Milutin Knežević ( sr-Cyrl, Милутин Кнежевић; 10 January 1949 – 30 March 2020) was a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

, Bishop of the Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand between 2003 and 2006, and the Eparchy of Valjevo from 2006 to 2020. He died on 30 March 2020, from complications due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Biography

He was born as Mihailo Knežević on 10 January 1949 in Mijači, near

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

, in a Serbian Orthodox family.NEW BISHOP ORDAINED
official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church, July 20, 2003 He was baptized in the renowned Pustinja Monastery.Bishop Milutin of Valjevo, Serbia, reposed in the Lord
. official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church, 30. March 2020 In 1963, at age of 14 after he finished elementary school he went to the Kaona Monastery. On 26 October 1963 in the Petkovica Monastery bishop Jovan Velimirović of Šabac and Valjevo tonsured him monk with name

Milutin Milutin () is a Serbian masculine given name of Slavic origin. The name may refer to: *Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (1253–1321), king of Serbia * Milutin Bojić (1892–1917), poet * Milutin Ivković (1906–1943), footballer *Milutin Milan ...

in honour of medieval king

Stefan Uroš II Milutin Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Saint King, was the King of Serbia between 1282–1321, a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was one o ...

of Serbia. On the next day he was ordained

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 ...

and November 8 of same year as hieromonk at

Osečina Osečina ( sr-cyr, Осечина, ) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. As of 2022, the population of the town is 2,456, while population of the municipality is 9,951 inhabitants. Settlements Apart fro ...

, near Valjevo. He started attending the monastic

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the

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 ...

in 1967, and afterwards he returned to Kaona Monastery where he becomes its head and priest. Later he studied at the Theological School of St. Sava in

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 ...

. Having spent one academic year at the Belgrade Theological Faculty, he continued his studies in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the Theological Faculty of St. Sava in Libertyville, Illinois, and graduated from it with best marks. For six months he was the secretary of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, and for six months he was the parish priest in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

. After that he returned to Serbia and thereafter joined again his Kaona Monastery and contributed a great deal to improvement of it as a spiritual centre. In 1981 bishop Jovan Velimirović promoted him to the rank of

syncellus ''Synkellos'' (), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major importance in the state, and ...

and to a

protosyncellus A protosyncellus, protosynkellos or protosyngel () is the principal deputy of the bishop of an eparchy for the exercise of administrative authority in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. The equivalent position in the Western Chris ...

in 1987. In 1994 bishop

Lavrentije Trifunović Lavrentije Trifunović ( sr-Cyrl, Лаврентије Трифуновић; 27 January 1935 – 23 January 2022) was a Serbian Orthodox bishop. He was the Bishop of Šabac between 2006 and his death. Formerly, he was Bishop of Šabac and Valj ...

promoted him to the rank of

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 ...

and to the rank of

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 ...

in 1988. In mid-2003, Counsil of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected him Bishop of Australia and New Zealand. On July 20, 2003, at

St. Michael's Cathedral, Belgrade The Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel ( sr-Cyrl, Саборна Црква Св. Архангела Михаила, Saborna Crkva Sv. Arhangela Mihaila) is a Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox cathedral church in the centre of ...

, Patriarch

Pavle of Serbia Pavle Branovic (, ; 870–921) was the Prince of the Serbs from 917 to 921. He was put on the throne by the Bulgarian Tsar Symeon I of Bulgaria, who had imprisoned the previous prince (Petar) after he had become a Byzantine ally. Pavle ruled ...

, along with Metropolitans

Nikolaj Mrđa Nikolaj is a Danish given name, derived from the name Nicholas. Many different ways of spelling the name have been approved in Denmark. It may refer to: * Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard, Danish artist * Nicolaj Agger, Danish professional football pla ...

of Dabro and Bosnia,

Amfilohije Radović Amfilohije ( sr-Cyrl, Амфилохије; , English: Amphilochius; born Risto Radović, 7 January 193830 October 2020) was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, theologian, university professor, author and translator. He was first the Bisho ...

of Montenegro and the Littoral, and Bishops

Longin Krčo Longin Krčo (Serbian Cyrillic: Лонгин Крчо; born 29 September 1955) is a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church who became head of the Eparchy of New Gračanica and Midwestern America in October 1999. He is one of the longest-serving Se ...

of New Gračanica,

of Sabac and Valjevo,

Irinej Gavrilović Irinej ( sr-Cyrl, Иринеј, , ; born Miroslav Gavrilović; 28 August 193020 November 2020) was the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 2010 until his death in 2020. He had first been the Eparchy of Niš, bishop of Niš between 1975 and ...

of Niš,

Irinej Bulović Irinej Bulović (born Mirko Bulović; 11 February 1947) is a Serbian Orthodox cleric who was elected Bishop of Bačka in 1990. He serves as а professor of the New Testament exegesis and Greek language on the Faculty of Theology of the Universi ...

of Bačka,

Georgije Đokić Georgije Đokić (Serbian Cyrillic: Георгије Ђокић; born May 6, 1949) is a retired Serbian Orthodox bishop who served as the head of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada from 1984 until May 20, 2015. Biography He was born on May ...

of Canada and Dositej Motika of Scandinavia and Britain consecrated him bishop. He was enthroned on December 30 of same year at St. Sava Monastery in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, by his predecessor in Australia and New Zealand,

Nikanor Bogunović Nicanor or Nikanor is the name of: People Ancient history * Nicanor (father of Balacrus), 4th century BC * Nicanor (son of Parmenion) (4th-century–330 BC), 4th century BC; a Macedonian officer under Alexander * Nicanor of Stageira, 4th cent ...

. On May 27, 2006, Bishop Milutin was appointed to the restored Diocese of Valjevo. His enthronement took place on September 26 in the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in

. He died on 30 March 2020, at University Hospital Center Dr Dragiša Mišović in

, due to complications from the

infection. He became first Eastern Orthodox bishop who died of COVID-19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knezevic, Milutin 1949 births 2020 deaths Clergy from Valjevo Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches