Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana

Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana

Location
Territory Northern Croatia and Slovenia
Italy (1994–2011)
Headquarters Zagreb, Croatia
Statistics
Population
- Total
300,000 est.
Information
Denomination Eastern Orthodox
Sui iuris church Serbian Orthodox Church
Established 1557
Language Church Slavonic
Serbian
Current leadership
Bishop Metropolitan Porfirije
Map
Website
mitropolija-zagrebacka.org
Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana
Lepavina Monastery
Serbian Orthodox Secondary School "Kantakuzina Katarina Branković"
Orthodox church in Zagreb
Metropolitan Porfirije Perić

Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana (in Serbian language: Митрополија загребачко-љубљанска) is Eastern Orthodox eparchy (diocese) and one of the five honorary Metropolitanates of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The headquarters of the Metropolia is located in Zagreb, Croatia and its jurisdiction covers northern Croatia and the entire territory of Slovenia.

History

The above-mentioned regions are inhabited by Serbs who for the most part settled there after fleeing Bosnia before the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia. In some areas, such as the Habsburg Military Krajina, Serbs constituted the largest ethnic group. In 1438, Pope Eugene IV sent Jakob de Marcia to Slavonia as a missionary to baptize "schismatic" Serbs in "Roman religion", and if that failed, to banish them. Since the renewal of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1557, the Orthodox Serbs of Old Slavonia spiritual guidance of the Diocese of Požega, who is enthroned at the Orahovica Monastery. 1595 seat of the Diocese from Orahovica is moved to Western Slavonia in order to avoid a Turkish oppression. New headquarters is located in Marča Monastery. Marča archbishops led the difficult fight against Roman Catholic proselytism.

In addition, Monastery Marča, the other spiritual center of Orthodox Serbs in the area was and still is Lepavina Monastery. Abbot Kondrat of Lepavina was killed in 1716, defending the purity of Orthodox faith. He was killed by those Serbs who had become Catholics. In 1734 the headquarters moved to a monastery at Lepavina and the Diocese was called "Eparchy of Lepavina". Serbian Orthodox bishop Simeon Filipović of Lepavina (1734-1743) also had residence in Sjeverin. After his death and several years of administration, Eparchy of Lepavina was abolished and in 1750 its territory came under jurisdiction of Serbian Orthodox bishops of Kostajnica. In 1771, the region came under jurisdiction of Orthodox Bishops of Pakrac, and that remained until 1931.

20th century

Soon after the creation of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918), all Serbian Orthodox ecclesiastical provinces were merged into united Serbian Orthodox Church in 1920. Since the city of Zagreb was second capital of the Kingdom, initiative was revived for the restoration of old "Eparchy of Lepavina" under newly proposed name "Eparchy of Zagreb". After long preparations, the region was detached from the Eparchy of Pakrac in 1931, and new Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Zagreb was created, with its Bishop receiving the honorary title of Metropolitan.[1]

First Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan of Zagreb was Dositej Vasić, a learned theologian, and man of broad vision and understanding in relations with other nations and religions. In spite of that, after the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia in World War II and creation of Independent State of Croatia (1941) he was arrested and tortured. As a consequence, he died in 1945, exiled from his eparchy.[2]

After World War II, the Zagreb Metropolitanate and the other Dioceses in the territory of Croatia were administered by auxiliary (vicarian) bishop Arsenije Bradvarević. He was succeeded by Damascus Grdanički, previously Bishop of Banat, and after his death in 1969, the Metropolitanate was administered by the Bishop of Slavonia, Emilian Marinović.

At the regular session of the Holy Assembly of Serbian Orthodox Church in the 1977, the spiritual guidance of this Metropolitanate is entrusted to vicarian bishop Jovan Pavlović of Lepavina, who was elected for Metropolitan of Zagreb in 1982. Next year, the name of eparchy was expanded into Eparchy of Zagreb and Ljubljana. On the proposal of the Metropolit Jovan, the name of eparchy was expanded once more in 1994 into "Metropolitanate of Zagreb-Ljubljana and all Italy". Jurisdiction over Serbian Orthodox churches in Italy, that was transferred to the Metropolitanate in 1994, lasted until 2011.[3]

Metropolit Jovan organized the meeting of Serbian Patriarch Pavle and Cardinal Franjo Kuharić (first in the spring of 1991 in Sremski Karlovci, and the other later in Slavonski Brod). He also organized a meeting of Patriarch Pavle and the Croatian President Franjo Tuđman.

Bishops and metropolitans

Orthodox bishops and metropolitans who had jurisdiction over the territory of present-day Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana

Bishops of Marča

Since 1705, under jurisdiction of Orthodox Bishops of Pakrac.

Eparchy of Lepavina

Bishops of Kostajnica

After 1771, again under jurisdiction of Bishops of Pakrac.

Metropolitans, since 1931

See also

References

  1. ↑ Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church
  2. ↑ Saint Dositej Vasić of Zagreb
  3. ↑ Metropolitan Jovan (Pavlović) of Zagreb-Ljubljana reposed in the Lord

Sources

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