Lukijan Bogdanović ( sr-cyr, Лукијан Богдановић; hu, Bogdanovics Lucián; 10 May 1867 – 1 September 1913) was the last Orthodox Patriarch of the

Patriarchate of Karlovci The Patriarchate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка патријаршија, Karlovačka patrijaršija) or Serbian Patriarchate of Sremski Karlovci ( sr, Српска патријаршија у Сремским Карловцима, Srpska ...

and

Metropolitanate of Karlovci The Metropolitanate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка митрополија, Karlovačka mitropolija) was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713 ...

. He was assassinated and decapitated while walking alone along a river bank in

Bad Gastein Bad Gastein (; formerly ''Badgastein''; Southern Bavarian: ''Bod Goschdei'') is a spa town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it ...

. He was a prominent benefactor and member of Privrednik.

Biography

Lukijan Bogdanović was born as Lazar Bogdanović in 1867 in Baja. His father Aleksandar was born in

Pécsvárad Pécsvárad (german: Petschwar; hr, Pečvar) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary. Notable landmarks Among the most significant Hungarian heritage from the Middle Ages is the castle built on a Benedictine monastery commissioned by King St Steph ...

, a town in

Baranya County Baranya ( hu, Baranya megye, ) is a county () in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region and the historical Baranya region, which was a county (''comitatus'') in the Kingdom of Hungary dating back to the ...

, but he moved his trade business to Baja where he had his small store. Lazar's mother Milica née Letić was related to

Georgije Branković Georgije Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Георгије Бранковић; 1830–1907) was the Patriarch of Karlovci, the spiritual leader of Habsburg Serbs, from 1890 until his death in 1907. He instigated a number of significant religious, education ...

, who became the Serbian Patriarch of Karlovci. Lazar went to school in Baja,

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

, and

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque bui ...

. At the Eszterházy Károly University in Eger, he studied law and went to the seminary to train for the priesthood. In 1891 Lazar took the name of Lukijan when he was tonsured as a monk according to the tenets of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Shortly after he was elevated to

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

of the

Beočin monastery The Beočin Monastery ( sr, Mанастир Беочин, Manastir Beočin) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery, located just outside Beočin, on Fruška Gora mountain in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina. The date of its founding is unk ...

. In 1892 he was named Bishop of the

Eparchy of Buda The Eparchy of Buda ( sr, Будимска епархија or ) is a diocese or eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, having jurisdiction over the territory of Hungary. The seat of the eparchy is in Szentendre ( sr, Сентандреја or ...

in Budapest. On 22 September 1908 when his mother's kin Patriarch Georgije (Branković) died, Lukijan was elected to the post of

Serbian Patriarch 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 ...

with see at

. He immediately undertook several important measures to reform the economy and administration of numerous monasteries in the Karlovci Metropolitanate as well as to improve the educational level of monks by opening monastic schools. In the early twentieth century, Patriarch Lukijan was viewed by Hungarian and Austrian authorities more of a political than a religious figure. This was perhaps common among all newly independent Balkan states where, as a rule, the church came to be seen primarily as a nationalizing and patriotic force. Serbs and other Orthodox Slavs constituted the largest demographic group within Bosnia and Herzegovina and the portion of the former ''Militärgrenze'' (

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and ...

) that ran from Dalmatian hinterland through

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

and

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

. Serb successes during the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 had a significant impact on both Hungarians and Austrians alike. István Tisza became prime minister of Hungary for the second time on 10 June 1913. During this period of the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

waged between Bulgaria and Serbia, he wanted to solidify the government by suspending the Serbian Orthodox Church's autonomy and Church Council at the Metropolitanate of Karlovci, then within the Hungarian crown lands. He was awarded the

Order of Saint Sava The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...

Death

Patriarch Lukijan went to Bad Gastein to seek redress but was murdered. His headless body was found floating in a river on 1 September 1913. The killers of the patriarch were never found or brought to justice because World War I soon broke out and four years later the Habsburg Empire dissolved.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogdanovic, Lukijan 1867 births 1913 murders in Austria 1913 deaths 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Assassinated Serbian people Austro-Hungarian Serbs Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches Deaths by decapitation Eastern Orthodox Christians from Hungary Male murder victims Patriarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church People from Baja, Hungary People murdered in Austria Serbian murder victims Serbian Orthodox Church in Hungary Unsolved murders in Austria

Biography

Death

See also

References

External links