Petar Zimonjić ( sr-cyr, Петар Зимоњић; 24 June 1866 – June 1941) was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church serving as the metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

from 1920 until the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was killed by

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

of the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

- aligned

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

in June 1941. The Serbian Orthodox Church venerates him as a Saint.

Life

The future Metropolitan Petar was the son of a nobleman ('' vojvoda'') and priest

Bogdan Zimonjić Bogdan Zimonjić, ( sr-cyr, Богдан Зимоњић; 1813 – 21 January 1909) was a Serbian Orthodox priest and Vojvoda (military commander) in two major uprisings against the Ottoman Empire in 19th-century Herzegovina: in 1852–62, an ...

from the region of Herzegovina. He was born in Grahovo on 24 June 1866. He attended the seminary in Reljevo (in neighboring Sarajevo) between 1883 and 1887 and continued his education at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Cernovice from 1887 until his graduation in 1893. In October 1893, Petar was appointed assistant professor at the Reljevo Seminary, and a year later he was appointed professor. He received the name Petar when he took monastic vows on 6 September 1895. He was ordained deacon on 7 September and presbyter the following day. He became a consistorial advisor in Sarajevo in 1901. He was then elected the Metropolitan of the

Eparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina The Eparchy of Zahumlje, Herzegovina and the Littoral ( sr, Епархија захумско-херцеговачка и приморска, Eparhija zahumsko-hercegovačka i primorska) is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church with ...

and then on 9 June 1903, Petar was consecrated and enthroned in

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

. After the retirement of the Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosna Evgenije (Letica), Petar was appointed Metropolitan of the diocese by a royal charter dated 7 November 1920.

Martyrdom

After World War II had broken out, Metropolitan Petar was advised to leave Bosnia and move to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. He replied saying: “I am the people's shepherd, which means that I am bound to stay here and share evil with these people, as I used to share well with them; thus I have to share the destiny of my people and stay where I am supposed to be". He defended consistently the Orthodox faith in front of German Gestapo by insisting on continuing use of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet instead of changing to the Latin alphabet. A Roman Catholic priest, Božidar Bralo, an adherent of the Croatian

in charge of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, had a decisive role in this severe policy of forbidding the use of the Cyrillic alphabet, including the arrest of Metropolitan Petar. Metropolitan Petar was arrested on 12 May 1941. He was imprisoned first in the Beledija prison, and then three days later he was transported to the

Kerestinec camp Kerestinec camp was a prison that served as a concentration camp in Kerestinec, Croatia. It was located in the castle overlooking the village. Early 20th century Before the outbreak of World War II, the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia buil ...

where he was assigned the number 29781. There, his beard and hair were shaved and all his bishop's insignia were taken away from him. The circumstances of his death are inconsistent. After enduring severe

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

, he was moved to Koprivnica and then to either Jasenovac or Gospić concentration camp. According to the testimonies of Jovo Furtula and Jovo Lubura from the Sarajevo District, Metropolitan Petar was killed in the

Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration and extermination camp established in the village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. The concentration camp, one of the ...

. His corpse was then thrown to the fiery furnace used for brick making. However, another version states that Metropolitan Petar was taken to the

Jadovno concentration camp The Jadovno concentration camp was a concentration and extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. Commanded by Juco Rukavina, it was the first of twenty-six concentration camps in the NDH during the war. Est ...

, where he was killed in a monstrous manner and his remains were thrown to an acid pit. In 1998, during the regular session of the

Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Свети архијерејски синод Српске православне цркве, Sveti arhijerejski sinod Srpske pravoslavne crkve) serves by Church constitution as the executive bod ...

Metropolitan Petar was canonized and his name was added to the list of other saints of the Serbian people and of Orthodox Christian faith. The Serbian Church marks the memory of him in the third week of September.

References

Sources

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Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimonjic, Petar 1866 births 1941 deaths People from Nikšić Bishops of Dabar-Bosnia Bishops of Zahumlje-Herzegovina Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Persecution of Serbs 20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs 20th-century Christian saints New Martyrs Hieromartyrs People executed by the Independent State of Croatia People who died in Jasenovac concentration camp Serb people who died in the Holocaust Serbian torture victims Serbian civilians killed in World War II Serbian people executed in Nazi concentration camps Yugoslav people executed in Nazi concentration camps

Life

Martyrdom

See also

References

Sources

Footnotes