Makarije Sokolović

Makarije Sokolović (; died 1574) was the Patriarch of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć from 1557 to 1571. He was the first head of the restored Patriarchate of Peć, after its lapse in 1463 that resulted from the Ottoman conquest of Serbia. He is variously reported to have been the brother, nephew, or first cousin of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Mehmed-paša Sokolović, who used his influence in the Ottoman Empire to reestablish the Serbian Patriarchate with its seat in Patriarchate of Peć Monastery. Patriarch Makarije is venerated as a saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Life He was born in the 16th century, his family hailing from Piva in Old Herzegovina. He was a close kinsman of Mehmed-paša Sokolović, the Ottoman Grand Vizier.

Prior to the re-establishment of the Patriarchate, the Serbs were under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. Metropolitan of Smederevo Pavle was one of many that did not recognize the current status of Serb Orthodox population in the Ottoman Empire and sought to make the Serbian Church independent once again. Makarije became the first Patriarch of the renewed Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1557. The Ottoman Sultan gave Makarije the same rights as the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The jurisdiction of the Patriarchate was the land of the medieval Serbian state, with Bačka, Banat, Baranya, Syrmia, Slavonia, Bosanska Krajina, Bosnia, Lika, Krbava, and Dalmatia, and had more than 40 eparchies, with the newly founded Eparchy of Trebinje, Eparchy of Požega, etc.

Among renewed monasteries were Banja Monastery in Priboj, Gračanica, Studenica, the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery, and Budisavci. This renewal started a renaissance of the Serbian culture in arts and literature.

Because of illness, he was succeeded in 1571, by his fraternal nephew Antonije Sokolović. He died in 1574.

Legacy He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs book.