Serbian Church to build shrine at site of Baptism of Christ by Jordan River

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad and Patriarch Porfirije at the holy sites of Jordan in December 2025. Photo: SPC/Blic screenshot

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije visited Jordan in December 2025, where he and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad visited the site of the Baptism of Christ on the Jordan River. During the visit, Jordan’s King Abdullah II gifted the Serbian Orthodox Church a plot of land for the construction of an Orthodox church, the UOJ's Serbian edition reported, citing Samer Haseb, Jordan’s ambassador and tourism promoter in the Balkans.

The gift from the Jordanian king is described as confirmation of the friendly relations between the Kingdom and Serbia. The construction project is expected to strengthen the spiritual presence of the Serbian Church in the Holy Land.

The church will be built in the style of the medieval Visoki Dečani Monastery, one of the symbols of Serbian spirituality. The inspiration came from Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, who had earlier visited Visoki Dečani and attended Vespers there. According to him, the architecture of the new church should convey the spirit of the ancient Serbian shrine.

As the UOJ reported, the Serbian Patriarch previously discussed cooperation issues with Trump’s “spiritual adviser.”

Read also