Ilarion Roganović ( sr-Cyrl, Иларион Рогановић; 12 July 1828 – 15 January 1882) was the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Highlands from 1860 to 1882. Earlier, he was also the

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 ...

of the Ždrebaonik, Ostrog and Cetinje Monasteries. He is remembered as the founder of the Committee of the Red Cross of Montenegro.

Biography

Early life

Ilarion was born Ilija Roganović on 12 July 1828 in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

to Đuro and Marija Roganović ( ''née'' Marković). His family was poor, and he was taught by a local priest, Aleksije Radičević, and

hieromonk A hieromonk,; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: ''Иеромонахъ''; ; ; ; ; Albanian language, Albanian: ''Hieromurg'' also called a priestmonk, is a person who is both monk and Priest#Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priest in the Eastern Christianity ...

Isaija Bajković who ordained him as a monk at Vranjina Monastery.

Service in the church

Metropolitan Petar II ordained him as a

hierodeacon A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, ''Ierodiákonos''; Slavonic: ''Ierodiakón''), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and all other Churches that follow Byzantine Rite is a monk who has been ordained a ...

in 1843 and then as a hieromonk in 1847. After the death of Isaija Bajković, Ilarion became the abbot of Ždrebaonik Monastery near

Danilovgrad Danilovgrad (Cyrillic: Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852, according to the 2011 census. It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two la ...

. In 1856, he was called to

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

to study there, after which he became the abbot of

Ostrog Monastery The Ostrog Monastery (, ) is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church situated against an almost vertical background, high up in the large rock of Ostroška Greda, in Montenegro. It is dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog (''Sveti Vasilije Ostro ...

. From Ostrog, he moved to

Cetinje Monastery The Cetinje Monastery () is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. It is located in Cetinje and is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro. A center of historical and cultural importance, it was founded c. 1484 by Prince ...

where he became

, meaning he was ''de facto'' named successor to the Metropolitan. On 5 August 1860, Prince Nikola named him the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Highlands. On 14 October 1862, he requested Ilarion be consecrated in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and his request was confirmed on 19 January 1863. Ilarion was consecrated on 23 May 1863 at the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Death

He died on 15 January 1882, and was buried in the Vlah Church in Cetinje. He was succeeded by

Visarion Ljubiša Visarion Ljubiša (; 28 February 1823 – 14 April 1884) was the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox metropolitan bishop of Montenegro from 1882 to 1884. Early life and schooling Stefan Ljubiša was born in the village of Sveti Stefan to t ...

Reforms

In 1864, Ilarion introduced an order that reformed the

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and introduced

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

s. In 1866, parishes were reformed again making them more equal in population. After this, 60 priests were left without parishes, but were paid a yearly sum from parishes with more than 120 houses. Under Ilarion, an inventory of all monastery lands was created in 1868. In 1866, Roganović ordered that all priests must grow their beards. They were, however, allowed to wear their national costume. Ilarion also introduced registers of births, deaths and marriages, expanding the earlier practice of recording only baptisms, started by Peter I. Under Ilarion, the new Eparchy of Raška and

Zahumlje Zachlumia or Zachumlia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Zahumlje, Захумље, ), also Hum, was a medieval principality located in the modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia (today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, r ...

was created. It covered the areas conquered by Montenegro in the Montenegrin–Ottoman War of 1878 and was led by

, who Ilarion and the Bishop of the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...

Gerasim Petranović consecrated on 8 September 1878. In 1869, the Cetinje Seminary was officially opened. During his service, Ilarion consecrated 45 temples and ordained 119 priests. In 1875, Ilarion became the first president of the Red Cross of Montenegro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roganovic, Ilarion 1828 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 19th-century Montenegrin people Archimandrites Bishops of Montenegro and the Littoral People from Podgorica People from the Principality of Montenegro 19th-century Christian abbots