Mihailo Jovanović (metropolitan)
Mihailo | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia | |
Metropolitan Mihailo, circa 1865. | |
| Native name | Михаило |
| Church | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Diocese | Metropolitanate of Belgrade |
| In office | 1859–1881 1889–1898 |
| Predecessor | Petar Jovanović Teodosije Mraović |
| Successor | Mojsije Veresić Inokentije Pavlović |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Miloje Jovanović 19 August 1826 |
| Died | 17 February 1898 (aged 71) Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia (modern-day Serbia) |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodoxy |
| Alma mater | Kiev Theological Academy |
Mihailo Jovanović (Serbian: Михаило Јовановић; 19 August 1826 – 17 February 1898) was the Metropolitan of Belgrade from 1859 to 1881 and again from 1889 until his death in 1898.
Mihailo's time in office was marked with modernization in church management and in the education of priests. During his tenure, the Metropolitanate of Belgrade was awarded autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, following the Serbian–Turkish Wars of 1876 to 1878.
Politically, Mihailo was a convinced Russophile and maintained numerous close ties with Pan-Slavic circles in the Austrian and Russian Empires. For this reason, he came into conflict with the Austrophile Prince Milan Obrenović, sparking the so-called Church Question (Serbian: Црквено питање) which eventually led to a drastic cooling of relations between Serbia and Russia. Mihailo was removed from his position of Metropolitan in 1881, living in exile in Bulgaria and Russia from 1883 to 1889, only returning after Milan Obrenović had abdicated.
His full title was the Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia.