Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta

Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta (Serbian Cyrillic: Арсеније IV Јовановић Шакабента, Serbian pronunciation: [ǎrseːnije t͡ʃětʋr̩ːtiː]; 1698 – 18 January 1748) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1724 to 1737 and Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Habsburg Monarchy from 1737 to his death in 1748.^[1]

Arsenije IV
Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch
Church	Serbian Patriarchate of Peć
See	Patriarchal Monastery of Peć
Installed	1724
Term ended	1748
Predecessor	Mojsije I
Successor	Joanikije III
Personal details
Born	1698 Peć, Ottoman Empire
Died	18 January 1748 (aged 50) Sremski Karlovci, Habsburg monarchy

He opened the first official Academy of Painting on the territory of the Metropolitanate of Karlovci after the artistic and cultural reforms were commenced under the auspices and blessing of Vikentije Jovanović, his predecessor. He commissioned the Slavic heraldic bearings called Stemmatographia. He was succeeded by patriarch Joannicius III.

Biography

Confirmation of Serbian Privileges, issued by Maria Theresa in 1743

In 1724, the ailing Serbian patriarch Mojsije I (d. 1730) decided to step down from the patriarchal throne, and was succeeded by Arsenije, the metropolitan of Raška, who became the new Serbian patriarch as Arsenije IV, with seat in Peć.^[2]

In 1737, during the Habsburg-Ottoman War patriarch Arsenije IV moved from Peć to Belgrade, and remained there until 1739.^[3] With the Treaty of Belgrade (1739) which ended the war, the Habsburg-held Kingdom of Serbia ceased to exist. The Ottoman sultan deposed the pro-Habsburg patriarch Arsenije IV and in his place appointed Joannicius III, who was a Greek.

Patriarch Arsenije IV thus remained in the Habsburg monarchy along with many Serbs, who accompanied him during the Second Serbian Migration. Arsenije IV became Metropolitan of Karlovci, maintaining however deep connections with the Serbs who remained in the Ottoman Empire, now under the jurisdiction of Joannicius III, who remained Patriarch of Peć until 1746, when, burdened with debts due to his high-living, he was forced to sell the title to pay his creditors.^[4]

In 1743, responding to the petition of patriarch Arsenije IV and his bishops in the Habsburg monarchy, queen Maria Theresa confirmed and continued to uphold old privileges granted to her Serbian subjects by previous Habsburg monarchs, emperors Leopold I, Joseph I and Charles VI.^[5]

Title

Arsenije signed himself "Arsenije, By the Grace of God, Archbishop of Peć and Patriarch of all Serbs and Bulgarians and all of Illyria".^[6] Another style was "Archbishop of All Serbs, Bulgarians, Western Pomorje, Dalmatia, Bosnia, both halves of Danube and all of Illyria".^[7]

See also

• Kingdom of Serbia (1718-1739)
• Serbian Patriarchate of Peć
• Metropolitanate of Karlovci
• List of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church