Jevstatije I () was the sixth Serbian Archbishop, holding the office from 1279 to 1286. He was born in the Budimlje parish, near Berane in

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...

. He took his monastics vows in Zeta, then left for the Hilandar monastery to study and meditate and, where he later became the

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

(abbot), succeeding Joanikije, holding the office 1162–65. He left the monastery and became the Bishop of Zeta, and later the Serbian Archbishop in 1279, succeeding Joanikije I. He died on 4 January 1286. His relics were buried in the Monastery of Peć in 1289-1290, after being transferred from the ruined

Žiča The Žiča Monastery (, or ) is an early 13th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery near Kraljevo, Serbia. The monastery, together with the Church of the Holy Dormition, was built by the first monarch, King of Serbia, Stefan Prvovenčani, Stefan t ...

monastery. 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 ...

commemorates him on 4 January according to the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

, or 17 January according to the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

. During his lifetime, Archbishop Jevstatije was considered a true authority of the

- he went through all the main stages of monastic life. He gained rich experience of

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

, but also of life in the monastic community. He traveled far and wide to sacred places, was the head of the most important Serbian monastery, Hilandar, then the head of the monastery of "Saint Archangel Michael" at Prevlaka, and then the bishop of an important Serbian diocese in the western Serbian region. During his lifetime, he made extraordinary efforts to preserve Orthodoxy in the Archbishopric, especially taking care of the works in the church of the "Ascension of Our Lord" in

, where Jevstatije's body was laid down after he died. The time of the final formation of Jevstatije’s cult in the form of the hymnographic works devoted to him was the time of significant changes in the spiritual culture of the Serbian people. Both the prose and poetic works dedicated to the worship of Saint Archbishop Jevstatije were created by the same author, Archbishop Danilo II of

Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...

. This gifted monk, а patient church chief and а wise counselor of the Serbian rulers, skillfully shaped the image of Saint Archbishop Jevstatije, fulfilling the high spiritual and liturgical requirements of the time. With his hagiographic compositions collected in the famous Monograph, Danilo made decisive steps in shaping the cults of certain Serbian rulers, and then he added to the "Serbian Saints Council" the cults of the Church's "generals" Arsenije, Jevstatije and Joanikije (for the former two he composed both the biography and the service). By both his

hagiographic A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...

and hymnographic literary work, he followed the main tendencies of his time and literally and liturgically shaped one of the central ideas in presenting the holy archipriests as worthy heirs to the throne of Saint Sava.

Sources

* ЦРКВЕНЕ СТУДИЈЕ 16-2 Центар за Црквене студије Ниш (Niš), 2019

References

Sources

* Year of birth missing 1286 deaths 13th-century Serbian people Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 13th-century Christian saints 13th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Archbishops of Serbs Bishops of Montenegro and the Littoral People from the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval) Serbs of Montenegro Burials at the Patriarchate of Peć (monastery) {{serbia-bio-stub