, Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

) was the Metropolitan bishop of Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

 from 1882 to 1884.

Early Life and Schooling

Ljubiša was born in the village of Sveti Stefan

Sveti Stefan

Sveti Stefan, , now Aman Sveti Stefan including the Villa Miločer is a small islet and hotel and resort in Montenegro, approximately southeast of Budva. The resort includes the islet of Sveti Stefan and part of the mainland, where the Villa Miločer part of the resort is located...

 to the Serbian Paštrovići

Paštrovici

The Paštrovići is a coastal clan in Montenegro.- History :The people and land of Paštrovići is mentioned for the first time in 1355, when Serbian emperor Dušan Silni sent his nobleman Nikolica Paštrović in diplomatic mission in Dubrovnik...

 clan. He lost his father, who was a sailor like many of his compatriots, when he was only three. When he reached school age, his mother sent him to his grandfather, Abbot Savo Ljubiša, at the Praskavica monastery. He completed his primary education in a lay school in Risan

Risan

Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro...

 and was then sent the Serb Orthodox clerical school in Šibenik

Šibenik

Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

, which in 1841 was elevated to the rank of seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 during his studies there.

In the church

After he finished his studies in 1844, he returned to Praskavica, where he became a monk and was consecrated as a priest. Subsequently, he served as a teacher in monastery schools (often the only existing Serb schools in those days) in Praskavica, Podlastva, Podmaine, Reževići, and Savina

Savina monastery

Savina Monastery is a Serb Orthodox monastery near the city Herceg Novi in Boka Kotorska, and is made of thick Mediterranean vegetation in one of the most beautiful parts of the northern Montenegrin coast. It was built by the Duke of Saint Sava, Stjepan Vukčić Kosača of Herzegovina...

 (all in the littoral). In 1858, he was appointed priest and teacher in Perast

Perast

Perast is an old town in Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor.- Geography :...

. In 1867, he became the abbot of monastery Morača

Morača

Morača is a river in Montenegro. It originates in northern Montenegro, under Rzača mountain. It generally flows southwards for some , before emptying into Lake Skadar....

 in Montenegro and two years later the abbot of the Cetinje Monastery

Cetinje Monastery

The Cetinje Monastery is the most famous Serb Orthodox monastery in Montenegro. It is located in Cetinje and is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and its name derives from Saint Peter of Cetinje...

 (which was the seat of metropolitan) and professor to the newly opened seminary. From 1872 to 1875 he was the rector of the Cetinje Seminary. In the Montenegrin-Turkish war of 1876 - 1878, he was appointed as a priest with the general staff. His dignified and brave behavior made it to the folk epic song. In 1876 he became the president of the newly founded Red Cross of Montenegro. From 1878 to 1882, he was the head of the Zahumlje-Ras bishopric, founded in the newly acquired territories of Montenegro. His seat was in Ostrog

Ostrog

Ostrog may refer to:* Ostrog, Slovenia, a settlement in Šentjernej municipality in Slovenia* Ostrog monastery, a Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery in Montenegro* Ostroh, a historic town in Ukraine* Ostrog, a Russian term for a small fortress...

 Monastery which he enlarged. His work as bishop was devoted and thorough; especially important was the fact that Ljubiša introduced pedant church administration that he knew well from his earlier work in the Littoral.

Metropolitan

After the death of Ilarion Roganović

Ilarion Roganovic

Ilarion Roganović was Bishop of Cetinje and Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Highlands. He was also the Archimandrite of the Ždrebaonika monastery in Bjelopavlići and the Ostrog monastery.-Biography:...

, and the administration of abbot Mitrofan Ban

Mitrofan Ban

Mitrofan Ban was Bishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan of Montenegro, and exarch of the Patriarchate of Peć, of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He was also Archimandrite of the Cetinje monastery.- Life :...

, on 6 December 1882, Ljubiša became the Metropolitan of Montenegro. About the same time, the Ministry of Education of Montenegro was formed and Ljubiša, as an experienced teacher and organizer, became its first administrator. He was also a member of the State Council. He died of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 in 1884 and was buried in the courtyard of Vlaška Church in Cetinje

Cetinje

Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...

. He left his house in main Cetinje street to the poor.

Literature

• Pravoslavlje u Crnoj Gori, Cetinje 2006
• Miroslav Luketić, Budva, Sveti Stefan, Petrovac, Budva - Cetinje 1966
• Radoslav Grujić, Azbučnik Srpske pravoslavne crkve, Beograd 1993

Trivia

• Visarion was first cousin of famous writer Stjepan Mitrov Ljubiša
  Stjepan Mitrov Ljubiša
  Stjepan Mitrov Ljubiša , was a Serbian-Montenegrin writer and politician. He is famous for his unique short stories, generally ranked among the masterpieces of Serbian literature in its day...
  
  .

• He was the key assistant of Baltazar Bogišić
  Baltazar Bogišic
  Valtazar Bogišić was a Serbian jurist, law historian and ethnologist. In domain of private law his most notable works are researches on family structure and the unique Montenegrin civil code from 1888. He is considered to be a pioneer in the area of sociology of law and legal ethnology research...
  
  in his gathering of material for the writing of Montenegrin common law.