Gerasim Zelić (; 1752–1828) was a

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 ...

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

, traveller and writer. His chief work is ''Žitije'' (Lives), in three volumes. They are memoirs of his travels throughout western Europe, Russia and

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

from the latter half of the 18th century to the first decade of the 19th century and the famous personalities (

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...

, Viceroy of Italy,

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was the penultimate Holy Roman Emperor, as well as King of Hungary, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia, and List of rulers of Austria, Archduke of Austri ...

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and I (; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II from 1792 to 1806, and the first Emperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was also King of Hungary, List of rulers of Croatia, Croa ...

Semyon Zorich Count Semyon Zorich (1743–1799) was an Imperial Russian lieutenant-general and count of the Holy Roman Empire, born in Serbia, who served Imperial Russia against the Prussians and Turks. A member of the Russian court, he was presented to Empress ...

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

Dositej Obradović Dositej Obradović ( sr-Cyrl, Доситеј Обрадовић, ; 17 February 1739 – 7 April 1811) was a Serbian writer, biographer, diarist, philosopher, pedagogue, educational reformer, linguist and the first minister of education of Se ...

) he encountered. He left behind invaluable original notes on the people, religions, manners, customs, and trade of his era. As much as

is an emblematic figure of the 18th century Habsburg Serbian Enlightenment so is Gerasim Zelić. In many ways the east–west travel itineraries of the two men are similar, covering the Levant, the German lands, France and Russia, though Zelić went first to Russia (rather than to the Levant). While both lament their people's plight under the Ottoman rule and promote similar solutions, their perspectives are different, Dositej's

cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...

contrasting with Zelić's

clericalism Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of the church or in broader political and sociocultural contexts. The journalist has stated that clericalism was not part of the Gospe ...

, though their intentions are the same: the emancipation of their people from under the tyrannical yoke of the two empires, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

and the Ottoman. Zelić was one of the earliest members of the Serbian Learned Society, better known as ''

Matica srpska The Matica srpska ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Матица српска, Matica srpska, ) is the oldest Serbian language independent, non-profit, non-governmental and cultural-scientific Serbian national institution. It was founded on June 1, 1826, in Pest, ...

'', founded at Budapest in 1826.

References

Sources

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zelic, Gerasim 1752 births 1838 deaths Serbs of Croatia People of the Serbian Revolution 18th-century Eastern Orthodox clergy 19th-century Eastern Orthodox clergy 18th-century Serbian writers 19th-century Serbian writers Serbian writers Serbian diplomats Serbian Orthodox clergy Serb priests Habsburg Serbs Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches