Petar Zimonjić

Saint Metropolitan Petar of Dabar-Bosna
Saint Metropolitan Petar of Dabar-Bosna
Holy hieromartyr
Born	Jovan Zimonjić; 24 June 1866; Grahovo, Nikšić, Montenegro
Died	June 1941 (aged 74–75); Jasenovac concentration camp, Independent State of Croatia
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized	1998, Belgrade by Serbian Orthodox Church
Feast	17 September (O.S. 4 October)
Attributes	Vested as a bishop

Petar Zimonjić (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Зимоњић; 24 June 1866 – June 1941) was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church serving as the metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1920 until the beginning of World War II.

He was killed by Ustaše of the Nazi Germany-aligned Independent State of Croatia in June 1941.^[1]^[2]^[3] The Serbian Orthodox Church venerates him as a Saint.

Life[]

The future Metropolitan Petar was the son of a nobleman (vojvoda) and priest Bogdan Zimonjić from the region of Herzegovina. He was born in Grahovo on 24 June 1866. He attended the seminary in Reljevo (in neighboring Sarajevo) between 1883 and 1887 and continued his education at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Cernovice from 1887 until his graduation in 1893. In October 1893, Petar was appointed assistant professor at the Reljevo Seminary, and a year later he was appointed professor.

He received the name Petar when he took monastic vows on 6 September 1895. He was ordained deacon on 7 September and presbyter the following day. He became a consistorial advisor in Sarajevo in 1901. He was then elected the Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina and then on 9 June 1903, Petar was consecrated and enthroned in Mostar. After the retirement of the Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosna Evgenije (Letica), Petar was appointed Metropolitan of the diocese by a royal charter dated 7 November 1920.

Martyrdom[]

After World War II had broken out, Metropolitan Petar was advised to leave Bosnia and move to Serbia or Montenegro. He replied saying: “I am the people's shepherd, which means that I am bound to stay here and share evil with these people, as I used to share well with them; thus I have to share the destiny of my people and stay where I am supposed to be". He defended consistently the Orthodox faith in front of German Gestapo by insisting on continuing use of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet instead of changing to the Latin alphabet. A Roman Catholic priest, Božidar Bralo, an adherent of the Croatian Ustaše in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had a decisive role in this severe policy of forbidding the use of the Cyrillic alphabet, including the arrest of Metropolitan Petar.^[4]

Metropolitan Petar was arrested on 12 May 1941. He was imprisoned first in the "Beledija" prison, and then three days later he was transported to the "Kerestinac" prison where he was assigned the number 29781. There, his beard and hair were shaved and all his bishop's insignia were taken away from him. The circumstances of his death are inconsistent. After enduring severe torture, he was moved to Koprivnica and then to Jasenovac or Gospić. According to the testimonies of Jovo Furtula and Jovo Lubura from the Sarajevo District, Metropolitan Petar was killed in Jasenovac.^[5] His corpse was then thrown in the fiery furnace used for brick making. However, another version states that Metropolitan Petar was taken to Gospić, namely Jadovno,^[6] where he was killed in a monstrous manner and remains were thrown in an acid pit.

In 1998, during the regular session of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Petar was canonized^[7] and his name was added to the list of other saints of the Serbian people and of Orthodox Christian faith.

The Serbian Church marks the memory of him in the third week of September.

References[]

Sources[]

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Footnotes[]

^ "Protodeacon Vladimir Vasilik. The Role of the Roman Catholic Church in the Genocide of Serbs on the Territory of the "Independent State of Croatia"". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
^ Greble, Emily (2011-02-25). Sarajevo, 1941–1945: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Hitler's Europe. Cornell University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780801461217. Petar Zimonjić.
^ Lees, Michael (1992*). The Serbian Genocide 1941-1945. Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America. Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Rivelli, Marco Aurelio (1998). Le Genocide Occulte (in French). L'AGE D'HOMME. ISBN 9782825111529.
^ "[Projekat Rastko] Velibor V. Dzomic: Ustaski zlocini nad srpskim svestenicima (Stradanje srpskih episkopa u NDH)". www.rastko.rs. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
^ Peršen, Mirko (1990). Ustaški logori (in Croatian). Globus. ISBN 9788634305470.
^ Religion in Eastern Europe. Ecumenical Press, Temple University. 2001.

