Ilarion Roganović ( sr-Cyrl, Иларион Рогановић; 12 July 1828 – 15 January 1882) was the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Highlands from 1860 to 1882. Earlier, he was also the

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

of the Ždrebaonik, Ostrog and Cetinje Monasteries. He is remembered as the founder of the Committee of the Red Cross of Montenegro.

Biography

Early life

Ilarion was born Ilija Roganović on 12 July 1828 in

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

to Đuro and Marija Roganović ( ''née'' Marković). His family was poor, and he was taught by a local priest, Aleksije Radičević, and

hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...

Isaija Bajković who ordained him as a monk at

Vranjina Monastery The Vranjina Monastery ( sr, Манастир Врањина, Manastir Vranjina), also known as the Vranina Monastery or St. Nicholas' Monastery, is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on the south-east part of Vranjina island on Skadar Lake in Monteneg ...

Service in the church

Metropolitan Petar II ordained him as a

hierodeacon A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, ''Ierodiákonos''; Slavonic: ''Ierodiakón''), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a monk who has been ordained a deacon (or deacon who has been tonsured monk). Th ...

in 1843 and then as a hieromonk in 1847. After the death of Isaija Bajković, Ilarion became the abbot of Ždrebaonik Monastery near

Danilovgrad Danilovgrad ( cnr, Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852 (2011 census). It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two largest cities, Podgoric ...

. In 1856, he was called to

Cetinje Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...

to study there, after which he became the abbot of

Ostrog Monastery The Ostrog Monastery ( sr, Манастир Острог, Manastir Ostrog, ) is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church situated against an almost vertical background, high up in the large rock of Ostroška Greda, in Montenegro. It is dedicate ...

. From Ostrog, he moved to

Cetinje Monastery The Cetinje Monastery ( sr, Цетињски манастир, Cetinjski manastir) is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. It is located in Cetinje and is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro. A center of historical ...

where he became

, meaning he was ''de facto'' named successor to the Metropolitan. On 5 August 1860, Prince Nikola named him the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Highlands. On 14 October 1862, he requested Ilarion be consecrated in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, and his request was confirmed on 19 January 1863. Ilarion was consecrated on 23 May 1863 at the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Ale ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Death

He died on 15 January 1882, and was buried in the

Vlah Church The Vlah Church ( sr, Влашка cрква, Vlaška crkva) is a Serbian Orthodox church built in 1450 in the village of Donji Kraj (on Cetinje field), Zeta, Serbian Despotate (modern day Montenegro). Stećci The church was built around 1450 o ...

in Cetinje. He was succeeded by

Visarion Ljubiša Visarion Ljubiša ( sr, Висарион Љубиша; 28 February 1823 – 14 April 1884) was the Serbian Orthodox metropolitan bishop of Montenegro from 1882 to 1884. Early life and schooling Stefan Ljubiša was born in the village of Sveti St ...

Reforms

In 1864, Ilarion introduced an order that reformed the

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and introduced

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

s. In 1866, parishes were reformed again making them more equal in population. After this, 60 priests were left without parishes, but were paid a yearly sum from parishes with more than 120 houses. Under Ilarion, an inventory of all monastery lands was created in 1868. In 1866, Roganović ordered that all priests must grow their beards. They were, however, allowed to wear their national costume. Ilarion also introduced registers of births, deaths and marriages, expanding the earlier practice of recording only baptisms, started by

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

. Under Ilarion, the new Eparchy of Raška and

Zahumlje Zachlumia or Zachumlia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Zahumlje, Захумље, ), also Hum, was a medieval principality located in the modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia (today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia ...

was created. It covered the areas conquered by Montenegro in the Montenegrin–Ottoman War of 1878 and was led by

, who Ilarion and the Bishop of the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

Gerasim Petranović consecrated on 8 September 1878. In 1869, the

Cetinje Seminary The Theological Seminary of St. Peter of Cetinje ( sr-Cyrl, Богословија Светог Петра Цетињског) is a secondary Orthodox theological school of Serbian Orthodox Church in Cetinje, Montenegro. The rector of the semina ...

was officially opened. During his service, Ilarion consecrated 45 temples and ordained 119 priests. In 1875, Ilarion became the first president of the Red Cross of Montenegro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roganovic, Ilarion 1828 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 19th-century Montenegrin people Archimandrites Bishops of Montenegro and the Littoral People from Podgorica People of the Principality of Montenegro