SERBIAN CHURCH IN HISTORY by V. Rev. Dr. Radomir Popovic TABLE
OF CONTENTS Serbs belong to the grand family of Slav nations. As
early as 5th and 6th centuries AD they migrated from their
ancient lands in Northern Europe to the Balkan Peninsular which,
at the time, constituted northern regions of the Byzantine
Empire. There they found a mostly deserted, devastated and
pillaged territory since, prior to their arrival, it had been
affected by the Grand Migration of the Euro-Asian peoples in 4th
and 5th centuries AD. Being pagan, the South Slav nations
considerably contributed towards the destruction of the
Christian Church organization which, in its turn, had functioned
well on the Balkan Peninsular several centuries before their
arrival. It is without doubt that first Christian influences on
the Serbs occurred after their arrival to the Balkans. Of
course, Serbs were not the first pagan nation in this region to
have come into contact with Christianity; one should also
mention the Goths, Huns, Langobards, Avars,