Nikodim Milaš

Nikodim Milaš (Serbian Cyrillic: Никодим Милаш; born Nikola Milaš, Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Милаш; 16 April 1845 – 2 April 1915), also known as Nicodemus of Dalmatia (Serbian: Никодим Далматински, romanized: Nikodim Dalmatinski) 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.

Milaš 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.