Antonije Bagaš

Who is Antonije Bagaš?

Anthony Bagaš was a Serbian nobleman from Kastoria who retreated to Mount Athos in between 1356 and 1366, where he later bought and restored the ruined Athonite monastery of Saint Paul with the help of Nikola-Gerasim Radonja in the 1380s, becoming its abbott - taking the monastic name Arsenios. The two were successful in receiving donations from both the Byzantines and Serbs, and refurbishing the monastery with revenue from Serbian silver and gold mines, making it one of the major Serbian monasteries. He translated hagiographical works into Serbian.

He had a brother, Nikola, who in 1385 donated the monastery of Mesonesiotissa near Edessa, together with villages, churches and other property to the Saint Paul monastery of Arsenije. Some scholars believe that the Bagaš family was originally from Vranje in Serbia while some other scholars believe that historical sources do not confirm it.