Atanasije II Gavrilović ( sr-cyr, Атанасије II Гавриловић;

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, late 17th century –

Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...

, 1752) was Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1747 to 1752. He was first mentioned in 1741 as the Metropolitan of Skopje. At that time, the throne of

Serbian Patriarchate of Peć Serbian Patriarchate of Peć (, ''Srpska patrijaršija u Peći''), or simply Peć Patriarchate (, ''Pećka patrijaršija''), was an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate that existed from 1346 to 1463, and then again from 155 ...

was contested between the Serbs, who were seen as rebels by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

, and Phanariote Greeks, who were very much loyal to the authorities. In the last

Austro-Turkish War (1737–1739) The term Austro-Turkish War may refer to: * Austro-Turkish War (1593–1606) * Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) * Austro-Turkish War (1683–1699) * Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) * Austro-Turkish War (1737–1739) * Austro-Turkish War (1788– ...

, in which Serbs supported Vienna, a major migration northwards into Habsburg territory was led by Serbian Patriarch Arsenije IV. The Ottomans brought Joanikije III, a Greek, to the throne in Peć. During his days all connections with Serbs in the Habsburg Empire were cut. Thus, the election – an Ottoman approval – of a Serb as the head of the

delighted all the Serbs. Immediately after his election Atanasije II made a canonical visit to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. In 1748 we find him in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

. In 1749 he visited

Rila monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery ("Sveti Ivan Rilski" (), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia in th ...

, at the time a part of his patriarchate. That same year Atanasije II visited

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and then continued to the Adriatic littoral to visit his flock. He was accompanied by metropolitan of Cetinje Sava Petrović. The worried Venetian authorities tried to prevent their movement by increasing the sanitary measures for all people coming from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, thus also to the patriarch and his entourage. Next year (1750) Atanasije was in

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 he installed

Vasilije Petrović Vasilije Petrović ( sr-cyrl, Василије Петровић; 1709 – 10 March 1766) was the metropolitan bishop of Cetinje (Prince-Bishop of Montenegro), ruling with Sava Petrović (prince-bishop), Sava Petrović, his cousin. He was author o ...

as the new metropolitan of Cetinje. Atanasije II worked hard to reestablish the broken connections with Serbs in the Habsburg Empire whose church was now organized under the Metropolitan of Karlovci. As one of tokens of this renewed collaboration copper plates from book printing were sent from

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 ...

to Atanasije II."Атанасије II Гавриловић", ''Народна енциклопедија'', Загреб, 1927. Since the treasury of the

was all but emptied during the irresponsible rule of his predecessor, in 1750 Atanasije II sent his exarch, abbot of Studenica Vasilije Petrović to collect donations in the regions of the Metropolitan of Karlovci. Same was done in 1751 in the diocese of

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

. Atanasije II died in 1752.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * Сава Вуковић, "Атанасије ІІ Гавриловић", Српски биографски речник, књ. 1, Нови Сад 2004, 294.

External links

Official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church: Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavrilovix, Atansaije Atanasije II Serbian Orthodox metropolitans of Skopje 18th-century Serbian people Serbs from the Ottoman Empire 1752 deaths