Josif Putnik (Secular name Jovan Putnik, 28 December 1777 – 4 November 1830) was the bishop 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 ...

on the throne of the bishops of

Pakrac Pakrac is a town in western Slavonia, Croatia, population 4,842, total municipality population 8,460 (census 2011). Pakrac is located on the road and railroad connecting the regions of Posavina and Podravina. Name In Croatian the town is known ...

and

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 ...

Life

Josif Putnik (in the world Jovan) was born in 1777 in Novi Sad to the parents of Dimitrije, a court member, and Marija, born Saplonca and Teodora. He was Jovan "grandson" of Karlovac Metropolitan

Mojsije Putnik Mojsije Putnik ( sr-cyr, Мојсије Путник, ) (1728–1790) was the Metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci between 1781 and 1790, during the reign of Joseph II. He was known for publishing the Toleranzpatent (tolerance patent) meant to ens ...

. The family Hungarian nobility was given to Vojislav (Albert) and Jovan Putnik from

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

County in 1736. After graduating from the University of Pest, Jovan enrolled in the Karlovac seminary and graduated in 1798. According to the practice of that time, he became a deacon in celibacy at the court of Metropolitan Stefan (Stratimirović), who gathered learned people around him. He received the monastic rank in the monastery of Krušedol in 1800. As a confidential person, on the order of Metropolitan Stefan (Stratimirović), he mediated for the Tican's rebellion in

Srem Syrmia ( Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is ...

to end in a peaceful way. For some time, he taught at the Serbian Orthodox High School in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, as the third professor in a row, succeeding Peter (Jovanović) and Gideon (Petrović), who were also elected bishops. After the death of the Bishop of Vršac, Josip (Jovanović Šakabenta) (19 December 1805), he became the mandatary and then the administrator of the Diocese of Vršac. As Archimandrite of

Grgeteg Monastery The Grgeteg Monastery () is a Serb Orthodox monastery on the Fruška Gora mountain in the northern Serbia, in the province of Vojvodina. According to tradition, the monastery was founded by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk ( Despot Vuk Grgurević) in 1471. The ...

, he became an administrator on 16 August 1807, and on 12 July 1808, the (thirteenth) bishop of the Diocese of Pakrac. Although he was the bishop of Pakrac from 1808 to 1828, Bishop Josif lived in

for only eleven years. Before that, he lived in Arad for nine years, where, as the last Serbian archbishop, he administered a vacant Arad diocese. In 1829, Bishop Josif was elected Bishop of

. He was portrayed in 1830 by the Timișoara painter Sava Petrović. He died on 4 November 1830 and was buried in the Ascension Cathedral in Timișoara.Епископ Сава: "Гробна места српских архијереја", Каленић 1999. Bishop Josif was an exceptional person. His main goal was the education and enlightenment of the clergy because that is where the people's goodwill and image come from. To that end, he opened a mandatory boarding school for students of a theological school, which was well organized.

References

{{Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia Serbian Orthodox clergy 1777 births 1830 deaths