Mojsije I

Mojsije I Rajović (Serbian Cyrillic: Мојсије I Рајовић; died 13 April 1726 in Peć) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, from 1712 to 1725, with seat in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć.^[1]

Mojsije I
Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch
Church	Serbian Patriarchate of Peć
See	Patriarchal Monastery of Peć
Installed	1712
Term ended	1725
Predecessor	Atanasije I
Successor	Arsenije IV
Personal details
Born	Trgovište, Ottoman Empire
Died	13 April 1726 Peć, Ottoman Empire
Nationality	Rum Millet (Serbian)
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox Christian
Occupation	Spiritual leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Before he became the Serbian Patriarch, Mojsije served as Metropolitan of Raška, from 1704, under Patriarch Kalinik I. That was traditionally a very prominent position, so when the next Patriarch Atanasije I died in 1712, Mojsije was elected as his successor. His seat was in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć.^[2]

During the Austro-Turkish War (1716-1718), Belgrade was liberated from Ottoman rule together with northern parts of Serbia and Temes Banat. In those regions new ecclesiastical province for Orthodox Serbs in Habsburg Monarchy was formed, known as the Metropolitanate of Belgrade. It was headed by metropolitan Mojsije Petrović, who received blessings and confirmation from Patriarch Mojsije. New autonomous Metropolitanate of Belgrade had jurisdiction over Kingdom of Serbia and Temes Banat.^[3]

By 1725, patriarch Mojsije decided, under the burden of old age and poor health, to transfer his authority to the Metropolitan of Raška, named Arsenije, who became new Serbian Patriarch. After abdication from the patriarchal throne, he spent the rest of his days in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć and died there on 13 April 1726.

References

1. Вуковић 1996, p. 332-333.
2. Вуковић 1996, p. 332.
3. Вуковић 1996, p. 333.

Sources

• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Fotić, Aleksandar (2008). "Serbian Orthodox Church". Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Infobase Publishing. pp. 519–520. ISBN 9781438110257.
• Kašić, Dušan, ed. (1965). Serbian Orthodox Church: Its past and present. Vol. 1. Belgrade: Serbian Orthodox Church.
• Pavlovich, Paul (1989). The History of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Serbian Heritage Books. ISBN 9780969133124.
• Слијепчевић, Ђоко М. (1962). Историја Српске православне цркве (History of the Serbian Orthodox Church). Vol. књ. 1. Минхен: Искра.
• Šuletić, Nebojša (2021). "Usurpations of and Designated Successions to the Throne in the Serbian Patriarchate: The Case of Patriarch Moses Rajović (1712-24)" (PDF). Balcanica. 52: 47–67.
• Točanac-Radović, Isidora (2018). "Belgrade - Seat of the Archbishopric and Metropolitanate (1718-1739)". Belgrade 1521-1867. Belgrade: The Institute of History. pp. 155–167.
• Вуковић, Сава (1996). Српски јерарси од деветог до двадесетог века (Serbian Hierarchs from the 9th to the 20th Century). Београд: Евро.

External links

• Official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church: Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs

Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Atanasije I	Serbian Patriarch 1712–1725	Succeeded by Arsenije IV