Vasilije III Petrovic-Njegoš
Encyclopedia
Vasilije Petrović-Njegoš (Njeguši
Njeguši
Njeguši is a village in southern Montenegro, within Cetinje municipality. It is located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within Lovćen national park....
, 1709 - St Petersburg, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, 10 March 1766) was a Prince bishop of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. Also, he wrote the history of Montenegro, and Serbian patriotic poems.
He ruled together with Sava, his brother.
Overview
It is said that it was with Metropolitan Danilo I Petrović-NjegošMetropolitan Danilo I Petrovic-Njegoš
Danilo I Šćepčević Petrović-Njegoš known simply as Vladika Danilo was a Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan of Cetinje 1697-1735. He styled himself "vojevodič srpskoj zemlji" .-Biography:Danilo Šćepčević was born in circa 1670, in Njeguši...
that the Serb land of Montenegro began their history and the House of Petrović-Njegoš
House of Petrovic-Njegoš
The House of Petrović-Njegoš was the Royal House of Montenegro from 1696 to 1918. Montenegro had enjoyed de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire from 1711 but only received formal international recognition as an independent principality in 1878.Montenegro was ruled from inception by...
turned into a dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
. Danilo was eventually succeeded by his two nephews -- first Bishop Sava II Petrović-Njegoš
Sava II Petrovic-Njegoš
Sava II Petrović Njegoš was the Vladika of Montenegro, of the Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty. He succeeded Danilo I as Vladika in 1735....
, and then Bishop Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš.
Bishop Sava was an impotent and myopic personality who would have found it hard to make his way even over well-trodden paths. But there were no well-trodden paths in Montenegro at the time, nor could there be. Those were the times that called either for endurance or for great leaps. Sava found comfort in following Danilo's lead by continuing to maintain ties with Venice when such ties did not need to be maintained.
Politics
During that time Vasilije ruled together with SavaSava II Petrovic-Njegoš
Sava II Petrović Njegoš was the Vladika of Montenegro, of the Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty. He succeeded Danilo I as Vladika in 1735....
, his brother, as his coadjutor. He was convinced that Montenegro, with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n help, has to play a crucial role in the restoration of the Serbian Empire
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
. Vasilije shunted Sava aside as soon as he realized that Sava followed his predecessor's (Danilo) ties with Venice all too zealously. Vasilije immediately made for Russia and began to set Montenegro back on its feet. With the help of Russian arms, he went to war with the Turks and then had to seek refuge back to Russia, where he died. His sacrifice founded a country, a state, perhaps only in name, but still an identity.
Postscript
After Vasilije, Sava was to return, with the same policy as before -- dalliances with Venice. But that didn't last long. Soon there came on the scene imposter Stephen the Small who, pretending to be the Russian Tsar Peter III, managed to convince the people in power to believe in him. He immediately began to set Montenegro on its foundation, severed ties with Venice altogether, implemented the rule of law, began building roads until his life was cut short in 1774 by an assassin sent by the vizir of Skadar, Mustafa Bushati. Then came Sava again. After Sava the bishopric fell to his nephew, Arsenije Plamenac of CrmnicaCrmnica
Crmnica is a geographical region in southern Montenegro. It is within the municipality of Bar and is considered a division of that municipality. The capital of the region is Virpazar...
,from another clan. But Arsenije, too, was soon to die, in 1784. Once again a member of the original, founding clan -- the House of Petrović-Njegoš
House of Petrovic-Njegoš
The House of Petrović-Njegoš was the Royal House of Montenegro from 1696 to 1918. Montenegro had enjoyed de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire from 1711 but only received formal international recognition as an independent principality in 1878.Montenegro was ruled from inception by...
-- Petar I Petrović-Njegoš
Petar I Petrovic-Njegoš
Petar I Petrović Njegoš was the ruler of Montenegro, the Cetinje Episcop of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Exarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church throne. He was the most popular spiritual and military leader from the Petrović dynasty...
was installed. "A man of great spirit and strong character", according to his adversary, Napoleon's general Marmont.
Literary works
The writing and teaching of Montenegrin history was a chief interest for most of Vasilije's life, as well as his occupation as a spiritual leader.Istorija o Černoj Gori (History of Montenegro), published in Moscow in 1754, is his most quoted work. It is the first known attempt of modern-day Montenegrins to document their history in writing. It is not only historiographical, but also geographical, ethnological and ethical description of its country. Vasilije formulated an elaborate theory of Montenegrin history as a dynamic and deterministic process. On the basis of this theory he eluded that the next century would see a new nation, a new state. He called special attention to the future but left prediction out of the equation.
In the Ode to Nemanja, the founder of medieval Serb dynasty, Vasilije evokes Serb past with the words: holy Serb kings arise, and adds Serb bishops do not sleep, but entire night pray to God Serb empire to restore.