Teofan Živković also spelled Theophan Živković (Secular name Božidar;

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danub ...

, 1825 -

Plaški Plaški ( sr-Cyrl, Плашки) is a village and a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is part of Lika. Geography Plaški is situated in the lower part of the Ogulin-Plaški valley. Together with Gorski kotar and Lika, the Ogulin-Pla ...

, 21 November 1890) was the Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox

Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac The Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac ( sr-Cyrl, Епархија горњокарловачка, hr, Eparhija gornjokarlovačka; "Eparchy of Upper Karlovac") is an eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church seated in the city of Karlovac, Croatia. It cover ...

from 1874 to 1890.

Youth and education

Božidar Živković was born in Sremski Karlovci in 1825. His father was a doctor. He graduated from

Karlovci Gymnasium The Karlovci Gymnasium ( sr, Карловачка гимназија, Karlovačka gimnazija) is the high school ( gymnasium) located in the town of Sremski Karlovci. It is the oldest secondary school in Serbia. This type of school is comparable ...

, and theology in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

. He also studied law at Belgrade's

Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: * Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician *Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...

, and later completed his studies at the Faculty of Theology at Grandes écoles of Saint Arsenije Sremac at

.. Upon graduation, he became a professor at a Teacher's Academy in

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; hu, Zombor; rue, Зомбор, Zombor) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total popula ...

. Later, he accepted the post of

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Faculty of Theology at his alma mater in Sremski Karlovci.

Monasticism and Episcopacy

Božidar Živković was tonsured as a monk in 1853 and adopted the monastic name of Teofan. Immediately after entering

monasticism Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

, he was promoted to

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

. Already by 1858, he became an

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

, in 1864; a

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 ...

l; and in 1866, elevated to

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 ...

. As an archimandrite, Teofan published his book "The Serbian National Church in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

" in 1868. In 1874, Teofan Živković was elected Bishop of Upper Karlovac. He was known as a good preacher and travelled throughout his diocese preaching faith to the people. In 1892, his sermons were printed in Karlovac in a collection called "The Preacher.," collected by Manojlo Grbić. In 1881, the Church-People's Committee elected Teofan Živković as the Patriarch of Karlovac. There were 53 votes in favour of Teofan, while there were only 11 against. However, the Austro-Hungarian court did not want to confirm his election as patriarch. Bishop Teofan's speech in 1881 played a role in calming down the great expectations of uniting the Serbian National Church with that of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

by Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

, his apostolic commissioner

Josip Stadler Josip Stadler (24 January 1843 – 8 December 1918) was a Roman Catholic priest, the first Archbishop of Vrhbosna, the founder of the religious order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus ( hr, Služavke Maloga Isusa), and one of the main ins ...

and politician

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; german: Joseph Georg Strossmayer; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop, and benefactor (law), benefactor. Early life an ...

during the politically volatile period of the 1880s when anything could have happened? Also, Bishop Teofan was supported by Serbian Orthodox Bishops Stefan (Knezević) of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

and Gerasim Petranović of

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Death

He suffered from pulmonary disease and died in Plaški in 1890. He was buried at a Cemetery in PlašKi. Bishop Teofan's grave at the Plaški Cemetery was defiled in March 2013. A hole about 1.5 meters deep was dug at his grave, and municipal authorities did not allow it to be determined whether the remains were taken out of the grave or not.

References

* Translated and adapted Serbian Wikipedia: Teofan Živković {{reflist Serbian Orthodox Church 1825 births 1890 deaths