Visarion ( sr-cyr, Висарион) was the

Metropolitan of Herzegovina The Eparchy of Zahumlje, Herzegovina and the Littoral ( sr, Епархија захумско-херцеговачка и приморска, Eparhija zahumsko-hercegovačka i primorska) is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church wit ...

between 1590 and 1602. He was the ''

ktitor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...

'' of the Great Church of the

Tvrdoš Monastery The Tvrdoš Monastery ( sr, Манастир Тврдош, Manastir Tvrdoš) is a 15th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery near the city of Trebinje, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 4th-century foundations of the first Roman church ...

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the re ...

, where he was seated.

Life

Rebel activity

The

Banat Uprising The Uprising in Banat was a rebellion organized and led by Serbian Orthodox bishop Teodor of Vršac and Sava Temišvarac against the Ottomans in the Eyalet of Temeşvar. The uprising broke out in 1594, in the initial stage of the Long Turkish Wa ...

(1594), in which the Serbs in Banat rose up against the Ottomans, had been aided by Visarion and Metropolitan

Rufim Njeguš Rufim Njeguš ( sr-Cyrl, Руфим Његуш; 1594–1631) was the Metropolitan of Cetinje between 1594 and 1636. He succeeded the Metropolitan duo of Nikanor and Stevan (s. 1591–93). Rufim Njeguš and Metropolitan Visarion of Trebinje (s. ...

of Cetinje. The rebels'

war flag A war flag, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few countri ...

s with the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

had been consecrated by Serbian Patriarch

Jovan Kantul Jovan Kantul ( sr-cyr, Јован Кантул, 1592 – d. 1614), sometimes numbered Jovan II was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch, the spiritual leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, from 1592 until his death in 1614. He planned a ...

. Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Koca Sinan Pasha Koca Sinan Pasha ( tr, Koca Sinan Paşa, "Sinan the Great"; c. 1506 - 3 April 1596) was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier. In a Ragusan documen ...

ordered the flag of Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

be brought to counter the Serb flag, as well as the sarcophagus and relics of Saint Sava located in the

Mileševa monastery The Mileševa Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Милешева, Manastir Mileševa, or ) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near Prijepolje, in southwest Serbia. It was founded by King Stefan Vladislav I, in the years between 1234 and ...

be brought by military convoy to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. Along the way, the Ottomans had people killed in their path so that the rebels in the woods would hear of it. The relics were publicly incinerated by the Ottomans on a pyre on the

Vračar plateau Vračar Plateau ( sr, Врачарски плато, Vračarski plato) is a plateau on top of the Vračar Hill in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. with an absolute height of above sea level. It is the purported location of the 1595 Burning of Sa ...

, and the ashes scattered, on April 27, 1595. Among the Serbs, especially after the incineration of the relics of St. Sava, the liberation movement met a large response. The center of action for Herzegovina was since 1596 the

in Trebinje, where Metropolitan Visarion was seated. Many of the Orthodox bishops called to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

for help in liberating their lands. In 1596 the liberation movement and fighting would spread into

Ottoman Montenegro The early written records of the history of Montenegro begin with Illyria and its various kingdoms until the Roman Republic incorporated the region into the province of Illyricum (later Dalmatia and Praevalitana) after the Illyro-Roman Wars. In ...

and the neighbouring tribes in Herzegovina, especially under influence of Metropolitan Visarion. A

Ragusan Ragusan may refer to: * citizen of the Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate ...

document from the beginning of 1596 claimed that the metropolitan and many Herzegovinian chieftains gathered in the Trebinje Monastery where they swore oath "to give up and donate 20,000 heroes to the ustrianemperors' light." The rebels sought help or at least, symbolically, the Austrian flag as a proof of connection with Austria. At the end of 1596, after the Himariote rebellion, the Serbs started to revolt. The uprising broke out in

Bjelopavlići Bjelopavlići ( cyrl, Бјелопавлићи; sq, Palabardhi), ) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanian origin and a valley in the Brda region of Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad. Geography The ''Bjelopavlići'' valley (also kno ...

, then spread to

Drobnjaci Drobnjaci (, ) are historical tribe and region, Drobnjak, in Old Herzegovina in Montenegro (municipalities from Nikšić to Šavnik, Žabljak and Pljevlja). Its unofficial centre is in Šavnik. The Serb Orthodox families have St. George (''Đu ...

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

Piva Piva may refer to: * Piva (river), a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina * Piva, Montenegro, a region in Montenegro and tribe * Piva River, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea * Piva Trail, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea ** Battle for Piva Tr ...

and

Gacko Gacko ( sr-cyrl, Гацко) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inhabitants, while the m ...

, and was led by vojvoda

Grdan Grdan ( sr-cyr, Грдан; 1596–d. 1612) was the '' vojvoda'' (duke) of the Nikšić '' nahija'', part of the Sanjak of Herzegovina (Ottoman Empire), who led several uprisings against the Ottomans in between 1596 and 1612, alongside Serbian Pa ...

of Nikšić. The uprising was short-lived, as the rebels were defeated at Gacko. The rebels were forced to capitulate due to lack of foreign support. After the failure of the uprising, many Herzegovinians moved to 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Grdan and Patriarch Jovan would continue to plan revolts against the Ottomans in the coming years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visarion 16th-century Serbian people 17th-century Serbian people 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 17th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Bishops of Zahumlje-Herzegovina History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina 17th-century deaths Date of birth unknown Ottoman period in the history of Montenegro Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Ottoman period People from Trebinje 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire