Viktor Čolakov (secular name: Vŭlko Cholakov; 1797 - 31 May 1888) was the last Metropolitan of Niš of the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

(1872—1878), and the first bishop of Niš 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 ...

after the Serbian-Turkish Wars (1876-1878).

Biography

He was born in the town

Kalofer Kalofer ( pronounced:) is a town in central Bulgaria, located on the banks of the Tundzha between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora to the south. Kalofer is part of Plovdiv Province and the Karlovo municipality. It is best kno ...

in 1797, then part known as Rumelia, a part of 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 ...

, now

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. He received his primary education in his hometown. Subsequently, he entered the Kalofer Monastery as a novice. Viktor Čolakov became a monk in the Serbian monastery of

Hilandar The Hilandar Monastery (, , , ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian Orthodox monastery there. It was founded in 1198 by two Serbs from the Grand Principality of Serbia, Stefan Neman ...

and from there he was appointed in 1835 as a representative of the Hilandar metoh in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

. He previously became an

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 Hilandar, one of the most willing monks. in the monastery convent he collected donations. From the position of donation collector in Niš, where he spent almost 35 years, he was elected

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Niš and ordained in May 1872 in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Later, he was ordained by

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

Hilarion, the Bishop of

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

- Panaret, and the Bishop Dositej Samokovski. He began his career within the

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

, to continue as a metropolitan exarch of the

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and t ...

. In the end, he found himself as an archbishop under the auspices of the autocephalous

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 ...

. The Еxarchate authorities were suspicious of him due to several omissions, but particularly with close collaboration with the Serbs. Although he received only one vote during the elections to the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

in 1874, he later becomes a member of the Synod, though dared not go to Constantinople anymore. However, in 1875, the Bulgarian Synod wrote about him: "that he was self-willed, disobedient, and rude, and that it would therefore not be bad to remove him from the Niš diocese, even with the help of the government." Bishop Viktor remained faithful to exclusively Orthodox canons during all the breaks and changes. In the name of the clergy and the people on 18 January 1878, he proclaimed unification with

and informed Metropolitan Mihailo of Belgrade. This was after the liberation of Niš from the Turks during the Second Serbian-Turkish War and the annexation of Niš,

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...

and

Prokuplje Prokuplje ( sr-Cyrl, Прокупље, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Toplica District in southern Serbia. As of 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 38,054 inhabitants. Prokuplje is one of the Roman sites of Serb ...

. His decision was accepted and Metropolitan Viktor was on 1 February 1879 by decree appointed bishop of Niš as part of the

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 ...

. By decree Prince Milan Obrenović on 18 January 1878, Colakov was awarded the

Order of the Cross of Takovo The Order of the Cross of Takovo () was a Serbian state order. History It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started with the Tako ...

, 3rd class for merit and independence and liberation. He was the bishop in Niš and the president of the local subcommittee of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. He remained faithful to Metropolitan Mihailo (Jovanović) and after his removal, he was relieved of his duties as archbishop (bishop) on 1 April 1883, because he did not recognize the "Law on Taxes" which also concerned the church and clergy;Abbot Filaret Petrovic, "Nis with its past", Nis 1892 - pp. 14 and then he was transferred to the monastery Petkovica in Diocese of Šabac. He bequeathed 4,000 ducats to the Hilandar Monastery and left the rest of his property for charitable and educational purposes. He died in Belgrade in 1888 and was ceremoniously buried in Church of St. Mark in Belgrade. He was an honorary member of Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts from 27 February 1883.

References

{{reflist 1797 births 1888 deaths Serbian bishops Bulgarian Orthodox bishops People from Kalofer

Biography

See also

References