Makarije Sokolović ( sr-cyrl, Макарије Соколовић; died 1574) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1557 to 1571. He was the first head of the restored

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 ...

, after its lapse in 1463 that resulted from the Ottoman conquest of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. He is variously reported to have been the brother, nephew, or first cousin of the Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Mehmed-paša Sokolović, who used his influence in the Ottoman Empire to reestablish the Serbian Patriarchate with its seat in Monastery of Peć. Patriarch Makarije is celebrated as a saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Biography

He was born in the 16th century, his family hailing from the Serb clan of Piva in

Old Herzegovina Old Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stara Hercegovina, Стара Херцеговина) is a historical region, covering the eastern parts of historical Herzegovina, outside the scope of modern Herzegovina. A large section of ''Old Herzegovina'' ...

. He was a close kinsman of Mehmed-paša Sokolović, the Ottoman Grand Vizier. Prior to the re-establishment of the Patriarchate, the Serbs were under the jurisdiction of the

Archbishopric of Ohrid The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid *T. Kamusella in The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe, Springer, 2008, p. 276 *Aisling Lyon, Decentralisation and the Management of Ethni ...

. Metropolitan of Smederevo Pavle was one of many that did not recognize the current status of Serb Orthodox in 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 ...

and sought to make the Serbian Church independent once again. Makarije became the first Patriarch of the renewed

in 1557. The Ottoman Sultan gave Makarije the same rights as the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

. The jurisdiction of the Patriarchate was the land of the medieval Serbian state, with

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. ...

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

, Baranja,

Srem Syrmia ( Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

Bosanska Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-Cyrl, Босанска Крајина, , ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by several rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...

, Bosna,

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...

Krbava Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš and present Latin titular see. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as ...

and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, and had more than 40 eparchies, with the newly founded Eparchy of Trebinje, Eparchy of Požega, etc. Among renewed monasteries were

Banja Monastery The Banja Monastery () is a Serbian Orthodox monasteries, Serbian Orthodox Monastery located near Priboj, Serbia. Monastery Banja presents Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance, Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance in Serbia. Histo ...

Priboj Priboj ( sr-Cyrl, Прибој, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The population of the town is 13,172, while the population of the municipality is 23,514. Geography The municipality of Priboj i ...

, Gračanica, Studenica, the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, and Budisavci in Kosovo and Metohia. This renewal started a renaissance of the Serb culture in arts and literature. Because of illness, he was succeeded in 1571, by his fraternal nephew Antonije Sokolović. He died in 1574.

Legacy

He is included in ''

The 100 most prominent Serbs ''The 100 most prominent Serbs'' () is a book containing the biographies of the hundred most important Serbs as compiled by a committee of academicians at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The committee members were Sava Vuković (bishop) ...

''.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church: Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs
16th-century Serbian people Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Makarije I Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina People from Višegrad Year of birth unknown 1574 deaths Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ottoman Serbia 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Eastern Orthodox saints from the Ottoman Empire {{Serbia-bio-stub