Duke Dimitrije Pepić (died 1566), was a 16th-century endower and benefactor from what is today, modern day Kratovo, North Macedonia.

Dukes of Kratovo

Dimitrije Pepić belonged to the most famous family of mid 16th century Kratovo. The vicinity of the town was very rich in various ores and had famous mines. The exploitation of these mines was leased by the Ottoman authorities and in 16th century we find the Pepić family as the renters of Kratovo mines. The most famous men in family were brothers Nikola, Dimitrije and Grigorije. The wealthy Dimitrije Pepić bore the title of '' knez'' (

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

) and was the most important person in the town, lord to its Christian inhabitants with a wide jurisdiction in things not of direct concern to the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

(family, Church etc.). This is best seen from an inscription of an

evangeliary The Evangeliary or Book of the Gospels is a liturgical book containing only those portions of the four gospels which are read during Mass or in other public offices of the Church. The corresponding terms in Latin are and . The Evangeliary develo ...

written in 1563 „in the days of most honored and Christ-loving master Duke Dimitrije“ (''u danima blagočastivog i hristoljubivog gospodara kneza Dimitrija''). After Pepićs the next family of Kratovo Dukes was Mihailo Bojčić, of whom brothers Andrija and Nikola are mentioned in 1581.

Donations to the Church

Duke Dimitrije, together with his brothers, was among the biggest donors of the Ohrid Archbishopric. In 1550 Dimitrije became the

oeconomus ''Oikonomos'' (, 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 treasurer of an organizati ...

of the Archbishopric, a prestigious duty reserved only for the most influential men. Dimitrije renovated or donated many Orthodox monasteries, such as Lesnovo (together with his brother Nikola), Saint Nicholas in Toplica, Slepče (1543), Treskavec, Prečista (near

Kičevo Kičevo ( ; , sq-definite, Kërçova) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city ...

) and

Saint Panteleimon Saint Pantaleon (), counted in Western Christianity as among the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Late Middle Ages, and in Eastern Christianity as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletianic ...

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

. A portrait of Dimitrije Pepić as the endower of the monastery can be seen in the monastery of Prečista (''Sveta Bogorodica Prečista Kičevska'').

References

1566 deaths People from Kratovo, North Macedonia {{RMacedonia-bio-stub