Serbian Orthodox archimandrite (1914–2003)
Tadej (Thaddeus) of Vitovnica (10 October 1914 – 13 April 2003) was a Serbian Orthodox elder and published author, credited for proposing the idea that our thoughts determine the outcome of our lives.[1] He was a hegumen of the Vitovnica monastery and a spiritual father.
Biography
Elder Thaddeus was born in 1914 in the village of Vitovnica as Tomislav Štrbulović, the son of working class parents.[2] After being diagnosed with Pneumothorax and given five years to live, Thaddeus ran away in 1932 wanting to become a monk in the Gornjak monastery. Receiving advice from a monk, he then went to the Miljkovo Monastery where he would meet and learn from Elder Ambrose[3] and John of Shanghai and San Francisco[4]. After the death of Elder Ambrose, Thaddeus returned to Gornjak where he became a monk on March 11, 1935. On June 1 that same year, he became a hierodeacon. He was given the title of hieromonk on 3 February 1938 in the Rakovica monastery.
In 1941 and 1943 Thaddeus was arrested by the German occupation of Serbia under suspicion as a member of clergy. After serving time in prison, he was imprisoned in Vojlovica Monastery, where he would meet Nikolai Velimirovich. He became a hegumen in 1949 in St. Michael's Cathedral in Belgrade.[1]
Elder Thaddeus was a hegumen at the Vitovnica monastery from 14 April 1962 until the end of March in 1972.[5] After that he was a hegumen at Pokajnica monastery in Velika Plana, and after that he was a hegumen at Tuman monastery. He then became a hegumen at the Vitovnica monastery for the second time. He gained the rank of archimandrite in 1989 at the Gornjak monastery in front of the relics of knyaz Lazar of Serbia.
Published books
- Kakve su ti misli, takav ti je život (Our Thoughts Determine our Lives), 2004
- Smiljanic, Ana and Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica. Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives: The Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. 2009.
References
External links
