Artemije Radosavljević

Artemije Radosavljević

Artemije Radosavljević , maiden name: Marko Radosavljević , (born January 15, 1935 in Lelić near Valjevo ) was bishop of the Serbian Orthodox eparchy Raszien-Prizren . In February 2010 he was deposed as bishop by the synod of his church for misappropriating donations amounting to millions.

Career

Artemije studied theology at the University of Belgrade after the Second World War . After completing his studies, he became a monk in the Ćelije monastery near his birthplace in 1960. He continued his studies in Belgrade and obtained a doctorate in theology in 1964. Until 1968 he worked as a theology professor at the Orthodox Krka Seminary in Croatia . This was followed by a study visit to Athens . Upon his return he was appointed professor in the Prizren seminary . In 1978, with the consent of Vladika Pavle von Raška and Prizren , he retired to the abandoned monastery of Crna Reka . In time, some young monks gathered around him there; some of them later became abbots in various monasteries in Kosovo . During this time he also acted as the editor of a church magazine for Kosovo. Artemije stayed in Crna Reka for 13 years until he was elected bishop of the Raška-Prizren eparchy in 1991.

As bishop, Artemije was hostile to the Milošević regime and condemned the acts of violence against the Albanian population by the Serbian security forces. Nevertheless, he stood up for the sovereignty of Serbia over the province of Kosovo. After the occupation of Kosovo by NATO troops, Bishop Artemije became a kind of political leader of the Serbian minority, whose interests he tried to represent towards KFOR . He has repeatedly denounced the inability of the occupation forces to protect the Serbs from violent Albanian criminals. Artemije avoided direct contact with Albanian politicians.

Theologically and spiritually, Bishop Artemije follows the tradition of Nikolaj Velimirović .

For embezzlement of donations and as a result of a power struggle, the Holy Synod , the Serbian church government, deposed him in February 2010 after extensive investigations. His successor is Atanasij Jevtić . In November 2010 the Holy Synod reassigned Artemije to the monastic status. The former bishop and his followers do not recognize the dismissal and demotion and resisted. In February there were fights in Gračanica Monastery between monks who were either affiliated with Artemije or his successor. In November Artemije and his people occupied the monastery again and had to be removed by the police and KFOR .

Works

• Novi Zlatoust Sveti Vladika Nikolaj. 1880 - 1956. Prizren 1992. (Biography by N. Velimirović)
• Sa Hristom kroz život. Zbornik radova. Gračanica 2005. ISBN 86-82323-16-8

Web links

• Diocese of Kosovo

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Episkop Artemije na saslušanju. , Article on broadcaster's website B92
2. ^ FAZ archive February 14, 2010: Bishop Artemije suspended.
3. ↑ Andrej Ivanji: Monks go to the robe. In: taz , February 16, 2010, p. 8, online . Andrej Ivanji: Uprising of the monks in Serbia. In: taz, February 16, 2010, p. 7, online .