Marko Radosavljević

Artemije Radosavljević (; 15 January 193521 November 2020) was a Serbian Orthodox bishop who served as the head of the Eparchy of Raška and Prizren from 1991 until his removal in 2010.

He was removed from his position due to alleged embezzlement of funds.

Biography Early life Bishop Artemije was born as Marko Radosavljević in the village of Lelić (the same village that St. Nikolaj Velimirović was born in). In his youth, he met Archmandrite St. Justin Popović who was living in Ćelije Monastery at the time. After finishing theology school, Popović received him as a monk at Ćelije Monastery on 20 November 1960.

He was of the view that a NATO peace keeping force (KFOR) would protect Kosovo Serbs and their cultural heritage and property more effectively than the previous police serving the Milošević government. During his travels in the United States, Artemije sought to capitalise on events in Iraq and public outrage over atrocities by attempting to portray the KLA as "Islamic terrorists" and link them with "jihadi terror practices" and "jihadi terror movements" committing violent acts against "Christian Serb victims". In negotiations with Kosovo Albanian counterparts, Artemije made public comments and often called them "terrorists". Upon Joe Biden's visit to Serbia, Bishop Artemije did not give his blessing for Biden to visit the Visoki Dečani monastery. Artemije wrote and published a strongly worded letter titled Dečani and Bondsteel – first Tadić now Biden but the Bishops' Council denounced the decision and publicly expressed regret that Artemije made that decision.

In February 2010, the SOC removed Artemije from performing his religious duties in his diocese and forced him to retire due to alleged embezzlement of funds. The matter involved Simeon Vilovski, his secretary and Predrag Subotički, a building contractor and the improper use of donations, humanitarian assistance and subsidies from the state along with lobbying in the US and growth of personal finances. Some people within Serbian media stated that Artemije was barely involved in the matter and his removal was based on political motives due to his uncompromising stance that made him a problem for the SOC and president Tadić. At the time Artemije refused to accept the decision by the Bishops' Council that demoted him to the status of a monk, on 19 November 2010. Artemije's public appearances made him a problem for the SOC, such as in 2011 when he asked openly about how the status of Kosovo would be resolved.

On 28 May 2015, the Bishops' Council officially excommunicated Artemije from the Serbian Orthodox Church, making him the first bishop to be excommunicated in the church's history.

Health and death

On 21 November 2020, Artemije died in Valjevo, from complications of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia. He died in an ambulance on his way from Valjevo Hospital to University Hospital Center Dr Dragiša Mišović in Belgrade.

Eparchy of Raška and Prizren in exile The Eparchy of Raška and Prizren in exile is an uncanonical and unrecognized eparchy that separated from the Serbian Orthodox Church after its first bishop Artemije Radosavljević was defrocked as head of the Eparchy of Raška and Prizren. A number of the laity and the clergy of this diocese that did not oblige the decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church founded a parallel diocese, which hasn't been recognized by any Orthodox Churches. After Artemije's death, the sect is headed by his disciple and follower, bishop Ksenofont Tomašević.