Joanikije I ( sr, Јоаникије I) was the fifth

Archbishop of Serbs This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Serbian Ortho ...

, serving from 1272 to 1276. He succeeded Danilo I and was succeeded by

Jevstatije I Jevstatije I ( sr, Јевстатије I) was the sixth Serbian Archbishop, holding the office from 1279 to 1286. He was born in the Budimlje parish, near Berane in Zeta. He took his monastics vows in Zeta, then left for the Hilandar monastery t ...

. He was a disciple of Archbishop Sava II when Sava II was still a bishop. Together they went to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

and the Holy Mountain (

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...

), whence they returned to Serbia. Joanikije then departed again for Mount Athos, to the Hilandar monastery for his education. Later, he became an

oeconomus ''Oikonomos'' ( el, οἰκονόμος, from - 'house' and - 'rule, law'), latinized œconomus, oeconomus, or economos, was an Ancient Greek word meaning "household manager." In Byzantine times, the term was used as a title of a manager or tr ...

(''ikonom'') of Hilandar around 1255/56, then became the

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

in 1257, an office he held until 1262–63. The Hilandar hegumens and brotherhood had a great reputation in 13th-century Serbia, producing several Serbian archbishops. He then returned to Serbia, becoming the hegumen of the Studenica monastery. Serbian archbishop Danilo I served only for a year; later Archbishop and chronicler Danilo II (s. 1324–1337) wrote "Archbishop Danilo succeeded on the holy seat, but due to some cause was removed". The cause of his removal is unknown, it may have been due to Danilo having been unsupportive of King

Stefan Uroš I Stefan Uroš I ( sr-cyr, Стефан Урош I; 1223 – May 1, 1277), known as Uroš the Great (Урош Велики) was the King of Serbia from 1243 to 1276, succeeding his brother Stefan Vladislav. He was one of the most important ruler ...

(and supportive of Stefan Dragutin); this theory is strengthened by the fact that Danilo's successor Joanikije was a fanatic supporter of Uroš I. It is unlikely that Danilo II did not know the cause of Danilo I's removal. Danilo II spoke of the appointment of Joanikije: "And because they expected much, they did not find anyone else worthy of such a position, apart from this blessed Joanikije, who at that time was the hegumen of the place of the Virgin Most Holy, the place called Studenica". During his time as the head of the

Serbian Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

, the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Emperor

Michael VIII Palaiologos Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...

, who restored the Byzantine Empire in 1261, made a tenuous union with the Catholic Church at the

Second Council of Lyon :''The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245.'' The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arl ...

in 1274. Two years later, in 1276, King

was overthrown by his son Stefan Dragutin, to whom he had not given half his kingdom as he had promised. Uroš withdrew with Joanikije and took monastic vows as "Simon", then died the next year, in 1277. Joanikije died in 1279 in Hum. Queen

Helen of Anjou Helen of Anjou ( sr, Јелена Анжујска / Jelena Anžujska, ; c. 1235 – 8 February 1314) was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval), Serbian Kingdom, as the spouse of King Stefan Uroš I, who ruled from 1243 to 1276. T ...

, Uroš's widow, had both the king's and archbishop's relics buried in Sopoćani monastery. It is unclear whether it is Joanikije I depicted in the fresco composition of archbishops at

Morača The Morača ( sr-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 . ...

References

Sources

* *

External links

Радомир В. Поповић: Српски архиепископи и патријарси
{{authority control 13th-century Serbian people Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Joanikije I Joanikije I 13th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Archbishops of Serbs Medieval Serbian Orthodox clergy Burials at Sopoćani