Christopher Kovacevich (; December 25, 1928 – August 18, 2010) was

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

of Libertyville and Chicago in 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 ...

making him

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of Serbian Orthodox Christians in America. He was also the first American-born bishop to serve a diocese of the Serbian Church in North America.

Early life

Metropolitan Christopher (Kovacevich) was born in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

into a family of Serbian immigrants from Montenegro (he was the ninth of twelve children). His baptismal and

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth ...

was Velimir Kovacevich (). After graduation from high school, he attended

Nashotah House Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries ...

, an

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

seminary of the Episcopal Church located in

Nashotah, Wisconsin Nashotah is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,321 at the 2020 census. The village took its name from the nearby Nashotah Lakes. Education Nashotah House, a seminary of The Episcopal Church, is in Nas ...

and subsequently studied and graduated from St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Seminary in

Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...

where he learned Serbian. He earned a B.A. (Philosophy) and a Master of Letters (History) at the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, Massachusetts. He also completed courses and examinations for a doctorate at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Later in life, Metropolitan Christopher was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree (''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'') by Nashotah House

Priesthood

After graduating from St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Seminary he married the late Milka Kovacevich and afterward was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the diaconate and priesthood in 1951. During his parochial ministry, he served Serbian Orthodox parishes in Johnstown, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. While ministering to parishes in the Pennsylvania and Chicago areas, he served as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

at four local universities. Becoming a widower in 1970, he was elevated to the episcopate (i.e. he became a bishop) by the

Bishops' Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church The Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, also known in English as the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church () serves by Church constitution as the supreme body of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is the supreme ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1978 and tonsured with the monastic name of Christopher, becoming the first American-born bishop to serve a diocese of the Serbian Church in North America (he was consecrated bishop of the Eastern American Diocese, serving in that capacity from 1978 until 1991). Upon the 70th anniversary of the Midwestern Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States in 1991, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan, making him the first metropolitan of the newly formed Metropolitanate of Midwestern America, thereby becoming the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox in America. In 2009, during the restructuring of the dioceses in the United States and Canada, the Metropolitanate of Midwestern America became the Metropolitanate of Libertyville-Chicago. In May 2010 he served as secretary of the North American Episcopal Assembly of the Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Christopher also frequently returned to the city of his birth to preside at weddings and baptisms at

Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church The Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church is a Serbian Orthodox church located in Galveston, Texas, United States. It is a parish of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gracanica - Midwestern America. History The eastern orthodox ...

Death

Metropolitan Christopher died on August 18, 2010, in

due to complications from bone, brain, and stomach cancer. He is interred in the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery cemetery.

References

External links

Metropolitan Christopher of Libertyville-Chicago fell asleep in the Lord

Memory Eternal! + Metropolitan Christopher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacevich, Christopher 1928 births 2010 deaths People from Galveston, Texas People from Libertyville, Illinois Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church Metropolitans of the Serbian Orthodox Church Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States Eastern Orthodox bishops in the United States American Eastern Orthodox bishops American people of Serbian descent Nashotah House alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni Deaths from bone cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Illinois Burials at the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois