Joanikije II

Saint Joanikije II
Archbishop of All Serbian and Maritime Lands
Joanikije II, fresco from the Church of St. Demetrius
Church	Serbian Orthodox Church
Metropolis	Metropolitanate of Peć
See	Patriarchate of Peć
Installed	January 3, 1338
Term ended	September 3, 1354
Predecessor	Danilo II
Successor	Sava IV
Other posts	logotet
Orders
Rank	Metropolitan, Archbishop, Patriarch
Personal details
Died	September 3, 1354
Buried	Peć Monastery
Nationality	Serb
Denomination	Eastern Orthodoxy
Residence	Prizren, Peć
Alma mater	Hilandar
Sainthood
Feast day	? [O.S. September 3]
Canonized	by Serbian Orthodox Church

Joanikije II (Serbian Cyrillic: Јоаникије II; fl. 1337– d. 1354) was the Serbian Archbishop (1338–1346) and first Serbian Patriarch (1346–1354). He was elected Metropolitan of Peć and Archbishop of Serbs on January 3, 1338. Prior to his election, he served as a logotet, royal chancellor, to the Kingdom of Serbia. He was elevated to Patriarch on Palm Sunday, April 6, 1346, done in order for Joanikije to crown King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan as Emperor on Easter of 1346 with the approval of the Patriarch of Trnovo, Archbishop of Ohrid, and community of Mount Athos. Joanikije continued a tradition of church building, and built, among others, two churches in the Holy Land: the Church of St. Elias on Mount Carmel and the Church of St. Nicholas on Mount Tabor. Joanikije died on September 3, 1354, which is his feast day. He was buried in the Peć Monastery.

Life

Joanikije was born in the vicinity of Prizren, an important town in the Kingdom of Serbia. His family was Christian.

Joanikije served as a logotet, royal chancellor, to the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan (r. 1331-1346; afterwards as Emperor until 1355).

Archbishop Danilo II died on December 19, 1337. Joanikije was elected Metropolitan of Peć and Archbishop of Serbs on January 3, 1338. He continued the Christian work of his predecessors, and had the Peć Monastery, which was the seat of the Archbishop built by Nikodim and Danilo I, further worked on, adding icons and frescoes and other things.

King Dušan had expanded his territory into the deep Greek (Byzantine) south in the 1340s. Joanikije was elevated to Patriarch on Palm Sunday, April 6, 1346, done in order for Joanikije to coronate King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan as Emperor on Easter of 1346 with the approval of the Patriarch of Trnovo, Archbishop of Ohrid, and community of Mount Athos.

Joanikije II continued a tradition of church building, and built, among others, two churches in the Holy Land: the Church of St. Elias on Mount Carmel and the Church of St. Nicholas on Mount Tabor.

Joanikije II died on September 3, 1354, which is his feast day. He was buried in the Peć Monastery.

Annotations

• Name: His name was Joanikije (Greek: Joanikios, Latin: Joanicius). His patronymic or surname is unknown.

Sources

This article incorporates text from Joanikije II at OrthodoxWiki which is licensed under the CC-BY-SA and GFDL.

Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Danilo II	Archbishop of Serbs January 3, 1338 – April 6, 1346	Succeeded by None
Preceded by None	Patriarch of Serbs and Greeks April 6, 1346 – September 3, 1354	Succeeded by Sava IV