(; born , ; 16 April 1845 – 2 April 1915), also known as Nicodemus of Dalmatia () was a Serbian Orthodox bishop, theologian, university professor and academic. He was a writer, one of the most respected experts on Eastern Orthodox canon law, and less on church history. As a canon lawyer in Dalmatia, he defended the Serbian Orthodox Church against the state and he is regarded as the founder of canon law amongst the Serbs.
was a polyglot, fluently speaking eight languages. He authored a large number of books. His major work is Orthodox Church and Canon Law in six volumes. He also wrote Orthodox Dalmatia (1901), which was criticized and received a mixed critical reception. Over the course of more than 40 years of scientific work, Milaš's bibliography includes more than 180 works. In some of his historiographical writings, he portrayed the Eastern and Western Churches in a simplistic manner and fabricated certain historical statements about the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which was used during the rise of Serbian nationalism and the Yugoslav breakup. Beyond his work in canonical and ecclesiastical law, he was dedicated to countering Roman Catholic proselytism and Austro-Hungarian efforts to downplay Serbian Orthodox heritage. He was one of the founders of the Serb People's Party in Dalmatia and served in the Diet of Dalmatia from 1889 to 1901.
For his work, he was awarded five state orders, elected a member of several scientific academies and societies, and included amongst The 100 most prominent Serbs. The Serbian Orthodox Church canonised him as a saint in 2025, ranking him as a hieroconfessor.
Biography Early life His family hailed from Duvno and settled in Dalmatia at the end of the 17th century. was born in in the Kingdom of Dalmatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) on 16 April 1845, as an illegitimate son of his Serbian Orthodox father , who was originally from the area around , and Italian Catholic mother from . His mother was a seamstress and his father engaged in small-scale trade. He was baptised in a Roman Catholic Church on 24 April as ( was added later), and three years later on 8 May 1848, in a Eastern Orthodox Church situated in . He was baptised in accord with his father's wishes who was living in Istanbul in fear of Maria's familial feud. After his father's return to Dalmatia and the dispute had ended, his mother converted to Orthodoxy and became a devout follower of the faith. She married his father on 14 July 1851 in an Orthodox church.
Education
He attended Šibenik primary school taught in Italian language by Franciscans, a Catholic religious order. Afterwards, he attended the lower Gymnasium of St. Dominic in , run by Dominicans, fourth class in the Jesuit gymnasium in Dubrovnik, and he took his matura again in in 1863. As a successful student, he skipped a grade in school received two scholarships. His wish was to study at one of the Europe's prestigious universities, but he was unable because his family did not have enough money to afford it. He went on to study theology in the Serbian Orthodox Theological School at Sremski Karlovci (1866), then philosophy in Vienna, but after a year, he moved to the Kievan Theological Academy and Seminary (then based in Imperial Russia), graduating in 1871. During his studies, he gave private lessons to the children of wealthy families to support himself. In his fourth year he published his first scientific work, which received positive reviews. He wrote his dissertation on the topic of Nomocanon of Patriarch Photius. and graduated as an outstanding student, obtaining a master's degree in Canon Law and Church History. He spent one year at the Theological School on Halki, probably in 1871–1872, where he improved his knowledge of Greek. He spoke very positively of his studies in Russia and even considered staying there but he abandoned that idea after learning of his father's death.
Early activity and rector of the Belgrade Seminary Upon his return home, he was appointed as an assistant professor at the Seminary in (i.e. the Theological Orthodox Institute), a year later promoted professor of the canon law and practical theology, and soon afterwards takng the role as the dean of the seminary. was tonsured in 1873 at Dragović Monastery, and given the monastic name of (Nicodemus). He took monastic vows at the invitation of Bishop Stefan Knežević after failing to secure marriage with Sofia, the daughter of a wealthy merchant.
Soon after returning from his studies in Russia, he became engaged in political life with aim of protecting Serbian interests. He wrote articles in Tršćanske novine, Zastava, Glas Crnogoraca and Srpski list. He participated in assemblies of Serbs in Dalmatia and the Adriatic coast, proposed candidates, wrote articles and pamphlets, initiated cooperation with local political parties, and generally maintained a firm stance on defending national interests. Beginning in 1873, he worked on raising national awareness and unity amongst Dalmatian Serbs with his friend , which according to was a reaction to the stance held by some of Dalmatian Croats who were denying Serbs their national identity. As one of the founders of the Serb People's Party he led the conservative right-wing branch of the party. His public proclamations caused him further enmity amongst Croats, and he recalled in his memoirs, amongst many Serbs. He was often in conflict with over the editing aspects of the newspaper and other matters; he was in favor of a more conservative political viewpoint.
