Teofan Živković also spelled Theophan Živković (Secular name Božidar;

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 ...

, 1825 -

Plaški Plaški is a village and a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is part of the region of Lika. Geography Plaški is situated in the lower part of the Ogulin-Plaški valley. Together with Gorski kotar and Lika, the Ogulin-Plaški valley ...

, 21 November 1890) was the Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox

Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac The Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac ( sr-Cyrl, Епархија горњокарловачка, ; "Eparchy of Upper Karlovac") is an eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church seated in the city of Karlovac, Croatia. It covers the area of Banovina (region ...

from 1874 to 1890.

Youth and education

Božidar Živković was born in Sremski Karlovci in 1825. His father was a doctor. He graduated from

Karlovci Gymnasium The Karlovci Gymnasium () is the high school ( gymnasium) located in the town of Sremski Karlovci. Founded in 1791, it is the oldest secondary school in Serbia. This type of school is comparable to U.S. college preparatory schools or English gr ...

, and theology in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

. He also studied law at Belgrade's

Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...

, and later completed his studies at the Faculty of Theology at Grandes écoles of Saint Arsenije Sremac at

.. Upon graduation, he became a professor at a Teacher's Academy in

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 41,814 (), while its adminis ...

. Later, he accepted the post of rector of the Faculty of Theology at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

in Sremski Karlovci.

Monasticism and Episcopacy

Božidar Živković was tonsured as a monk in 1853 and adopted the monastic name of Teofan. Immediately after entering

monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...

, he was promoted to

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 ...

. Already by 1858, he became an

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

, in 1864; a

hieromonk A hieromonk,; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: ''Иеромонахъ''; ; ; ; ; Albanian language, Albanian: ''Hieromurg'' also called a priestmonk, is a person who is both monk and Priest#Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priest in the Eastern Christianity ...

l; and in 1866, elevated to

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 ...

. As an archimandrite, Teofan published his book "The Serbian National Church in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

" in 1868. In 1874, Teofan Živković was elected Bishop of Upper Karlovac. He was known as a good preacher and travelled throughout his diocese preaching faith to the people. In 1892, his sermons were printed in Karlovac in a collection called "The Preacher.," collected by Manojlo Grbić. In 1881, the Church-People's Committee elected Teofan Živković as the Patriarch of Karlovac. There were 53 votes in favour of Teofan, while there were only 11 against. However, the Austro-Hungarian court did not want to confirm his election as patriarch. Bishop Teofan's speech in 1881 played a role in calming down the great expectations of uniting the Serbian National Church with that of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

by Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the A ...

, his apostolic commissioner

Josip Stadler Josip Stadler (24 January 1843 – 8 December 1918) was a Bosnian-Herzegovinian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the first archbishop of Vrhbosna, from 1881 to his death in 1918. He was the founder of the religious order of the ...

and politician

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; ; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church, politician and benefactor (law), benefactor. Between 1849 and his death, he served as the Bishop of Đakovo, Bishop ...

during the politically volatile period of the 1880s when anything could have happened? Also, Bishop Teofan was supported by Serbian Orthodox Bishops Stefan (Knezević) of

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 Gerasim Petranović of

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Death

He suffered from pulmonary disease and died in Plaški in 1890. He was buried at a Cemetery in Plaški. Bishop Teofan's grave at the Plaški Cemetery was defiled in March 2013. A hole about 1.5 meters deep was dug at his grave, and municipal authorities did not allow it to be determined whether the remains were taken out of the grave or not.

References

* Translated and adapted Serbian Wikipedia:

Teofan Živković Teofan Živković also spelled Theophan Živković (Secular name Božidar; Sremski Karlovci, 1825 - Plaški, 21 November 1890) was the Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac from 1874 to 1890. Youth and education Božidar Živk ...

{{Authority control Serbian Orthodox Church 1825 births 1890 deaths