Josif Rajačić

His Holiness Josif Rajačić
Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch
Native name	Јосиф Рајачић
Church	Serbian Orthodox Church
Metropolis	Sremski Karlovci
Installed	26 January 1848
Term ended	1 December 1861
Predecessor	Stefan Stanković
Successor	Samuilo Maširević
Orders
Ordination	10 April 1810
Consecration	20 June 1829
Rank	Patriarch
Personal details
Born	Ilija Rajačić 20 July 1785 Lučani near Brinje, Kingdom of Croatia, Kingdom of Hungary
Died	1 December 1861(1861-12-01) (aged 76) Sremski Karlovci, Kingdom of Slavonia, Austrian Empire
Buried	Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Nicolas in Sremski Karlovci
Nationality	Serbian
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox
Residence	Belgrade (1848–1861)
Occupation	Administrator of Serbian Vojvodina
Signature

Josif Rajačić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јосиф Рајачић; 20 July 1785 – 1 December 1861), also known as Josif Rajačić-Brinski, was a metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch, administrator of Vojvodina, and baron.

Life

Rajačić was born in Lučani, a former village near Brinje in Lika (then Habsburg monarchy, today Croatia). He studied in Zagreb, Karlovci, Szeged and Vienna before dropping out to join the Imperial Austrian Army in 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition. On 10 April 1810, he became a monk of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Gomirje Monastery.

On 24 June 1829 he became the Eparch of Dalmatia. On 5 July 1833, he became the Eparch of Vršac. In August 1842, he was named the Metropolitan of Karlovci.

At the May Assembly of Serbs in Sremski Karlovci in 1848, from the balcony of the Sremski Karlovci town hall, he was appointed Patriarch of the Serbs, while Stevan Šupljikac was chosen as the first Duke (Voivode) of Serbian Vojvodina. Apart from being a spiritual leader, Rajačić shared political and military leadership of Serbs at the time of war.

Proclamation of Serbian Vojvodina in 1848 in Sremski Karlovci – Josif Rajačić is at the centre.

He became administrator of Serbian Vojvodina, and was head of the new Serb government (praviteljstvo) of Vojvodina. Rajačić formed an alliance with the House of Habsburg after being promised autonomy for opposing the 1848 Hungarian Revolution. After the Hungarians were defeated, Rajačić was nominated civil commissioner of Vojvodina by the Austrian Empire.

Rajačić assisted the educational development of the Serb people in the Austrian Empire. In the time when he was metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, many new Serbian schools were opened. He opened the Patriarchal Library and Print Works. Rajačić spent much of his energy attempting to bring Vojvodina under Serbian administration. On 5 June 1848, on the day of Josip Jelačić's inauguration as Ban of Croatia, Jelačić was appointed Ban in the Patriarch's presence due to Juraj Haulik's current absence from Zagreb.

He was decorated Order of Leopold and Order of the Iron Crown of the first class.

See also

• Metropolitanate of Karlovci
• Vojvodina
• Rulers of Vojvodina
• History of Vojvodina
• History of Serbia
• Serbian Orthodox Church

Sources

• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Јован Савковић; Коста Петровић (1954). Патријарх Јосиф Рајачић у Српском покрету, 1848-1849. Државна архива АПВ-е.
• Dalmatinska Eparhija (2004). "JOSIF (Rajačić) patrijarh srpski (1848 - 1861)". Dalmatinska Eparhija. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
• Drago M. Njegovan (2004). Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji: prilog političkoj istoriji Srba u Vojvodini do 1921. godine. Muzej Vojvodine. ISBN 978-86-82077-30-5.