Jovan Branković

Blessed Despot John Branković was the last Serbian despot of the Branković family, whose members were regarded as the heirs of the Nemanjić dynasty. He ruled Syrmia under the king of Hungary and died on 10 December 1502. He is buried at the monastery of Krušedol, which he built with his brother, and is venerated as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church.

John was born around 1465, the younger son of Despot Stefan Branković, exiled from Serbia, and of Saint Angelina, in the castle of Belgrado in Friuli, in Italy, where his parents lived. His father died in 1476, and in 1479 the emperor Frederick III granted the family the castle of Weitensfeld in Carinthia, where John moved with his family. Their cousin Vuk Branković, titular despot of Serbia, died in 1485 without direct heirs. King Matthias Corvinus looked for a suitable successor and chose the only remaining men of the house, Đorđe and John, inviting them to Hungary. They arrived in 1486, and Đorđe received the title of Despot of Serbia from the king, with estates in Syrmia at Kupinik, Slankamen and Berkasovo.

From 1493 the brothers ruled together, in keeping with the Hungarian custom of giving high offices to two holders. In 1497 Đorđe passed all his titles and estates to John and became a monk, taking the name Maxim. The brothers built the monastery of Krušedol in Syrmia, and John made donations to Hilandar and other Orthodox monasteries. He probably also founded the monasteries of Mesić and Središte.

John, however, had a different goal from his brother. He did not seek to win the heavenly kingdom by fasting and prayer, but wished to defeat the Turks and drive them out of the land of his fathers. He fought successfully against the Ottomans in Bosnia, especially around Zvornik, and planned, with the help of the Republic of Venice, the liberation of the Serbs, but death stopped him in 1502. After him the hope of restoring Serbia grew fainter.

He married the Serbian noblewoman Jelena Jakšić. They had several daughters but no son, among them Marija, wife of Ferdinand Frankopan, Jelena, wife of Peter Rareș of Moldavia, Ana, wife of Fiodor Sanguszko, and Marija Magdalena, wife of Iwan Wiśniowiecki. After his death King Vladislaus II arranged for the widow to remarry in 1504 to the nobleman Ivaniš Berislavić, who received the title of despot.

The Branković family was known for devotion to the Orthodox faith, and John embodied that tradition. His veneration began in the first half of the sixteenth century. He was buried at Krušedol, in coffins at the altar, together with his relatives. In the Austro-⁠Turkish War of 1716-1718, after the Battle of Petrovaradin, the Turks captured Krušedol and burned the holy relics, of which only small parts survived. He is remembered in December, on the day of his death, 10 December (23 December on the new calendar).