Arsenije Stojković (28 October 1804 - 29 March 1892) was bishop 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 ...

, though elected Serbian patriarch he was never confirmed as such by the Austrian government. He held the office of Bishop of the

Eparchy of Buda The Eparchy of Buda ( or ) is a diocese or eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, having jurisdiction over the territory of Hungary. The seat of the eparchy is in Szentendre ( or ) near Budapest. Name The term ''Buda'' ( or ) in the name of t ...

from 1853 to 1892.

Biography

Stojković was born on 28 October 1804 in Mokrin, where his father Trifun was a deacon and teacher. After graduating from the gymnasium, he taught at elementary school in Mokrin and Sentivan. He started teaching in high school in Szeged, and ended up in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. After completing his teacher training in Sombor, he completed the Theological Seminary in

Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...

. After graduating from the Theological College he studied philosophy 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 ...

and law in Pest.

Monastic life

He was tonsured at the Rakovac monastery by the hieromonk Panteleimon Živković, the deputy archimandrite of Rakovac Antonije Nako, the latter bishop of

. Upon his ordination to the rank of deacon, he was the associate deacon of Metropolitan

Stefan Stratimirović Stefan Stratimirović (; 27 December 1757 – 22 September 1836) was a Serbian bishop who served as the Metropolitan of Karlovci, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Austrian Empire, between 1790 and 1836. Having been appointed metropolit ...

and professor of Theology at the Clerical High School of Saint Arsenije in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

. He was elevated to the rank of

Protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usa ...

in 1831, and in the rank of

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 Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

in 1833. For several years he was also a notary of the Archdiocese of Sremski Karlovci. As a professor of theology, he was nominated in 1839 for the post of archimandrite of Rakovac monastery, and in 1845 he was transferred as archimandrite to the

Grgeteg Monastery The Grgeteg Monastery () is a Serb Orthodox monastery on the Fruška Gora mountain in the northern Serbia, in the province of Vojvodina. According to tradition, the monastery was founded by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk ( Despot Vuk Grgurević) in 1471. The ...

. After the death of Bishop

Georgije Hranislav Georgije Hransislav (secular Gavrilo Hranislav; 8 November 1775 - 22 June 1843) was the bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Biography Bishop Georgije was born as Gavrilo Hranislav in Ruma on 8 November 1775, to father Pavle and mother Alka. He ...

, he administered the Diocese of Bačka for eight years. He was elected bishop of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

on November 10, 1852, and was consecrated by the patriarch

Josif Rajačić Josif Rajačić ( sr-Cyrl, Јосиф Рајачић; 20 July 1785 – 1 December 1861), also known as Josif Rajačić-Brinski, was the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox Archbishop and Metropolitanate of Karlovci, metropolitan of Sremski ...

on 28 April 1853 in the church of Karlovac. He remained in this diocese until 1892. After the death of Patriarch Samuilo Maširević, he was appointed Administrator of the Patriarchate of

in 1870, and in 1872 was removed from that position. When he was elected patriarch in 1874, he was unanimously elected Serbian patriarch, but the Viennese government refused to confirm him. The same thing happened again in 1881 when he was elected patriarch by a majority. Both times, the emperor distinguished him but did not want to confirm him as patriarch. He died on March 29, 1892, in

Szentendre Szentendre, also known as Saint Andrew is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri ...

and was buried there in the Cathedral of the

References

Serbian bishops People from Kikinda {{DEFAULTSORT:Stojković, Arsenije 1804 births 1892 deaths Serbian Orthodox Church in Hungary