Gavrilo I, Serbian Patriarch

Gavrilo I Rajić (died 1659) was Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch between 1648 and 1655. He was murdered by Turks and therefore celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Church as Hieromartyr. His feast day is celebrated on December 13.

Gavrilo I
Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch
ChurchSerbian Orthodox Church
SeePatriarchal Monastery of Peć
Installed1648
Term ended1655
PredecessorPajsije I
SuccessorMaksim I
Personal details
Birth nameGavrilo Rajić
Died1659
NationalityRum Millet (Serbian)
DenominationEastern Orthodox Christian
OccupationSpiritual leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Metropolitan

Gavrilo was born around 1605–1610 in the region of Stari Vlah into a noble Rajić family. He entered into the church service and became Metropolitan of Smederevo. In 1643, he was elected Metropolitan of Raška. Around 1644, He rebuilt the Monastery of the Holy Archangels in the Kovilje Mountains. After the death of Serbian Patriarch Pajsije on November 3/13 1647, Gavrilo was elected new patriarch in 1648.[1]

Patriarch

In 1653, he decided to travel to Russia to ask for material support for Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. After meeting with Metropolitan Arsenije of Herzegovina on Christmas Eve, he went first to Wallachia and arrived in Trgovište where he tried to reconcile the Wallachian Prince Matei Basarab with the Cossack Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. From there, Patriarch Gavrilo traveled to Russia in 1654, taking with him two books for printing: Lives of Serbian Emperors and Patriarchs and Typikon against Latin Heresy of Saint Nil Kabasilas. He was welcomed by Russian Patriarch Nikon and Russian Tsar Michael Romanov. He also participated in the famous Moscow Synod in 1658 which approved Nikon's reforms. Since he decided to stay in Russia, he wrote to Serbian metropolitans to elect a new patriarch.[2]

Soon after, he changed his mind and left Russia arriving back to Ottoman Empire in 1659. Upon return, he was accused by the Turks of being responsible for the Russo-Turkish War. he was also accused of attempting to convert some Turks to Christianity. Brought before the tribunal, he was ordered to embrace Islam. After Gavrilo refused, he was sentenced to death. He was executed in Bursa on July 18, 1659. Presbyter Pavle took his remains and buried them. He was entered on the list of Serbian saints.[3]

See also

References
  1. Вуковић 1996, p. 98.
  2. Вуковић 1996, p. 99.
  3. Вуковић 1996, p. 100.

Sources
  • Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Fotić, Aleksandar (2008). "Serbian Orthodox Church". Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Infobase Publishing. pp. 519–520.
  • Kašić, Dušan, ed. (1965). Serbian Orthodox Church: Its past and present. 1. Belgrade: Serbian Orthodox Church.
  • Pavlovich, Paul (1989). The History of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Serbian Heritage Books.
  • Слијепчевић, Ђоко М. (1962). Историја Српске православне цркве (History of the Serbian Orthodox Church). књ. 1. Минхен: Искра.
  • Вуковић, Сава (1996). Српски јерарси од деветог до двадесетог века (Serbian Hierarchs from the 9th to the 20th Century). Београд: Евро.
  • Olga Zirojević, Srbija pod turskom vlašću 1459–1804, Belgrade 2007
Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by
Pajsije I		 Serbian Patriarch
1648–1655		 Succeeded by
Maksim I
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