Life and Ministry
Joanikije was born Jovan Lipovac in Stoliv, on the Bay of Kotor, into the family of Špiro and Marija Lipovac. He received his elementary education in Prčanj and Kotor, studied Orthodox theology in Zadar, and continued his studies in Belgrade. After his ordination in 1912 he served in pastoral roles at Kotor and Laštva.
From 1919 he held teaching posts, first at Cetinje and then in Belgrade, where he worked as a professor until 1940. Following the death of his wife, he entered monastic life and was elected auxiliary Bishop of Budimlja in 1939, being consecrated in February 1940. In December of that year he was elevated to Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral.
According to the sources, he maintained the seminary at Cetinje during the war years.
Wartime Conduct and Death
The Second World War reached Yugoslavia shortly after Joanikije became metropolitan, with the establishment of the Italian governorate of Montenegro. Historical accounts state that during the occupation he collaborated with the Axis occupying forces and supported the activities of the Serbian Chetniks. These circumstances are described by the sources as controversial.
As the war concluded, he led a column of clergy and Montenegrin Chetniks attempting to escape Yugoslavia. Yugoslav Partisans captured him near Celje in May 1945 and, after he was moved to Zagreb and Belgrade, he and accompanying priests were executed at Bukovik near Aranđelovac on June 18, 1945. The location of his remains is reported as unknown.
Canonization and Veneration
The Serbian Orthodox Church canonized Joanikije in 1999, numbering him among the new-martyrs notwithstanding the controversy surrounding his wartime collaboration and execution. He is commemorated on June 4, and the Orthodox Church in America's synaxarion lists him among the saints of that day.
This entry rests on a limited body of sources; the wartime period and the circumstances of his death warrant careful historical and clergy review.
