Prokopije Ivačković
Austro-Hungarian cleric / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prokopije or Procopius (Serbian: Прокопије; Romanian: Procopie or Romanian: Procopiu, Hungarian: Prokop; born Petar Ivačković, Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Ивачковић, Romanian: Petru Ivacicovici, Hungarian: Ivácskovics Péter; August 8, 1808 – May 11, 1881) was an Austro-Hungarian cleric of the Romanian Orthodox and Serbian Orthodox churches who ultimately served as the latter's Patriarch at Karlovci. He was born in the Banat as a subject of the Austrian Empire, his ethnic affiliations alternating between the Serb and Romanian communities. Ivačković's early life was spent in Serbian Orthodox institutions, and he was seen as a Serb loyalist before he became Bishop of Arad. During the 1860s, he expressed support for Romanian nationalism, primarily as a founder of the National Aradian Association for Romanian Popular Culture. He backed Andrei Șaguna's bid to set up the Romanian-centered Metropolis of Transylvania, becoming its suffragan bishop; during the Serb–Romanian church partition, he extended the Arad Bishopric south into the Banat.
Prokopije Ivačković (Procopie Ivacicovici, Ivácskovics Prokop) | |
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Patriarch of Karlovci | |
Church | Serbian Orthodox Church Romanian Orthodox Church |
Appointed | July 19, 1874 |
Term ended | December 11, 1879 |
Predecessor | Samuilo Maširević |
Successor | German Anđelić |
Other post(s) | Metropolitan of Transylvania Bishop of Arad Starets of Krušedol monastery |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1833 by Stefan Stratimirović |
Personal details | |
Born | (1808-08-08)August 8, 1808 |
Died | May 11, 1881(1881-05-11) (aged 72) Bela Crkva (Fehértemplom), Transleithania, Austria-Hungary |
Buried | Karlovci Cathedral |
Nationality | Austrian (to 1867) Austro-Hungarian (1867–1881) |
In the final part of his career, Ivačković's mission intertwined with the ethnic conflicts of Transleithanian Hungary. In 1873, following Șaguna's death and the row between Romanian conservatives and liberals, and being the more neutral choice, he was elected Transylvanian Metropolitan. A similar conflict among the Serbs propelled him to the office of Patriarch in 1874. Rejected by Romanian nationalists for having left his Transylvanian seat, Ivačković came to be seen as an associate of the Serb liberals. Although already old and ailing, his resignation in 1879 was widely attributed to Hungarian intrigues, involving Kálmán Tisza, Ágoston Trefort, and Ivačković's eventual successor, German Anđelić. Ivačković spent his final years away from the public eye, dying in Bela Crkva.