Gabriel (Dožić) of Serbia

His Holiness Dr. Gavrilo (Dožić) (Serbian: Његова Светост др Гаврило (Дожић)) was Patriarch of Serbia from 1938 to 1950.

Early life

The future patriarch was born in Donja Morača and given the baptismal name Đorđe (George). He was born into the famous Medenica clan. As a young boy he went to the monastery Morača, where his uncle Mihailo was igumen. Đorđe graduated from seminary in Prizren in 1901 and then obtained a theology doctorate in Athens in 1904. He was then tonsured as seminarian and ordained a priest on March 4/17, by Bishop Nikanor of Niš in Sićevac Monastery. Gabriel then became Secretary General of Hilandar Monastery, reporting to the Serbian embassy in Constantinople. He also visited Switzerland and France in order to study French.

Gabriel was elected Metropolitan of Raška and Prizren on December 4/17, 1911. He served this see until 1913, when he was transferred to the see of Peć. After Serbia and Montenegro were occupied 1915, Metropolitan Gavrilo was imprisoned in a concentration camp in Hungary. Gavrilo came back in November 1918. As metropolitan he participated in work of the Grand National Assembly of Montenegro. This assembly decided that Serbia and Montenegro would be unified again, after 500 years. He was elected Metropolitan of Montenegro and Coastlands on November 17/30, 1920.

Patriarch

He was elected patriarch on February 21/March 6, 1938. As a new patriarch, he was very successful in resolving problems. His first step was reconciliation between the synod and government authorities. Patriarch Gabriel also put much effort into building a campus for students of the Orthodox Theological Faculty of Belgrade University. He continued the building of St. Sava Temple. All Serbian bishops gave large donations to this project. Also, some bishops from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the Church of Bulgaria gave significant donations. He was an outspoken critic of Nazism, so he, together with St. Nikolaj, was arrested. He was first put under house arrest in the monasteries of Rakovacia and Vojlovica, and later in Dachau. Although he was secretly released by the Nazis in February, 1945, he was not permitted to come back until November 14, 1946. He created six new dioceses after the war and put a lot of effort into dealing with the new regime. He died on May 7, 1950. His remains are buried in Belgrade Cathedral Church together with those of Princes Miloš and Mihajlo.

Succession box: Gabriel (Dožić) of Serbia
Preceded by: Nikifor (Perović)	Metropolitan of Raška and Prizren 1911-1913	Succeeded by: Serafim (Jovanović)
Preceded by: —	Metropolitan of Peć 1913-1920	Succeeded by: Jerotej (Gavrilović)
Preceded by: Mitrofan (Ban)	Metropolitan of Montenegro and Litoral 1920-1938	Succeeded by: St. Joanikije
Preceded by: Varnava (Rosić)	Patriarch of Serbia 1938-1950	Succeeded by: Vikentije (Prodanov)

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