Gerasim Zelić Герасим Зелић | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1752-06-11)11 June 1752 |
| Died | 26 March 1828(1828-03-26) (aged 75) Buda, Hungary |
| Resting place | Krupa monastery |
Gerasim Zelić (Serbian:Герасим Зелић; 1752–1828) was aSerbian Orthodox Churcharchimandrite, traveller and writer. His chief work isŽitije (Lives), in three volumes.[1] They are memoirs of his travels throughout western Europe, Russia andAsia Minor from the latter half of the 18th century to the first decade of the 19th century and the famous personalities (Napoleon,Eugène de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy,Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor,Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor,Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor,Semyon Zorich,Catherine the Great,Alexander I of Russia,Stanisław August Poniatowski,Dositej Obradović) he encountered. He left behind invaluable original notes on the people, religions, manners, customs, and trade of his era.
As much asDositej Obradović is an emblematic figure of the 18th century Habsburg Serbian Enlightenment so is Gerasim Zelić. In many ways the east–west travel itineraries of the two men are similar, covering the Levant, the German lands, France and Russia, though Zelić went first to Russia (rather than to the Levant). While both lament their people's plight under theOttoman rule and promote similar solutions, their perspectives are different, Dositej'scosmopolitanism contrasting with Zelić'sclericalism, though their intentions are the same: the emancipation of their people from under the tyrannical yoke of the two empires, theHabsburg and theOttoman.
Zelić was one of the earliest members of the Serbian Learned Society, better known asMatica srpska, founded at Budapest in 1826.[2]
Ćirilo Zelić was born on 11 June 1752 in the village of Žegar,[3] in theŽegar region, located in the Venetian-Ottoman frontier ofVenetian Dalmatia. His father was Andreja and mother Jovana.[3] He learnt to read from nun Ana in his village and was then further educated atKrupa andKrka monasteries.[3] He took the nameGerasim upon monastic vows, and became a deacon inStanjevići by MontenegrinvladikaSava Petrović on 3 June 1774.[3] He stayed in Krupa, working under thehegumen.[3] On 2 march 1778 he was made a priest, inPlaški byvladika Petar Petrović.[3] Zelić spent some time inSyrmia andBačka, then returned to Krupa.[3] In 1782 he planned to go forCorfu to learn to painticons, however, while staying inVenice his friends there told him to go to Russia.[3] He arrived inNovorossiya (formerNovoserbia) on 30 June 1782 and met many Serbs.[3] He learnt to paint icons inKiev, but it did not suit him, so he went toConstantinople and then toMount Athos where he learnt Greek.[3] He stayed in Constantinople and was given thearchimandrite rank by Jerusalem Patriarch Abraham on 19 June 1785.[3]
Zelić returned to Krupa and was recognized as the archimandrite.[3] He then travelled to Russia again, via Austria and Poland, meeting Polish kingStanisław August Poniatowski.[4] In Kiev, he met Russian empress Catherine II and Austrian emperor Joseph II.[4] In St. Petersburg and Moscow he received donations for the Krupa monastery, which he gave upon his return in 1789.[4] Some in Dalmatia accused him of being anenemy of the state and reported him to the authorities, and he was forced to flee toTrieste and thenVienna.[4] He was safe to return and in 1796 he was named main "Vicar for affairs of the Orthodox Church in Dalmatia", as the Venetian authorities did not respect Orthodox bishops.[4]
The Orthodox population in Dalmatia was pressured by theRepublic of Venice to emigrate from the Venetian Dalmatia, through Catholic propaganda andUniatization.[5] The Habsburg Monarchy sought to populate their desolate lands and used the Habsburg Orthodox leadership to invite Orthodox Dalmatians, promising religious freedom.[5] In the 1771–74 period some 634 families migrated according to archives; Gerasim Zelić, a witness to this, claimed 1,000 families migrating to Syrmia and Banat, and Ottoman Bosnia, explicitly due to Uniatization.[6]
