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New Martyr20th century

New Hieromartyr Milan Petković

20th century (Modern era)

Also known as Milan Petkovic · Archpriest Milan Petković

A Serbian archpriest of the Drina valley numbered among the New Martyrs of the region and commemorated together with the New Martyr Slobodan of Donja Kamenica.

July 14New Calendar
Feast Day
July 27Old Calendar
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Commemorated as

The Holy New Hieromartyr Milan Petković, Archpriest of the Drina Valley

Life

New Hieromartyr Milan Petković was a Serbian archpriest (protojerej) of the Drina valley numbered among the New Martyrs of that region. He is a locally venerated figure of the Serbian Orthodox Church, associated with the martyrdom cluster of eastern Bosnia and the Drina frontier during the Bosnian War of the 1990s.

By tradition of the region he is commemorated on July 14 together with the New Martyr Slobodan of Donja Kamenica (OS-2649), and is grouped in local accounts alongside the archpriest Timotej Popović. Unlike Slobodan, who was glorified by the Bishops' Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2022, Milan Petković's formal individual glorification is not separately documented in widely-available Orthodox sources, and his name does not appear in the standard English-language compilation of Serbian Orthodox saints.

His title of archpriest indicates senior parish clergy status. Because no dedicated biographical source for him could be located, the surviving record is thin: he is known chiefly through the regional commemoration that links him to the better-documented martyrdom of Slobodan of Donja Kamenica.

Contributions & Legacy

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Historical Context

The Drina valley and eastern Bosnia saw widespread violence against Serbian Orthodox communities during the Bosnian War (1992–1995). The regional commemoration with which Milan Petković is associated centers on the village of Donja Kamenica near Zvornik, where in July 1992 the boy Slobodan Stojanović was killed after returning to retrieve his dog. The Serbian Orthodox Church recognized Slobodan as a Holy New Martyr of Donja Kamenica, celebrating his glorification in July 2022 in Drinjača, with an annual divine liturgy held at the Church of Saint Deacon Habakkuk in Drinjača.

Milan Petković is placed by local tradition within this same Drina valley martyrdom cluster of the Bosnian War era, though he is not named in the surviving accounts of the Donja Kamenica commemoration itself.

Veneration and Documentation

Milan Petković is venerated locally rather than through a documented individual glorification. His name is absent from the standard list of saints of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and no dedicated biographical article for him was found. The regional tradition commemorating him together with Slobodan of Donja Kamenica is the principal witness to his veneration.

As with much of the New-Martyr tail, the entry rests on limited local sources and would benefit from clergy and archival review to confirm the details of his life, martyrdom, and any formal glorification.

Companions1 figureShowHide
Local New Martyr of the same region of the Drina valley.
New Martyr Slobodanof Donja Kamenica
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Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_saints_of_the_Serbian_Orthodox_Church; https://orthochristian.com/147549.html