Gjon Nikollë Kazazi (in Latin: Giovanni Battista Nicolovich Casasi) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cleric, who served as Archbishop of the Diocese of Skopje, known for discovering Meshari of Gjon Buzuku.

Biography

''Monsignor'' Gjon Nikollë Kazazi was born on 1 January 1702 in

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

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 ...

(modern day

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

). He was an ethnic

born into a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family, his family spoke in the Gheg dialect of the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

. He finished elementary school in Gjakova, at 18 he continued theological studies at Illyric College of St. Peter in

Fermo Fermo (; ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest huma ...

and graduated in 1727 at Illyric College of Loreto, in which he studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, rhetoric and grammar, in 1727 he got the title of doctor of philosophy and theology. After graduating he became a priest, in 1743 he became Archbishop of Shkup In 1740 he discovered Meshari of Gjon Buzuku. Monsignor Kazazi was the first Albanian researcher in Vatican Secret Archives.Gazeta Zëri
/ref> Kazaz also referred to detecting fever medicine against disease. He died and was buried in his hometown.

References

Bishops of Skopje Albanian Roman Catholic archbishops Albanian language 1702 births 1752 deaths 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Ottoman Empire People from Gjakova {{Europe-RC-bishop-stub