Analysis of the Epistle of Mikhail (Jovanović), Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Serbia, Published in “Church Bulletin” by Ivan Savvich Palmov in 1888

The article presents the history and analysis of the epistle by Metropolitan Mikhail (Jovanović) to his Belgrade flock and their response to this epistle, which were published by Ivan Savvich Palmov, a professor of St. Petersburg Theological Academy, in the “Church Bulletin” in the late 1880s. I. S. Palmov published the epistle at the time when Metropolitan Mikhail was deposed from the Belgrade see and was in exile in Russia. Knowing that the “Church Bulletin” magazine was read in the Balkan Peninsula, Metropolitan Mikhail intended to use his epistle, on the one hand, to influence the political situation in Serbia, and on the other hand, to inform his flock that he was supported in Russia and was ready to return to the Belgrade See. This correspondence of Metropolitan Mikhail with believers is analyzed in a wider historical context, making it possible to see the ecclesiastical and social situation in Serbia at the end of the 19th century. The aim of the study is to emphasize the contribution of Metropolitan Mikhail and the faithful in preserving the canonical order in the Serbian Church.