FROM RENAISSANCE TO A PRECIPICE OVER THE ACHE PATRIARCH LUKIJAN BOGDANOVIĆ

Abstract

Patriarch Lukijan Bogdanović was the last head of the Patriarchate of Karlovci, which had existed for two centuries, first as a metropolitanate and later a patriarchate. He was elected Bishop of Buda when he was very young, and he proved to be a highly capable at running the diocese/bishopric. From 1908 on, as a young patriarch, he faced unresolvable difficulties and issues related to religious and educational autonomy, the Patriarchate itself, and relations between Austria- Hungary and Serbia. Attacked, defamed, and misunderstood by the Serbian public, he soon began falling victim to poor health. His tragic death, which many years later again became an object of public interest, made him seem more sensational than he actually was, and his educational and ecclesiastical work remained in the background.