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Inokentije Pavlović (baptised as Jakov Pavlović; 1 August 1840 – 19 May 1905) was the Metropolitan of Belgrade, head of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

in the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

from 1898 until his death in 1905. He is the father of war artist

Dragoljub Pavlović Dragoljub Pavlović (1875–1956) was an academic painter, appointed by the Supreme Command as a war artist and photographer. Son of the Metropolitan Inokentije Pavlović of Serbia. He was embedded with the Serbian Supreme Command in Greece where ...

(1875-1956) and

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

freedom-fighter Aleksandar "Aca" Pavlović who died in the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

on 27 July 1907 in

Kučevište Kučevište () is the largest village in the municipality of Čučer-Sandevo, North Macedonia. Demographics As of the 2021 census, Kučevište had 4,119 residents with the following ethnic composition: *Macedonians 2,404 *Serbs 1,323 *Persons fo ...

Biography

Early life

He was born as the son of

protoiereus A ''protoiereus'' (from , "first priest", Modern Greek: πρωθιερέας), or protopriest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is a priest usually coordinating the activity of other subordinate priests in a larger church. The title is roughly equiv ...

and political activist Jovan Pavlović. In his hometown of

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...

, he graduated from elementary school and four middle school grades. Then he went to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, where for two years he studied in the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

(Bogoslovija). He continued his seminar course in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, where he also graduated from the

Theological Academy Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ana ...

. In 1863 he returned to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and on July 31 of the same year, he was ordained

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros'', which means elder or senior, although many in Christian antiquity understood ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer ...

as a married cleric.Đ. Slijepčević, ''Istorija..''., p. 423. In the years 1864–1870 he was a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

chaplain in

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

and a lecturer at the

First Kragujevac Gymnasium The First Grammar School of Kragujevac () is a high school located in Kragujevac, Serbia. Founded in 1833, the school is the oldest Serbian high school south of the Sava - Danube line. Studying profiles The school comprises three educational trac ...

. In 1870 he became a professor of the Belgrade seminary and in January 1871 he became its rector. In 1877 he was transferred to the position of catechist of the higher female school in Belgrade, at the same time being a priest of the court. In the years 1880–1886 he was the head of the church department at the Ministry of Education and Church Affairs. In 1886 he returned to the post of rector of the Belgrade seminary and remained there until 1893 when he retired. A year earlier, his wife died. After the loss of spouse, he took

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

, accepting

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

Inkoentije (Innocent).

Bishop and metropolitan

On 1 August 1894, he was nominated as the

Bishop of Niš A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

and a day later ordained. Four years later, after death of the Metropolitan of Belgrade

Mihailo Jovanović Mihailo Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Михаило Јовановић; born 29 November 1975) is a Serbian retired football player. He was released by his former club South China in Hong Kong First Division League after 2006-07 season. He st ...

, by the will of the King

Alexander I Obrenović Alexander I (; 14 August 187611 June 1903) was King of Serbia from 1889 until his death in 1903, when he and his wife, Draga Mašin, were assassinated by a group of Royal Serbian Army officers, led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević. Accession ...

he became the new Metropolitan of Belgrade. The King's decision was determined by the fact that he was educated in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, which, according to the King, would allow him to win the favour for the Orthodox Church in the

. Inokentije's tenure as Metropolitan saw the marriage of King Alexander I Obrenović with

Draga Mašin Draginja "Draga" Obrenović ( sr-cyr, Драгиња "Драга" Обреновић; – ), ''née'' Lunjevica (Луњевица) and formerly Mašin (Машин), was Queen of Serbia as the wife of King Aleksandar Obrenović. She was formerl ...

in 1900, the assassination of the royal couple in the May Coup in 1903 (staged by the

Black Hand Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to: Extortionists and underground groups * Black Hand (), 1919–1924 Mexican-American raiders of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant * Black Hand (anarchism) (), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based ...

, a group of the

Royal Serbian Army The Army of the Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Војска Краљевине Србије, Vojska Kraljevine Srbije), known in English language, English as the Royal Serbian Army, was the army of the Kingdom of Serbia that existed between 1882 ...

officers) and subsequent installment of

Peter I Karađorđević Peter I (; – 16 August 1921) was King of Serbia from 15 June 1903 to 1 December 1918. On 1 December 1918, he became King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and he held that title until his death three years later. Since he was the king ...

as the new King of Serbia. Although Inokentije was a thoroughly educated man, he did not leave any more extensive work behind. He only published articles on the subject of theology and pedagogy in various journals, and regularly preached. He wrote 250

homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered e ...

, however, only some of them were printed. He was awarded

Order of Saint Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a Order (distinction), state order awarded by both the Kingdom of S ...

and Order of Miloš the Great.

References

Sources

* Đ. Slijepčević,''Istorija Srpske Pravoslavne Crkve'', t. II, JRJ, Beograd 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlovic, Inokentije 1840 births 1905 deaths People from Šabac People from the Principality of Serbia Metropolitans of Belgrade Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia 19th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Recipients of the Order of St. Sava Kiev Theological Academy alumni