Visarion Ljubiša (; 28 February 1823 – 14 April 1884) was the

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 ...

metropolitan bishop of Montenegro from 1882 to 1884.

Early life and schooling

Stefan Ljubiša was born in the village of

Sveti Stefan Sveti Stefan ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Свети Стефан, ; lit. "Saint Stephen") is a town in Budva Municipality, on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro, approximately southeast of Budva. The town is known for the Aman Sveti Stefan resort ...

to the

Paštrovići The Paštrovići ( sh-Cyrl, Паштровићи, ; or ) is a historical tribe and region in the Montenegrin Littoral. Paštrovići stretches from the southernmost part of the Bay of Kotor, from the cape of Zavala to Spič. Its historical ca ...

clan. He lost his father, who was a sailor like many of his compatriots, when he was only three. When he reached school age, his mother sent him to his grandfather, Abbot Savo Ljubiša, at the

Praskvica The Praskvica Monastery () is a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Čelobrdo, a village in the Budva municipality in modern-day Montenegro. It was a spiritual and political center of the Paštrovići clan. The name of the monastery is taken from the pe ...

monastery. He completed his primary education in a lay school in

Risan Risan ( Montenegrin: Рисан, ) is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor. Lying in the innermost portion of the bay, the settlement was prot ...

and was then sent the Orthodox clerical school in

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

, which in 1841 was elevated to the rank of

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

during his studies there. Visarion was first cousin of famous writer

Stjepan Mitrov Ljubiša Stjepan (modernist: Stefan) Mitrov Ljubiša ( sr-cyr, Стјепан Митров Љубиша; 29 February 1824 – 11 November 1878), was a Serbian writer and politician. He is famous for his unique short stories, generally ranked among the m ...

In the church

After he finished his studies in 1844, he returned to

, where he became a monk and was consecrated as a priest. Subsequently, he served as a teacher in monastery schools (often the only existing schools in those days) in

, Podlastva,

Podmaine The Podmaine Monastery () is a Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox List of Serbian monasteries, monastery built in the 15th century by the Crnojević noble family in Podmaine near Budva, Zeta under the Crnojevići, Zeta (modern day Montenegr ...

Reževići Monastery The Reževići Monastery () is a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Katun Reževići village between Budva and Petrovac in modern-day Montenegro. The monastery has two churches. According to a local legend, the 'Church of the Dormitio ...

, and Savina (all in the littoral). In 1858, he was appointed priest and teacher in

Perast Perast () is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor and is noted for its proximity to the islets of Sveti Đorđe Island, St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. History Acc ...

. In 1867, he became the abbot of monastery

Morača The Morača ( cnr-Cyrl, Морача, ) is a major river in Montenegro that originates in the northern region in Kolašin Municipality under Mount Rzača. It meanders southwards for before emptying into Lake Skadar. Its drainage basin covers ...

in Montenegro and, two years later, the abbot of the

Cetinje Monastery The Cetinje Monastery () is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. It is located in Cetinje and is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro. A center of historical and cultural importance, it was founded c. 1484 by Prince ...

(which was the seat of metropolitan) and professor to the newly opened seminary. From 1872 to 1875 he was the rector of the

Cetinje Seminary The Theological Seminary of St. Peter of Cetinje ( sr-Cyrl, Богословија Светог Петра Цетињског) is a secondary Orthodox theological school of Serbian Orthodox Church in Cetinje, Montenegro. The rector of the semina ...

. During the Montenegrin-Ottoman War (1876–78), he was appointed as military priest attached to the general staff. His dignified and brave behavior made it to the folk epic song. In 1876, he became the president of the newly founded

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 ...

of Montenegro. From 1878 to 1882, he was the head of the Zahumsko-Raška eparchy, founded in the newly liberated territories of Montenegro. His seat was in

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 ...

which he enlarged. His work as bishop was devoted and thorough; especially important was that Ljubiša introduced pedant church administration that he knew well from his earlier work in the Littoral.

Metropolitan

After the death of

Ilarion Roganović Ilarion Roganović ( sr-Cyrl, Иларион Рогановић; 12 July 1828 – 15 January 1882) was the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Highlands from 1860 to 1882. Earlier, he was also the archimandrite of the Ždrebaonik, Ostrog and Ce ...

, and the administration of abbot

Mitrofan Ban Mitrofan Ban (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Митрофан Бан; 15 May 1841 – 30 September 1920) was Bishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan of Montenegro, and exarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He was also Archimandrite of the ...

, on 6 December 1882, Ljubiša became the Metropolitan of Montenegro. About the same time, the Ministry of Education of Montenegro was formed and Ljubiša, as an experienced teacher and organizer, became its first administrator. He was also a member of the State Council. He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1884 and was buried in the courtyard of

Vlaška Church The Vlach Church () is a Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox church built in 1450 in the village of Donji Kraj, on the Cetinje field, at that time part of Zeta under the Crnojevići, Zeta (present-day Montenegro). Stećci The church was ...

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

. He left his house on main street in Cetinje to the poor.

Early life and schooling

In the church

Metropolitan

References

Further reading