Because of his fluency in German, French, Italian, Russian, English, as well as Greek and Latin, he was able to read primary sources and contribute to the field of history. He advocated for the Serbian language in secondary schools, organised and helped educational and humanitarian foundations, and engaged in missionary work fostering Orthodoxy and Serbian identity in Dalmatia. He also directed fiery passion at what he saw as proselytisation by the Roman Catholic Church's high priesthood.
In 1875, took part in the then-notable Bonn Reunion Conference, which focused on the potential reunion of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. He believed that this idea would yield no results. In the early 1880s, when Josip Juraj Strossmayer called for the unification of South Slavs with the veneration of Cyril and Methodius as a common Slavic heritage, and on his Roman Catholic initiative embarked on a multinational Slavic pilgrimage to Rome, which sparked a transnational and transconfessional debate, mostly amongst Serbs. published a monograph "Sts. Cyril and Methodius and the Truth of Orthodoxy". In this work, he contrasts the popes of Rome with the missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius, emphasising their importance for Orthodoxy and describing them as "great warriors of Orthodoxy ... in the battle against the enemies of Orthodoxy". He wrote this work as a response to Vatican claims about Cyril and Methodius that argued that the missionaries were not papal envoys but representatives of the Byzantine Orthodox Church. He used this occasion to argue that the issue presented a chance for dialogue between the two Churches, contrasting their relationship between Roman and Orthodox churches, where with the Roman Catholic took a practice of building churches next to Orthodox ones in Dalmatia. When Bosnia and Herzegovina came under Austrian rule, he believed that according to Eastern Orthodox canon law, all Serbian church metropolitans in Bosnia should come under jurisdiction of the Metropolitanate of Karlovci.
In 1886 he went on to be rector of the Belgrade Seminary () in the Kingdom of Serbia. He tried to reform it to modern standards. The overall condition of the Seminary was poor, and Milaš took actions to improve the students’ living conditions and the overall discipline within the institution. As rector, he publicly advocated for importance of classical education among priests and all citizens of Serbia. His address on Saint Sava's Day (1887) on this subject provoked public debates and disputes concerning the significance of classical education. As rector of the Seminary, he was a regular member of the Main Educational Council of Serbian Kingdom, which decided on educational matters within its jurisdiction. In Belgrade, amidst an ongoing political conflict, he was accused by the liberal party of being an agent of the Vatican, which caused him distress. He received an offer from the Serbian Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Vladan Đorđević, to establish a chair of canon law in Belgrade. He also received an offer from Bishop Georgije Branković to serve as rector of the Seminary in Sremski Karlovci. Milaš declined both offers due to his negative and unpleasant experience during earlier work in Belgrade. In 1905, minister Andra Nikolić offered him position of Metropolitan of Belgrade, but Milaš declined this offer as well. Deciding to distance himself from the unpleasant atmosphere of Belgrade, he went back in in early 1888. There, he completed two major works that same year: Roman Catholic Propaganda: Its Foundation and Rules Today (1889) and his six-volume treatise on the Serbian Orthodox Church entitled Orthodox Church and Canon Law (1890).
Bishop of Dalmatia, late activity and death After the death of bishop (1806-1890), he was elected Bishop of Dalmatia and Istria (1890–1912), and appointed dean and professor of canon law at s Theological Orthodox Institute where he taught from 1890 to 1910. Working with other young professors and associates, Milaš transformed the institution by making lectures more relevant and engaging, which enhanced its reputation and attracted students from unprecedented regions such as Vojvodina, Serbia, and Herzegovina.
According to historian Stjepan Antoljak, his most valuable historical work was (vol. I), published in 1899, with an unpublished second volume. Throughout his tenure, as he opposed the unification of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, was under pressure from anti-Serbian Orthodox authorities and forced to endure aggressive Roman Catholic proselytism. This motivated him to research and write the history of the Orthodox Church and Serbs in Dalmatia, published in 1901 as a book (). However, the work is riddled with many exceptional claims, and received mixed critical reception.
As a bishop, he taught his clergy to keep accurate records and ensure that their congregants lived according to Christian piety. He managed to bring many Uniates back to Orthodoxy. He founded the Diocesan Assembly, a governing body for the eparchy, chaired by a bishop. Milaš oversaw the construction and renovation of libraries and clergy houses. He sought to educate a new, capable and learned clergy, as many priests had left his diocese. On Easter and Christmas, the Eparchy gave donations to the needy people regardless of their religion or ethnicity.
established correspondence with the Russian tsar, lobbying for equal rights for Orthodox Christians. In 1896, he had an audience in Vienna with Franz Joseph I of Austria, who accepted his proposal to open a gymnasium for Serbo-Croatian-speaking students in Zadar. In 1897, the gymnasium was opened becoming the first school in which Serbo-Croatian was the primary teaching language.