Atanasije Antonijević
Atanasije Antonijević (; 1734-1804) was a Serbian archpriest of Bukovik known for blessing Karađorđe and the insurgents in Orašac in 1804 which precipitated the Serbian Revolution. He took part not only in the preparation of the First Serbian Uprising and thereafter prosecuting warfare but also in the process of the restoration of the Serbian state. History gives him a hallowed place to be remembered among the likes of his contemporaries such as the four martyred monks Hadži Ruvim, Hadži-Đera, Pajsije Ristović, and Avakum along with two hierarchs Metropolitan Melentije Pavlović and Melentije Simeonović Nikšić and priests Mateja Nenadović and Luka Lazarević. In literature he is mentioned among the best champions of Orthodoxy. Biography Atanasije Antonijević, son of Antonio Popović, was born in Bukovik near Bukulja. He got his first education with his uncle, the priest of Bukovik, Jeftimije, and then he went to Belgrade where he learned to be a tailor. He learned Turkish and Greek in Belgrade, which was of great benefit to the insurgents later on. After the sudden death of his uncle Jeftimije, Atanasije was ordained to the rank of a priest and soon afterwards to the rank of archpriest. Atanasije had a brother Arsenije who was