Gerasim I Sokolović ( sr-cyrl, Герасим I Соколовић) was

Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch This is a list of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an Autocephaly, autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Se ...

from 1574 to 1586. He was the third primate of the restored

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 ...

, and cousin of previous Serbian Patriarch Antonije I. Gerasim belonged to the prominent Serbian

Sokolović Sokolović ( sr-Cyrl, Соколовић, may also be transliterated as Sokolovic or Sokolovich) is a South Slavic surname. It derives from the Slavic word ''sokol'', meaning "falcon" and literally means "son of the falcon". The Sokolović of the ...

family. He was nephew of Serbian Petriarch

Makarije Sokolović Makarije Sokolović ( sr-cyrl, Макарије Соколовић; died 1574) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1557 to 1571. He was the first head of the restored Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, after its lapse in 1463 that r ...

(1557–1571). During the patriarchal tenure of his cousin Antonije I (1571–1574), Gerasim became

Metropolitan of Herzegovina The Eparchy of Zahumlje, Herzegovina and the Littoral () is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church with its seat in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has jurisdiction over the region of Herzegovina, the littoral region of southern D ...

. When Patriarch Antonije died in 1574, Metropolitan Gerasim was elected new Serbian Patriarch, with residence in the

Patriarchal Monastery of Peć Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

. In that time, his other cousin

Mehmed Sokolović Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (; ; ; 1505 – 11 October 1579) was an Ottoman statesman of Serb origin most notable for being the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Born in Ottoman Herzegovina into an Orthodox Christian family, Mehmed was recruited as ...

, from the

Islamized The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...

branch of the family, held the post of the Grand Vizier of 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 ...

(1565–1579) and acted as protector of the Serbian Patriarchate. As patriarch, Gerasim appointed his cousin

Savatije Sokolović Savatije Sokolović ( sr-cyr, Саватије Соколовић; 1573 – d. 1586), was Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1585 to 1586. Before that, he served as Metropolitan of Herzegovina from 1573 to 1585. He was a member of th ...

to be the next Metropolitan of Herzegovina. In time, some disputes arose between two cousins, resulting in rivalry for the patriarchal throne. Eventually, Metropolitan Savatije managed to succeed Patriarch Gerasim, probably in 1585 or 1586.

References

Sources

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External links

Official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church: Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs
Gerasim I 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 16th-century Serbian people 16th century in Serbia Year of birth unknown 1574 deaths Ottoman Serbia 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire {{Serbia-bio-stub