Kiril Živković also spelled Kiril Zhivkovich (, sr-cyr, Кирил Живковић; 1730 – 1807) was a writer and Orthodox bishop.

Biography

Živković was a Bulgarian-born writer and Serbian Orthodox bishop. According to himself, he was born "''in the city of

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

, in Bulgarian lands, in the year 1730''". Pirot at the time was part of the

Sanjak of Niš The Sanjak of Niš ( Turkish: Niş Sancağı; Serbian: Нишки санџак, romanized: ''Niški Sandžak''; Albanian: Sanxhaku i Nishit; Bulgarian: Нишки санджак, romanized: ''Nishki sandzhak'') was one of the sanjaks of the O ...

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 ...

(now in Serbia, then called Bulgaria). As a seven-year-old, he fled with his parents to the village of

Futog Futog (, German and ) is a village of the city of Novi Sad, Serbia, with a population of 18,642 according to the 2011 census in Serbia. It is situated in southern Bačka, 7 km away from Novi Sad. Name ''Terra que Futog et a quibusdam Batkay no ...

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

in the Habsburg Empire (now in Serbia), where he was ordained as the priest of the

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 ...

. At that time the Patriarchate of Peć had in fact no pure ethnic nature, and included not only Serbs, but also Bulgarians. Afterwards Zhivkovich became a monk at the Bulgarian Orthodox

Zograf Monastery The Saint George the Zograf Monastery or Zograf Monastery (, ''Moní Zográphou''; ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos (the "Holy Mountain") in Greece. It was founded in the late 9th or early 10th century by three ...

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

(now in Greece). He travelled and studied throughout the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 1778 he was elevated to the rank of abbot (

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 ...

) by Metropolitan

Vićentije Jovanović Vidak Vićentije Jovanović Vidak ( sr-Cyrl, Вићентије Јовановић Видак; Sremski Karlovci, Habsburg monarchy, 10 March 1730 - Dalj, 18 February 1780) was the Metropolitan of the Metropolitanate of Karlovci from 1774 to 1780. Biog ...

. That same year he was put in charge of

Grgeteg monastery The Grgeteg Monastery () is a Serb Orthodox monastery on the Fruška Gora mountain in the northern Serbia, in the province of Vojvodina. According to tradition, the monastery was founded by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk ( Despot Vuk Grgurević) in 1471. The ...

. Eight years later, on the 20th of June 1786, Metropolitan

Mojsije Putnik Mojsije Putnik ( sr-cyr, Мојсије Путник, ) (1728–1790) was the Metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci between 1781 and 1790, during the reign of Joseph II. He was known for publishing the Toleranzpatent (tolerance patent) meant to ens ...

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

made him

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Serbian Orthodox

Pakrac Pakrac is a town in western Slavonia, Croatia, population 4,842, total municipality population 8,460 (census 2011). Pakrac is located on the road and railroad connecting the regions of Posavina and Podravina. Name In Croatian the town is known ...

eparchy, a position he would hold from 1786 to 1807. He published two books the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

: in Vienna in 1794: '' Domentijan'' and ''The Lives of Serbian Saints and Enlighteners Simeon and Sava'', and a redaction of

John Damascene John of Damascus or John Damascene, born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn, was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and apologist. He was born and raised in Damascus or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not kno ...

writings in

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

in 1803. He also left behind several unpublished manuscripts. He died on 12 August 1807 in

, Habsburg Empire (now in Croatia).

Language

Most prominent from his unpublished writings is the Manuscript from Temska Monastery. This manuscript is an important document in that it renders the state of the little documented

Torlakian dialects Torlakian, or Torlak, is a group of transitional South Slavic dialects spoken across southeastern Serbia, southern and eastern Kosovo, northwestern and northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgar ...

from 1764 written, according to the author, in "''simple Bulgarian language''". In fact during, the 19th century, the Torlakian dialects were often called ''Bulgarian''.Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie, Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world, Elsevier Science, 2008, , pp. 119–120.

References

Sources

Василев, В.П. За диалектната основа на един ръкопис от 18 век, в: Българският език през ХХ век, София 2001, с. 280–283.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zivkovic, Kiril 18th-century Bulgarian writers 19th-century Bulgarian people 18th-century Serbian writers 19th-century Serbian writers Serbian writers Bulgarian male writers Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church 1730 births 1807 deaths People from Pirot

Biography

Language

See also

References

Sources