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana on July 13, 2014, in the Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Zagreb. The ceremonious Hierarchal Liturgy was served by the then Serbian Patriarch Irinej, accompanied by a large number of archbishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church and other sister Churches, as well as numerous priests, monks and the faithful.

The Holy Assembly of Bishops elected His Eminence Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb and Ljubljana as the new Serbian Patriarch, at its convocation in the Memorial Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade, on 18 February 2021. Afterwards, a thanksgiving service was held and the Polychronion “many years” was chanted by those present, for the good health and longevity of the newly-elected Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch Porfirije.

The missionary activities of the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije are multi-faceted. Serving the Divine Liturgy regularly and preaching the Word of God are naturally of primary importance. Apart from liturgical sermons, the Patriarch regularly holds lectures on different topics, with a special focus on addressing the Belgrade youngsters and its student population. Additionally, the Patriarch occasionally uses the so-called new media technologies to spread the Word of God, with a special emphasis on bringing the evangelical message closer to the younger generation.

The area of religious education represents one of the strategically important fields of our local Church’s missionary activity. This domain requires an active involvement in the issues concerning the development of the relationship between the Church and the state education system, as well as a keen interest in the life and work of our religious educators. Since his appointment, Patriarch Porfirije has provided strong, consistent and unequivocal support for any initiative which aims to improve the quality of religious education and the status of religious educators within the Archdiocese.

The Christian message can only be effective if it is accompanied by good works. In that regard, the Belgrade-Karlovci Archdiocese has been running the Religious Charitable Care, an organisation focused on helping the most vulnerable in society, for several decades now. The employees and the volunteers of this organisation have made remarkable achievements over the past decade. Patriarch Porfirije has supported this missionary body as well, not only personally, but also by appointing a vicar (an auxiliary bishop) with a special assignment as the head of RCC, for the first time since its inception, which has given this organisation an exceptional status.

Lastly, the founding of the Missionary Department of the Belgrade-Karlovci Diocese is itself the initiative of Patriarch Porfirije. The Department was founded on February 14, 2024, by a Founding Act signed by His Holiness, which has made history, since it is the first time that a bishop has founded an eparchial missionary body of this type within the SPC. In this way, the Belgrade-Karlovci Archdiocese, as the central diocese of our local Church, has finally gained its own strategic missionary body.