Serbian Church in Arad

Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Peter and Paul in Arad
Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Peter and Paul in Arad
	Biserica Sârbească
Religion
Affiliation	Serbian Orthodox
Location
Location	Strada Preparandiei, Arad, Romania
	The Serbian Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Arad shown within Romania
Geographic coordinates	46°10′01″N 21°18′42″E / 46.166823°N 21.311583°E
Architecture
Completed	1702

The Church of St. Peter and Paul in Arad (Serbian: Црква светих апостола Петра и Павла / Crkva svetih apostola Petra i Pavla), also known as the Serbian Church (Romanian: Biserica Sârbească), is an Eastern Orthodox parochial church in the city of Arad, Romania, and it is located in the Serbian square (Romanian: Piata Sârbească). It belongs to the Eparchy of Temišvar, under jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

It was built between 1698 and 1702, by the Serbian community of the city, and represents one of the oldest buildings in Arad. During the Great Turkish War (1683-1699), the city of Arad came under Habsburg rule, and Serbian captain Subota Jović was appointed commander of Arad in 1691.^[1] The border with the Ottoman Empire was set on the Mureș River, and thus the region of Pomorišje around Arad was organized as a Military frontier, inhabited by Serbs who served in frontier units.^[2]

As a consequence, a church was built in the biggest city of the area, Arad. The building was financed by Serbian officer and nobleman Jovan Tekelija. Artist Stefan Tenecki painted the icons of the iconostasis in the second half of the 18th century. Throughout the 18th century, the church was center of religious life for all Eastern Orthodox Christians in Arad, both Serbs and Romanians, and also Greeks and Cincars. Until the ecclesiastical division in 1865, the church belonged to the Eparchy of Arad, under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci, and since then it belongs to the Eparchy of Temišvar.