Joakim, Patriarch of Werschetz

Joakim (Werschetzianite: Йоакимъ; secular name Ilija Kasijanov Tavasevič’, Їлиꙗ Касиꙗновъ Тавасєвичь; born 27th July 1959) is the current of the Werschetzianite Orthodox Church. He was previously the Metropolitane Archbishop of Velija Gradina between 2003 and 2015.

Early life
Tavasevič’ was born in the village of Kostnoe to parents Jovan (Pantelijin) Tavasevič’ and Teodora (Nenadovič’ja) Tavasevič’ on 27th of June, 1959. as their first and eldest child. His bringing up had been in a poor household, whith his father being a day-labourer and his mother being a homemaker and having next to him 2 sisters and 2 brothers of which elder sister and younger brother died at the ages of 10 and 6 respectively. Tavasevič’ had been going to the elementary school of „Isailo Dračevič’“ in the town of Niska Sremuša and afterwards graduated from the high school „Georgovo Gradište“ in the same town. While having a somewhat really harsh environment for a child to grow up and become an adult in, he would go up to become a načelopojac (chief/first cantor) in the capital's Church of Saint Nectarius the Miracolous of Cestros at the age of 19. Afterwards, just a year later, he would receive a cheirothesia (lower clergy blessing by bishop/s) and become a in the same church while remaining the choir-office director. This would become his job with which he would provide to his parents (they are still living today, father being 97 and mother being 82). In 1992, he would graduate St. Mar Sabbas the Sanctified's Theological faculty. Three years earlier, in 1989, he founded a charity named „Blagotvoriteľji Veršca“ which wasfostering Zemlyan prisoners of war and all Zemlyan orphans who truly needed a home and a helping hand. He would later give up the charity for it to be merged with „ŚĹZS“, a charity from Kus as a sign of goodwill between the two nations, to reconcile for the major worker's protest in the „TBA“ train factory over the causalties that took place in the „Train war“ during the late 1870's.

Metropolitan Archbishop of Velija Gradina
Joakim was consecrated as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Velija Gradina on 27 July 2003 by the then-patriarch Makarije. In the time he has been at this position, he has issued the building of 32 Temples and 6 Monasteries. He has renewed more than half of the Church-owned farms and vineyards which have financed the building of all church buildings and aid for orphans in Versec. He has married king Ilija's son Simeon, the crown prince, to the countess of Dolovsk, Marija (Nikolič’ja) Jankovska in 2004