Metropolitan Joanikije Lipovac (16 February 1890 – 18 June 1945) was the Metropolitan of the Diocese of Montenegro and the Littoral. He was executed by the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

-led

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

for his collaboration with occupying

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

during

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 was posthumously canonized by 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 ...

. Metropolitan Joanikije attempted to maintain the diocese as the area transitioned between German and communist rule. With the ascendancy of communist control he attempted to leave the area with a number of his priests. The attempt was unsuccessful and he and his party of priests were executed by the Partisans. In 1999, his name was added to the list of Serbian saints.

Biography

Joanikije was born Jovan Lipovac to Špiro and Marija (née Damjanović) Lipovac in Stoliv in 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 ...

in what was then the

Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia (; ; ) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entirety of the region of Dalmatia, with its capital at Zadar. History The Habs ...

within

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. He finished elementary school in

Prčanj Prčanj ( Montenegrin: Прчањ, ) is a small town along the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1128 people. It is located 5 kilometres west of Kotor, opposite to Dobrota and between the sett ...

and gymnasium in

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

. He graduated in Orthodox theology in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

and philosophy at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

. After being ordained he served in Kotor and Lastva. From 1925–40 he taught as a professor in Belgrade. In 1939 he was named an auxiliary bishop, with title '' Bishop of Budimlja''. The following year he was named metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral. Soon after taking the position of metropolitan, the April War brought the

to Yugoslavia and resulted in the establishment of the

Italian governorate of Montenegro The Italian governorate of Montenegro () existed from October 1941 to September 1943 as an occupied territory under military government of Fascist Italy during World War II. Although the Italians had intended to establish a quasi-independent Mon ...

. Joanikije openly collaborated with occupying

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

forces and supported the activities of the Serbian

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

. He was at the head of the column of Montenegrin Chetniks which attempted to flee Yugoslavia through Germany at the end of the war.Profile
, danas.rs, 8 June 2005; accessed 4 July 2015. Joanikije was captured by Yugoslav Partisans on May 12 near

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

and taken to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. On orders from

Milovan Đilas Milovan Djilas (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Милован Ђилас, Milovan Đilas, ; 12 June 1911 – 20 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well ...

, he was transferred to Belgrade. He and his party were executed by the Partisans at Bukovik near

Aranđelovac Aranđelovac ( sr-cyr, Аранђеловац, ) is a town and a municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. , the municipality has a population of 41,297 inhabitants, while the town has 22,881 inhabitants. It is situated ben ...

on 18 June 1945.Prsten ubijenog sveca
(English: Ring of a murdered priest), glas-javnosti.rs; accessed 4 July 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipovac, Joanikije 1890 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops People from Kotor People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia Bishops of Montenegro and the Littoral Executed Montenegrin collaborators with Fascist Italy Executed Montenegrin collaborators with Nazi Germany Executed Serbian collaborators with Fascist Italy Executed Serbian collaborators with Nazi Germany People killed by Yugoslav Partisans Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Academic staff of the University of Belgrade University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni New Martyrs Hieromartyrs 20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs Executed priests Serbs of Montenegro