Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš

Vasilije Petrović (; 1709 – 10 March 1766) was the metropolitan bishop of Cetinje (Prince-Bishop of Montenegro), ruling with Sava Petrović, his cousin. He was author of the History of Montenegro, published in 1754.

From 1744 to 1766, Metropolitan Vasilije Petrović Njegoš, Sava's coadjutator, became effectively the highest authority in Montenegro and its representative abroad. After Vasilije died at St. Petersburg in 1766, Sava again resumed his duties as Metropolitan (Prince-Bishop).

Background The modern political history of Montenegro began with Metropolitan Danilo, a Metropolitan of Cetinje between 1697 and 1735 and the founder of a state ruled by a dynasty from the Petrović-Njegoš family. Danilo was eventually succeeded by his cousins, first by Sava Petrović, and then by Vasilije.

Bishop Sava was a secluded, contemplative man who dedicated himself more to religion than to politics. He had some influence among the tribesmen of Montenegro. He advocated for Montenegrin dependence on Russia as a means of defeating the Ottoman Empire and achieving statehood for Montenegro.

Term

Background Through the efforts of Metropolitan Sava, the Podmaine Monastery near Budva, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was renovated and expanded in 1736, and the Stanjevići Monastery, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was built in 1747. While Sava was in Russia, Archimandrite Vasilije replaced him on the chair of the Montenegrin Metropolitanate.

During his term, Vasilije ruled together with his cousin Sava as coadjutor. From 1752 to 1754, he stayed in Russia and thereafter made additional trips to gain Russian assistance. With the help of Russian arms, he went to war with the Ottomans and then had to seek refuge in Russia. Sources state that he was the complete opposite of his predecessor, Sava Petrović. Sava was a seclusive, contemplative man, while Vasilije was bold, broad-minded and conceptual.

According to Sava Vuković, at the request of Metropolitan Sava, Vasilije prepared for the monastic order in the Peć Patriarchate, where he was probably tonsured. After passing through all the ranks, he was ordained an archimandrite. During Metropolitan Sava's stay in Russia, archimandrite Vasilije replaced him in all matters of an ecclesiastical and political nature. Due to the action he took in Venice in 1744, a tribal crisis occurred in Montenegro and a conflict with Sava Petrović. Later, relations improved. On this occasion, Vasilije realized that he could not expect any significant help from Austria, so he turned completely to Russia.

Sava returned to serve as metropolitan once again, and after him, his nephew, Arsenije Plamenac of Crmnica, became the Metropolitan of Cetinje between 1781 and 1784 and earlier the co-adjutor to Metropolitan Sava Petrović during the reign of Šćepan Mali (1767–73). But Arsenije, too, was soon to die, in 1784. Once again, a member of the house of Petrović-Njegoš, now Petar I Petrović-Njegoš, was inaugurated. Through accounts from ordinary citizens, the book represented the first attempt to write the history of Montenegro. Parts of the Cetinje chronicle, a collection of manuscripts (letters, documents, reports and poems), are also attributed to him, as well as him adding his own writings to it.