Varnava, Serbian Patriarch

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Varnava I was the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1930 to 1937. Born Petar Rosić in Pljevlja on September 11, 1880, he studied theology in Prizren and Petrograd, and was tonsured in 1905. He became a bishop in 1910 to help lead the Eparchy of Debar and Veles, later taking on more territories. During World War I, he left his eparchy when Bulgaria occupied southern Serbia, returning in 1918. In 1920 he became Metropolitan of Skopje, a role he held until his 1930 election as Patriarch. As patriarch, he helped expand church administration to 27 dioceses and supported major building projects, including the Belgrade Patriarchate building, the Vavedenje Monastery, and the start of the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade. He strongly opposed a Concordat granting the Catholic Church special privileges in Serbia. Varnava died unexpectedly on July 24, 1937, just after Parliament voted to ratify the Concordat; some reports suggest he was poisoned, though the cause isn’t proven. He was the great-uncle of artist Marina Abramović and received the Order of the White Eagle among other honors.