 Bishop Josif was born in 1743 in Irig to reverend father Andrija Jovanović, the younger brother of Patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta and Peško Jovanović Šakabenta.Priest Andrija died in 1759.The brothers, Arsenije, Andrija, and Peško and their family members, were granted Hungarian nobility on 11 September 1746.