Eastern Orthodoxy in Croatia
Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the second largest religious denomination in Croatia, as Roman Catholicism predominates. Over 190,000 people, forming 4.44% of the total Croatian population, are Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Croatia is represented foremost by the Serbian Orthodox Church, which claims most of the Orthodox Christian faithful. Other major jurisdictions are the Bulgarian Orthodox and Macedonian Orthodox Churches. These three churches are recognized by the state.[1] [2] In Croatia there are also adherents to the Montenegrin Orthodox Church. During World War 2, the Croatian Orthodox Church existed as well.
Statistics
The published data from the 2011 Croatian census included a crosstab of ethnicity and religion which showed that a total of 190,143 Orthodox believers (4.44% of the total population) was divided between the following ethnic groups:[3]
- 159,530 Orthodox Serbs
- 16,647 Orthodox Croats
- 2,401 Orthodox Macedonians
- 2,187 Orthodox by nationality
- 2,084 Orthodox believers of undeclared nationality
- 1,822 Orthodox Montenegrins
- 816 Orthodox believers of other nationalities
- 729 Orthodox Russians
- 341 Orthodox Ukrainians
- 293 Orthodox Bosniaks
- 158 Orthodox Bulgarians
- 157 Orthodox believers of unknown nationality
- 147 Orthodox Romanians
- 124 Orthodox believers of regional affiliation
- other individual ethnicities (under 100 people each)
Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia
This church gathers its faithful among the Serbs of Croatia. Five eparchies (dioceses) of the Serbian Orthodox Church cover the territory of Croatia:[1]
- Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana, headed by metropolitan Porfirije Perić, since 2014.
- Eparchy of Dalmatia, headed by bishop Nikodim Kosović, since 2017.[4]
- Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac, headed by bishop Gerasim Popović, since 2004.
- Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja, administered by bishop Irinej Bulović of Bačka, since 2017.
- Eparchy of Slavonia, headed by bishop Jovan Ćulibrk, since 2014.[5]
Regional Council of Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia consists of all five diocesan bishops. The Council is presided by the Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana.
Major Serbian Orthodox sites include the monasteries:
- Dragović
- Gomirje
- Komogovina
- Krka
- Krupa
- Lepavina
- Sv. Lazarica
- Sv. Nedjelje
- Sv. Petke
- Sv. Vasilija Ostroškog
and the churches:
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See also
- Religion in Croatia
- Croatian Orthodox Church, a World War II organization
References
- 1 2 "Ugovor između Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Srpske pravoslavne crkve u Hrvatskoj o pitanjima od zajedničkog interesa". Narodne novine - Službeni list Republike Hrvatske NN196/03 (in Croatian). Narodne novine. December 15, 2003. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Ugovor između Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Bugarske pravoslavne crkve u Hrvatskoj, Hrvatske starokatoličke crkve i Makedonske pravoslavne crkve u Hrvatskoj". Narodne novine - Službeni list Republike Hrvatske NN196/03 (in Croatian). Narodne novine. December 15, 2003. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ↑ "4. Population by ethnicity and religion". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- ↑ Communique of the Holy Assembly of Bishops (2017)
- ↑ Enthronement of Bishop John (Ćulibrk) of Slavonia
Sources
- Mileusnić, Slobodan (1997). Spiritual Genocide: A survey of destroyed, damaged and desecrated churches, monasteries and other church buildings during the war 1991-1995 (1997). Belgrade: Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
- Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.