Mihailo Bojčić

Mihailo Bojčić (Kratovo, late 16th or early 17th century – Chilandar, 1669), metropolitan of Kratovo 1648-1660. The House of Bojčić held the title of dukes of Kratovo and were associated with Dimitrije Pepić, who owned the mines in the surrounding region.

Mihailo was born at the turn of the 17th century in the city of Kratovo. He came from a family of local dukes, Bojčićs (alternative spelling: Bojičić), rich merchants who controlled the famous mines. As the Ottoman authorities tightened control of Kratovo reducing its autonomy, his father, duke Nikola Bojčić, decided to become a monk. After that he turned Mihailo, still a young man, to the custody of the Serbian Patriarch Pajsije I.

Mihailo spent his youth in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć and was ordained as a archdeacon. He served at patriarch's residency for eleven years and, since Pajsije was a lover of books, he got a very good education.

In 1648 Pajsije's successor Gavrilo I ordained Mihailo as the metropolitan of his native Kratovo. During his service as Kratovo metropolitan Mihailo used also longer titles such as „metropolitan of Kolasija, Kratovo, Štip and Radomir“, „of Banja, Kratovo and Štip“, of Kolasija, called Banja, of Radomir, Sirištinca, Kratovo, Palanka, Štip and Radoviš, „of Kolasija and the Serb land of Kratovo“.

...
Wikipedia