Eparchy of Slavonia

Eparchy of Slavonia
Holy Trinity Cathedral, Pakrac
Location
Territorywestern and central Slavonia
HeadquartersJasenovac Monastery, Jasenovac, Croatia
Information
DenominationEastern Orthodox
Sui iuris churchSerbian Orthodox Church
Established1557
CathedralHoly Trinity Cathedral, Pakrac
LanguageChurch Slavonic, Serbian
Current leadership
BishopJovan Ćulibrk
Map
Website
Eparchy of Slavonia

Eparchy of Slavonia (Serbian: Епархија славонска; Croatian: Eparhija slavonska) is a diocese (eparchy) of the Serbian Orthodox Church covering western and central parts of Slavonia region in Croatia.

The episcopal see is located at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Pakrac. Its headquarters and bishop's residence are located at Jasenovac Monastery in Jasenovac.

History

During the Middle Ages, the Banate of Slavonia was under the rule of Hungarian kings. By the 15th century, some eastern regions of Slavonia were settled by Serbs, who came there after fleeing Bosnia, even before the Ottoman conquest in 1463. Since Serbs were Eastern Orthodox Christians, some tensions occurred with local Catholic Church. In 1438, pope Eugene IV (1431–1447) sent the inquisitor Giacomo della Marca to Slavonia as a missionary, with instruction to convert "schismatic" Serbs to "Roman religion", and if that should fail, to banish them.[1] During that period, Serb nobility was also present in the region. In 1454, Serbian Orthodox liturgical book, the Varaždin Apostol was written in Varaždin, for princess Katarina Branković of Serbia, wife of Ulrich II, Count of Celje.[2]

In the first half of the 16th century, entire [lSlavonia was devastated by frequent wars. Serbian despot Pavle Bakić fell at the Battle of Gorjani in Slavonia (1537), defending the region from the Ottomans. By that time, eastern part known as Lower Slavonia was conquered by the Ottomans, while the western part (known as Upper Slavonia) came under the Habsburg rule.[3] Since the renewal of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1557,[4] the Orthodox Serbs of Lower Slavonia were placed under jurisdiction of the Eparchy of Požega, with seat at the Orahovica Monastery.[5] In 1595, Serbian Orthodox metropolitan Vasilije of Požega moved to Upper Slavonia, under Habsburg rule, in order to avoid the Ottoman oppression.[1]

Historically, the eparchy was known as Eparchy of Požega in 16th and 17th century, and later as Eparchy of Pakrac. During 18th and 19th century, it was under jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci,[6] that became in 1848 the Patriarchate of Karlovci.[7]

After World War I and the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the eparchy was united with other Serbian ecclesiastical provinces to form the unified Serbian Orthodox Church, a process completed in 1920.[8]

During the World War II (1941-1945) and the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), the territory of this eparchy was greatly affected.[9][10]

List of bishops

Bishops of Požega

  • Josif (around 1585)
  • Vasilije (around 1590–1595)
  • Sofronije (during 16th or 17th century)
  • Grigorije (during 16th or 17th century)
  • Stefan (around 1641)

Bishops of Pakrac

Bishops of Slavonia

  • Emilijan Marinović (1952–1981)
  • Lukijan Pantelić (1985–1999)
  • Sava Jurić (1999–2013)
  • Jovan Ćulibrk (2014–present)

Notable monasteries

  • Bishop's Residence in Pakrac, devastated during the Croatian War of Independence
  • Jasenovac Monastery
  • Orahovica Monastery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mileusnić 1997, p. 113.
  2. ^ Pavlović 1992, p. 91.
  3. ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 118.
  4. ^ Sotirović 2011, p. 143–169.
  5. ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 119.
  6. ^ Točanac-Radović 2022, p. 15-27.
  7. ^ Krestić 1997.
  8. ^ Bataković 2005, p. 299-300.
  9. ^ Mileusnić 1997.
  10. ^ Dabić 1998.

Sources

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