[1] "Protodeacon Vladimir Vasilik. The Role of the Roman Catholic Church in the Genocide of Serbs on the Territory of the "Independent State of Croatia"". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.

[2] Greble, Emily (2011-02-25). Sarajevo, 1941–1945: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Hitler's Europe. Cornell University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780801461217. Petar Zimonjić.

[3] Lees, Michael (1992*). The Serbian Genocide 1941-1945. Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America. Check date values in: |date= (help)

[4] Rivelli, Marco Aurelio (1998). Le Genocide Occulte (in French). L'AGE D'HOMME. ISBN 9782825111529.

[5] "[Projekat Rastko] Velibor V. Dzomic: Ustaski zlocini nad srpskim svestenicima (Stradanje srpskih episkopa u NDH)". www.rastko.rs. Retrieved 2019-11-27.

[6] Peršen, Mirko (1990). Ustaški logori (in Croatian). Globus. ISBN 9788634305470.

[7] Religion in Eastern Europe. Ecumenical Press, Temple University. 2001.

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show v t Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia
Background	Anti-Serb sentiment Nazi racial policy Invasion of Yugoslavia Ustaše Ustaše Militia The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia Greater Croatia Croatisation Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians Catholic clergy involvement with the Ustaše Croatian Orthodox Church
Concentration camps	Jasenovac list of prisoners Stara Gradiška Đakovo Sisak Gospić Jadovno Lepoglava Danica Lobor Kerestinec Jastrebarsko Slana Kruščica Sajmište Gornja Rijeka concentration camp
Massacres	Banski Grabovac Garavice Glina Rašića Gaj Gudovac Blagaj Voćin Prebilovci Gacko Ivanci Voćin Sarajevo (Villa Luburić) Kozara
Genocide perpetrators	Ante Pavelić Mile Budak Julije Makanec Nikola Mandić Ademaga Mešić Džafer Kulenović Andrija Artuković Mladen Lorković Slavko Kvaternik Antun Najžer Petar Brzica Miroslav Filipović Vjekoslav Luburić Ivica Matković Ljubo Miloš Ante Vrban Dinko Šakić Dido Kvaternik Jure Francetić Alija Šuljak Viktor Gutić Krunoslav Draganović
Demography	Demographics of Croatia Serbs of Croatia Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs in Vojvodina
Notable victims	Jovo Bećir Špiro Bocarić Đorđe Bogić Milan Butozan Nada Dimić Branko Dobrosavljević Vukašin Mandrapa Muhamed Mehmedbašić Rafailo Momčilović Platon of Banja Luka Sava Šumanović Sava Trlajić Dositej Vasić Petar Zimonjić
Resistance	Đurđevdan uprising Eastern Herzegovina uprising Drvar uprising Srb uprising
Trials	Trial of Mile Budak Operation Gvardijan Trial of Aloysius Stepinac
Bibliography	The Yugoslav Auschwitz and the Vatican Encyclopedia of Genocide The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965 Hitler–Beneš–Tito Viktor Novak Jozo Tomasevich Smilja Avramov Enver Redžić Antun Miletić Vasilije Krestić Mark Biondich Rory Yeomans Paul Mojzes Veljko Đurić Mišina Dejan Jović Hrvoje Klasić Serbian historiography
Denial	Jasenovac – istina Far-right politics in Croatia
Cultural depictions	Eagles Fly Early (book, film) Black Birds The End of the War The Diary of Diana B. Dara of Jasenovac
See also	Diana Budisavljević Bleiburg repatriations Stone Flower Terrorism in Yugoslavia