Jovan Sundečić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Јован Сундечић; 24 June 1825 – 19 July 1900) was a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

poet,

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of 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 ...

and a

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

Prince Nikola I of Montenegro Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-Cyrl, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to ...

. He is most famous for writing lyrics of contemporary

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Ubavoj nam Crnoj Gori "Ubavoj nam Crnoj Gori" (, ) was the national and state anthem of the Kingdom of Montenegro in the late 19th-early 20th century. A popular song called " Onamo, 'namo!" () also existed. The educational system had an honorific song, the ''Hymn to Sai ...

(''To Our Beautiful Montenegro'').He also lived in

Livno Livno ( Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: ''Ливно'', ) is a town and the administrative center of the Township of Livno and Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bis ...

as a priest of orthodox church

Glas Crnogorca ''The Voice of a Montenegrin'' () was a weekly newspaper published in Cetinje between 1873 and 1916. After the Serbian annexation of Montenegro in 1918, the newspaper continued to be published in exile until 1922. It was the official gazette of t ...

, 19 October 1999;

Jovan Markuš Jovan Markuš ( sr-cyr, Јован Маркуш; born 20 January 1949) is a Montenegro, Montenegrin politician, journalist, publicist, historian and heraldist. He is the former mayor of Cetinje, Montenegro's Old Capital. Biography Jovan Markuš ...

Двије црногорске химне
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Biography

Sundečić was born in the village of

Golinjevo Golinjevo is a village in the Township of Livno in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a countr ...

, near

Bosnia Eyalet The Eyalet of Bosnia (; By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ; ), was an eyalet (administrative division, also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based on the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, (modern-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

). His family is of the Šundić brotherhood from

Župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first time in the e ...

near

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

Old Herzegovina Old Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stara Hercegovina, Стара Херцеговина) is a historical region, covering the eastern parts of historical Herzegovina, outside the scope of modern Herzegovina. A large section of ''Old Herzegovina'' ...

. After finishing the Orthodox Seminary in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

(1843-1848),

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

province of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and becoming a

, he was assigned parish priest and teacher to the Serb colony of

Peroj Peroj ( Montenegrin: Перој) is a village in the Town of Vodnjan on the southwestern coast of Istria, Croatia. Peroj originally dates back to the Copper Age of prehistory, as testified by a necropolis within the old walls of the village. T ...

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (, , , , ) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. It consisted of three regions: the Margraviate of Istria in the south, Gorizia and Gradisca in the north, and the Imperial Free City ...

. After working as a professor at the Zadar Seminary, he became famous as a "priest-poet" and political and national activist, because of which he decided to move to

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. Prince Nicholas I named him his personal secretary in 1864, a post on which Jovan worked until his retirement in 1874, though he remained honorary secretary until his death. In 1865 Jovan Sundečić founded the ''Orlić'' (Орлић) yearly, the second publication in Montenegro. He was also the editor and owner of the first Montenegrin weekly, ''The Montenegrin'' (Црногорац) of Duke Sima Popović, which was published from 1871 to 1873, as well as the owner of the first Montenegrin literary magazine ''The Montenegriness'' (Црногорка) from 1871. Sundečić, Milan Kostić, and

Vasa Pelagić Vasilije "Vasa" Pelagić (Serbian Cyrillic: Василије "Васа" Пелагић; 1833 – 25 January 1899) was a Bosnian Serb writer, physician, educator, clergyman, nationalist and a proponent of utopian socialism among the Serbs in th ...

were instrumental in establishing "The Montenegrin Warrior," a literary association, in Cetinje in February 1872. The association had great success in educating the Serb youth of Montenegro. At the time he was one of the founding members of the newly established Association for Serb Liberation and Unification. Sundečić's ''Ne dajmo se!'' (Let's not surrender!), a lyric poem, for the Congress of the Union of Choral Societies, was welcomed instantly with great enthusiasm. That poem, turned into a song by Czech composer Vojtĕch Hlaváč (1849-1911), very effectively urged the youth to fight for their aims, and was also adopted as an anthem of the Choral Society of

Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

and Prince Nicholas I of Montenegro concluded -- ''"Ugovor između Svete Stolice i Crnogoske Vlade u položaju katoličkih i arhiepiskopa barskog. Ugovor su potpisali kardinal Lodoviko Jakobini, sa strane Svete Stolice i državni tajnik Jovan Sundečić, sa crnogorske strane"''— a

Concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 ...

in Rome on 18 August 1886. The signatories were Cardinal Luigi Jacobini (1832-1887) for the Holy See">Luigi Jacobini"> ...

Biography

References