When the First Serbian Uprising broke out in 1804, he joined the insurgents as a military priest for the next decade until the rebellion was crushed by the massive Ottoman army in 1813. Then he went back to Gornjak where he stayed for a while until the time came when Serbian borders were moved from Miroč to Timok. He played a crucial role in establishing a Serbian Orthodox Eparchy in the region and consequently, he became its first bishop. He was consecrated at the same time when Ilija Garašanin's Načertenje invoked in 1844 in Kragujevac.