Miron Nikolić (worldly name: Mihailo Nikolić; 27 February 1846 - 18 February 1941) was bishop of the

Patriarchate of Karlovci The Patriarchate of Karlovci () or Serbian Patriarchate of Sremski Karlovci (), was a patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed between 1848 and 1920. It was formed when the Metropolitanate of Karlovci was elevated to the rank of ...

and, after 1920, of the united

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 ...

. Bishop Miron is one of the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church with the longest standing record in the profession, 51 years, and at the same time, he was a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church with the longest standing at the head of one diocese.

Biography

Mihailo Nikolić was born on 27 February 1846 in the village of Kapelni, in Slavonian

Podravina ''Podravina'' (in Croatian) or ''Podravje'' (in Slovenian) are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in northern Croatia and Slovenia. Both names combine the hydronym with the South Slavic prefix "''po''-", meaning "alongside" or "after". Hist ...

, to father Paul, priest, and mother Ana, a housewife. He completed gymnasium in Podravska Slatina, and

École normale supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

where he received his teacher's certificate. He taught high school in

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 ...

and

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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 ...

. Prior to receiving the monastic rank, he was a clerk in the Consistory office, a notary and a teacher in

Daruvar Daruvar is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia, with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Daruvarski Vinogradi, Doljani, Donji Daruvar, Gornji Daruvar, Lipovac Majur, Ljudevit Selo, Marko ...

Monastic life

He received the monastic rank on 10 October 1870 in the monastery of

Orahovica Orahovica is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is situated on the slopes of the mountain Papuk and positioned on the state road D2 Varaždin- Koprivnica- Našice-Osijek. History The name Orahovica is derived from the word ''orah'', meaning a ...

from Abbot Maksim of

Rahovec Rahovec ( sq-definite, Rahoveci) or Orahovac ( sr-Cyrl, Ораховац), is a List of cities in Kosovo, town and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality located in the District of Gjakova in western Kosovo. According to the 2024 census, the town ...

. He was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

on 28 October of the same year. He became a

Protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usa ...

in 1871, and

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros'', which means elder or senior, although many in Christian antiquity understood ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer ...

in 1874. He was made

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 1878. He received ordination from his predecessor, Bishop

Nikanor Grujić Nikanor Grujić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никанор Грујић; December 12, 1810 – April 20, 1887) was the Serbian Orthodox bishop of Pakrac, the ''locum, locum tenens'' List of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Patriarch, the Austro ...

of Pakrac. After his death, on 8 April 1887, Archimandrite Miron became the mandate of Patriarch German Anđelić in the Eparchy of Pakrac. He was elected bishop of Pakrac on 10 October 1888. Since Patriarch German Anđelić died shortly afterwards, Archimandrite Miron was consecrated only in 1890, after the election of the new Patriarch

Georgije Branković Georgije Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Георгије Бранковић; 1830–1907) was the Patriarch of Karlovci, the spiritual leader of Habsburg Serbs, from 1890 until his death in 1907. He instigated a number of significant religious, education ...

. The consecration ceremony of Bishop Miron was performed on 3 May 1890 by the Patriarch Georgije (Branković) and two bishops Nektarije of

Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...

and Vesilijan of

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. ...

. As a bishop, Miron dedicated special care to the priesthood, instituted priesthood confessions, brotherhood councils, made teaching and educational improvements of the clerical personnel by opening libraries in parishes, and establishing a fund for the support of children and orphans of the clergy of the Eparchy of Pakrac. Taking care of the teacher's youth, he succeeded in establishing a Teacher's College in 1894, buying a building for the teacher's school and opening a boarding school for the students of the school who could otherwise ill afford their education. During the expatriation of Serbs from Slavonia to America, Bishop Miron warned the clergy to protect the people from emigration, and in this sense wrote a letter. Bishop Miron administered the vacant

on occasion (1913 and 1914-1919) after taking over the

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

post from Bishop of Gornji Karlovac Mihailo Grujić. In the last seven years of his life he was unable to perform liturgy, because of a leg fracture. He died on 18 February 1941 in Pakrac, and was buried in the Gavrinica church where his grave was desecrated during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

References

Serbian Orthodox clergy {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolić, Miron 1846 births 1941 deaths