Gavrilo I Rajić (died 1659) was

Archbishop of Peć and 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 Ort ...

between 1648 and 1655. He was murdered by

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

and therefore celebrated by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

as a ''

hieromartyr In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest. Analogously, a monk who is a priest is known as a hieromonk. See also *New Martyr The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr ( el ...

''. His feast day is celebrated on December 13.

Metropolitan

Gavrilo was born around 1605–1610 in the region of Stari Vlah (present-day Serbia) into the noble Rajić family. He entered into church service and became Metropolitan of Smederevo. In 1643, he was elected Metropolitan of Raška. Around 1644, he rebuilt the Monastery of the Holy Archangels in the Kovilje Mountains. After the death of Serbian Patriarch

Pajsije Pajsije of Janjevo ( sr, Пајсије Јањевац / Pajsije Janjevac; Janjevo, 1542? – Peć, 2 November 1647) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1614 to 1647, seated at the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć. He was also a wr ...

on November 3/13 1647, Gavrilo was elected new patriarch in 1648.

Patriarch

In 1653, he decided to travel to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

to ask for material support for the

Serbian Patriarchate of Peć The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Српска патријаршија у Пећи, ''Srpska patrijaršija u Peći'') or just Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Пећка патријаршија, ''Pećka patrijaršija''), was an autocephalous ...

. After meeting with Metropolitan Arsenije of Herzegovina on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...

, he went first to

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

and arrived in

Trgovište Trgovište ( sr-cyr, Трговиште) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the population of the town is 1,785, while population of the municipality is 5,091. Settlements As ...

where he tried to reconcile the Wallachian Prince

Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was a Wallachian Voivode (Prince) between 1632 and 1654. Reign Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 163 ...

with the Cossack Hetman

Bohdan Khmelnytsky Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi ( Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern ua, Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький; 6 August 1657) was a Ukrainian military commander and ...

. From there, Gavrilo traveled to Russia in 1654, taking with him two books for printing: ''Lives of Serbian Emperors and Patriarchs'' and ''Typikon against Latin Heresy of Saint Nil Kabasilas''. He was welcomed by Russian Patriarch

Nikon (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...

and Russian Tsar

Michael Romanov Michael I ( Russian: Михаил Фёдорович Романов, ''Mikhaíl Fyódorovich Románov'') () became the first Russian tsar of the House of Romanov after the Zemskiy Sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia. He ...

. He also participated in the famous Moscow Synod in 1658 which approved Nikon's reforms. Since he decided to stay in Russia, he wrote to Serbian metropolitans to elect a new patriarch. Soon after, he changed his mind and left Russia arriving back in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1659. Upon return, he was accused by the Turks of being responsible for the Russo-Turkish War. he was also accused of attempting to convert some Turks to Christianity. Brought before the tribunal, he was ordered to embrace Islam. After Gavrilo refused, he was sentenced to death. He was executed in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in t ...

on July 18, 1659.

Presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning a ...

Pavle took his

remains Remains or The Remains may refer to: Music *The Remains (band) The Remains (sometimes referred to as "Barry and the Remains") were a mid-1960s American garage rock group from Boston, Massachusetts, led by Barry Tashian. Although the Remains n ...

and buried them. He was entered on the list of Serbian saints.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church: Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs
{{authority control Gavrilo I 1659 deaths 17th-century Serbian people Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Persecution of Christians in the Ottoman Empire Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians