Visarion ( sr-cyr, Висарион) was the Metropolitan of Herzegovina between 1590 and 1602. He was the ''

ktitor ''Ktetor'' () or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ; ), meaning 'founder', is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icon ...

'' of the Great Church of the Tvrdoš Monastery in

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...

, where he was seated.

Life

Rebel activity

The Banat Uprising (1594), in which the Serbs in Banat rose up against the Ottomans, had been aided by Visarion and Metropolitan

Rufim Njeguš Rufim Njeguš ( sr-Cyrl, Руфим Његуш; 1594–1631) was the Metropolitan of Cetinje between 1594 and 1636. He succeeded the Metropolitan duo of Nikanor and Stevan (s. 1591–93). Rufim Njeguš and Metropolitan Visarion, Metropolitan of H ...

of Cetinje. The rebels'

war flag A war ensign, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few co ...

s with the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

Saint Sava Saint Sava (, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; Glagolitic: ; ; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1235/6), known as the Enlightener or the Illuminator, was a Serbs, Serbian prince and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox monk, abbot of Studenica Monastery, Studeni ...

had been consecrated by Serbian Patriarch Jovan Kantul. Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Koca Sinan Pasha Koca Sinan Pasha (, "Sinan the Great", ; c. 1506 – 3 April 1596) was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier. Early life Sinan Pasha, also known ...

ordered the flag of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

be brought to counter the Serb flag, as well as the sarcophagus and relics of Saint Sava located in the Mileševa monastery be brought by military convoy to

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 ...

. Along the way, the Ottomans had people killed in their path so that the rebels in the woods would hear of it. The relics were publicly incinerated by the Ottomans on a pyre on the

Vračar plateau Vračar plateau () is a plateau on top of the Vračar Hill in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, with an absolute height of above sea level. It is the purported location of the 1594 Burning of Saint Sava's relics by the Ottomans. The dominant pos ...

, and the ashes scattered, on April 27, 1595. Among the Serbs, especially after the incineration of the relics of St. Sava, the liberation movement met a large response. The center of action for Herzegovina was since 1596 the Tvrdoš Monastery in Trebinje, where Metropolitan Visarion was seated. Many of the Orthodox bishops called to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

for help in liberating their lands. In 1596 the liberation movement and fighting would spread into Ottoman Montenegro and the neighbouring tribes in Herzegovina, especially under influence of Metropolitan Visarion. A Ragusan document from the beginning of 1596 claimed that the metropolitan and many Herzegovinian chieftains gathered in the Trebinje Monastery where they swore oath "to give up and donate 20,000 heroes to the ustrianemperors' light." The rebels sought help or at least, symbolically, the Austrian flag as a proof of connection with Austria. At the end of 1596, after the Himariote rebellion, the Serbs started to revolt. The uprising broke out in

Bjelopavlići Bjelopavlići ( cyrl, Бјелопавлићи, ; ) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanians, Albanian origin and a valley in the region of the Brda (Montenegro), Brda, in Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad. Geography The ''Bjelopavl ...

, then spread to

Drobnjaci Drobnjaci ( sr-Cyrl, Дробњаци, ) was a tribe and historical region, Drobnjak, in Old Herzegovina in Montenegro (municipalities from Nikšić to Šavnik, Žabljak and Pljevlja). Its unofficial centre is in Šavnik. The Serb Orthodox ...

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

, Piva and

Gacko Gacko ( sr-cyrl, Гацко) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inh ...

, and was led by vojvoda Grdan of Nikšić. The uprising was short-lived, as the rebels were defeated at Gacko. The rebels were forced to capitulate due to lack of foreign support. After the failure of the uprising, many Herzegovinians moved to the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...

and

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 ...

. Grdan and Patriarch Jovan would continue to plan revolts against the Ottomans in the coming years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visarion 16th-century Serbian people 17th-century Serbian people 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 17th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Bishops of Zahumlje-Herzegovina History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina 17th-century deaths Date of birth unknown Ottoman period in the history of Montenegro Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Ottoman period People from Trebinje 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire