Dionisije Milivojević
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Dionisije Milivojević (
Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...
: Дионисије Миливојевић; 26 July 1898 – 15 May 1979) was a
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...
bishop who served as Bishop of America and Canada from 1939 to 1964. In his youth, he was one of the leaders of the evangelical which won the support of Bishop
Nikolaj Velimirović Nikolaj Velimirović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николај Велимировић;  – ) was a Serbian Orthodox prelate who served as Bishop of Ohrid and Žiča from 1920 to 1956. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orator, h ...
. In 1964, he severed ties with the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate in Belgrade, which he considered to be under the control of the Yugoslav Communist regime, and formed the ''Free Serbian Orthodox Church''. He was a vocal anti-communist and believed that the clergy in
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
had acquiesced to the ruling
League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...
too easily, and asserted the independence of the congregations of the SOC in North America and Australia.


Early life

Dionisije was born Dragoljub Milivojević on 26 July 1898 in Rabrovac near
Smederevska Palanka Smederevska Palanka ( sr-cyr, Смедеревска Паланка, ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District and the geographical region of Šumadija. According to the 2022 census, the town has 20,345 while the municipality ...
. After graduating from gymnasium, he enrolled at the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law of the University in Belgrade (/''Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu''), also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educational institutions of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. The building is locate ...
. Two years later, he enrolled at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Orthodox Theology where he graduated. Upon graduation, he got married. His wife died shortly afterward, whereupon he went to
Hilandar Monastery The Hilandar Monastery (, , , ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbs, Serbian Serbian Orthodox Church, Orthodox monastery there. It was founded in 1198 by two Ser ...
, where he received
tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...
and was given the monastic name of Dionisije. Before he was elevated to the position of Vicar Bishop, he was the head of a monastery, a professor at the seminary in Sremski Karlovci, and the head of the monastic school in Dečani Monastery. At the same time, he was one of the leaders of the , in which he had been active since his student days. He edited the organization's newspaper ''Christian Community'', until 1933. He was elevated to the position of Bishop of Moravica and Vicar Bishop to Patriarch Gavrilo in 1938 and was consecrated in August of that year at the
Saborna crkva ''Saborna crkva'' ( sr-Cyrl, Саборна црква, links=no) means 'Orthodox cathedral'. It may refer to the following cathedrals: * St. Michael's Cathedral (Belgrade) * Saint George's Cathedral (Novi Sad) * Holy Trinity Cathedral (Niš) * ...
. In late 1939, he was selected Bishop of America and Canada. He departed for the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in early April 1940.


Bishop of America and Canada in the SOC

He took over the administration of the Diocese of America and Canada on 15 April 1940, on the eve of the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He started his work in the Diocese from Saint Sava Monastery in
Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...
. He first relocated the Diocese's headquarters from
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to the monastery, which he renovated completely. Between 1941 and 1943, he increased the monastery's property by 73 acres. In 1950, he purchased a 1,400-acre farm with buildings for the elderly and a children's resort in Shadeland, near Springboro, Pennsylvania. In
Jackson, California Jackson (formerly, Botilleas, Botilleas Spring, Bottileas, Bottle Spring, and Botellas) is a city in and the county seat of Amador County, California. Its population was 5,019 at the 2020 census, up from 4,651 at the 2010 census. The city i ...
, he purchased 173 acres of land. He organized a number of parishes and church-school municipalities. One of the most significant undertakings by Bishop Dionisije was his work in bringing and rescuing Serbs from the prison camps of Germany, Italy and Austria after the end of World War II. According to records, 16,000 Serbs and about 30 priests were brought to the US and Canada on the basis of letters of guarantee signed by Dionisije.


Separation from the SOC and death

By the early 1960s, the SOC's stance toward the communist authorities had become a standing source of friction between Bishop Dionisije and
Patriarch German German ( sr-Cyrl, Герман, English equivalent: ''Herman''; 19 August 1899 – 27 August 1991) was the 43rd List of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1958 to 1990. He was successful in revit ...
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 ...
. Like most churches under communism, the SOC had found a ''modus vivendi'' in order to procure the space it needed to operate. A delegation from 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 ...
was sent to the United States to meet Dionisije and stayed with him for two months during 1962. After having returned to Belgrade, the group generally spoke positively of Dionisije, but also brought forward some adverse. For this reason, the Holy Assembly of Bishops requested that the Holy Synod start a trial against Dionisije on 10 May 1963, the same day that his Diocese was split into three newly created ones. A new delegation met with Dionisije in July 1963, when he presented them with a written response to their letter. At the same time, he published announcements against the Assembly, claiming that everything they did was to appease the communist regime in Belgrade. He was removed from the position of bishop at an extraordinary assembly on 27 July 1963. Dionisije then called upon all parishes opposed to Belgrade to join him, and called upon a church-popular assembly on 10–14 November 1963 when all decisions from Belgrade were dismissed until the fall of communism. Dionisije's successor, Irinej Kovačević, was consecrated at this assembly. In mid-October 1963, Bishop Dionisije was at the forefront of the local Serbs' campaign against
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
's visit to the United States. They organized press conferences, picket lines, demonstrations and harangued
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
's Fairmont Hotel where he was staying. Tito canceled several receptions, as well as his West Coast tour. He was defrocked at the Holy Assembly of Bishops in March 1964. In Australia, he initiated the first church-popular assembly in
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on 31 October 1964, where the new Diocese of Australia and New Zealand was created, recognizing Dionisije as its leader and rejecfting canonical submission to the Belgrade Patriarchy which it considered unduly influenced by the Communist regime. The clergy loyal to Bishop Dionisije became known among Patriarchy supporters as the ''raskolnici'' () while those loyal to Belgrade were derisively calle ''federalci,'' a play on words from the official title ederal People's Republicof the Yugoslav Communist state. (). The row even split the exiled royal family. King Peter II originally sided with the ''raskolnici'', but later retracted his support.
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supported the ''raskolnici'', and Princes Tomislav and
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
the ''federalci''. Peter II was interred in the Saint Sava Monastery in 1970, still under the control of Dionisije-loyals. It is alleged either that this signifies his renewed support for Dionisije before death, or that his corpse was taken from the
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hospital where he died without permission. Dionisije was forced to leave the church's seat in Saint Sava Monastery and transferred to the nearby Grayslake following a court ruling in favor of the SOC with regards to ownership of the monastery. He and Metropolitan Irinej Kovačević built a new seat, the
New Gračanica Monastery New Gračanica Monastery () is a Serbian Orthodox monastery complex is located in Third Lake, Illinois, United States, a suburb of Chicago. The complex houses a scaled-up replica of the Gračanica monastery in Kosovo. It is a part of the Diocese ...
in
Third Lake, Illinois Third Lake is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,111. History The Alexander Druce Family were the earliest residents of the settlement in ...
. It was completed in 1984. Starting in 1977, the group assumed the name ''Free Serbian Orthodox Church''. It was canonically reconciled with the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1992, after the demise of Communism in Yugoslavia. He died on 15 May 1979 at Saint Sava Monastery in
Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...
. He was buried by the monastery's church.


See also

* '' Serbian Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich''


References


Literature

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milivojevic, Dionisije 1898 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox bishops in Canada Eastern Orthodox theologians People from Mladenovac People from the Kingdom of Serbia Serbian anti-communists Serbian nationalists Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia Serbian theologians Schisms from the Eastern Orthodox Church University of Belgrade Faculty of Orthodox Theology alumni Burials at the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois