Melentije Pavlović ( Gornja Vrbava, 1776 – Vraćevšnica monastery, 11 June 1833) was the first

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

Metropolitan of Belgrade, head of 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 ...

in the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

from 1831 until his death in 1833, as well as a participant in the

Second Serbian Uprising The Second Serbian Uprising ( / ''Drugi srpski ustanak'', ) was the second phase of the Serbian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire in 1813. The occupation was ...

Biography

Early life

He was born in Gornja Vrbava, a village near present-day

Gornji Milanovac Gornji Milanovac ( sr-Cyrl, Гoрњи Милановац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 23,109, while the population of the municipality is 38,985 (2022 census data). ...

. He joined the monastery before 1810, in March of that yearĐ. Slijepčević, ''Istorija...'', p. 319. he became

Hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

of the Vraćevšnica monastery.Đ. Slijepčević, ''Istorija...,'' p. 306. He did not take part in the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

, but he joined the

, participated in the Takovo Meeting and distinguished himself in the battles of Ljubić and Palež. Thanks to his personal courage, Melentije gained the respect of Prince

Miloš Obrenović Miloš Obrenović (; ; 18 March 1780 or 1783 – 26 September 1860) born Miloš Teodorović (; ), also known as Miloš the Great () was the Prince of Serbia twice, from 1815 to 1839, and from 1858 to 1860. He was an eminent figure of the Firs ...

, who in 1818 appointed him a personal confessor of the Obrenović dynasty. With time, Melentije became his adviser, initially in religious matters and later also in general political matters. In 1823, the Prince entrusted him with the organization of a state school system.Đ. Slijepčević, ''Istorija...'', p. 320.

Metropolitan

When the Prince reached an agreement with the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

on the creation of the autonomous

Metropolitanate of Belgrade The Metropolitanate of Belgrade () was an Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical province (metropolitanate) which existed between 1831 and 1920, with jurisdiction over the territory of Principality and Kingdom of Serbia. It was formed in 1831, when t ...

, he pointed out Melentije as the most appropriate candidate. In recommending Melentije to accept chirotony as bishop, the Prince called him the most honest, the most talented and the most respected among the Serb clergy. Melentije was ordained bishop by the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

Constantius I Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as ''caesar'' from 293 to 3 ...

on 18 August 1831. A year later, the autonomy of the Metropolitanate of Belgrade was confirmed. At that moment he was seriously ill. Melentije, while holding office, determined the administrative division of the Metropolitanate to eparchies and organized a metropolitan office. He forbade church singing in

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

churches, and he tried to create a printing house in Belgrade; he himself resided in

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

.Đ. Slijepčević, ''Istorija...'', p. 321. According to Radomir Popović, a dispute arose between him and the Prince in the last period of Melentije's administration.R. Popović, ''Serbian...'', p. 58. He died in 1833.

References

Sources

* R. Popović, ''Serbian Orthodox Church in History'', Academy of Serbian Orthodox Church for Fine Arts and Conservation, Belgrade 2013. * Đ. Slijepčević,''Istorija Srpske Pravoslavne Crkve'', t. II, JRJ, Beograd 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlovic, Melentije 1776 births 1833 deaths People from Gornji Milanovac People from the Principality of Serbia People of the Second Serbian Uprising Serbian revolutionaries Metropolitans of Belgrade Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia 19th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops