Eparchy of Banat

Eparchy of Banat

Банатска епархија
Banatska eparhija
Eparchy of Banat; Банатска епархија; Banatska eparhija
	Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, Vršac
Location
Territory	Serbian Banat
Headquarters	Vršac, Serbia
Information
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox
Sui iuris church	Serbian Orthodox Church
Established	1932
Cathedral	Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, Vršac
Language	Church Slavonic; Serbian
Current leadership
Bishop
Map

The Eparchy of Banat (Serbian: Банатска епархија, romanized: Banatska eparhija) is an ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Banat region, Serbia. It is mostly situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, while the eparchy also include a small south-western part of Banat that belongs to the City of Belgrade as well as village of Ostrovo that belongs to the city of Požarevac. The seat of the eparchy is in Vršac.

History[]

Serbian Patriarch Makarije I

Serbian Patriarch Arsenije III

Serbian Patriarch Arsenije IV

Serbian Patriarch Josif Rajačić, former Bishop of Vršac

Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Vršac was one of several eparchies created on the territory of Banat during the 16th century under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. By the time of the accession of Serbian patriarch Makarije I (1557), much of the Banat region was already conquered by the Turks who took over Temeswar in 1552.^[1] Region was organized as a Turkish eyalet (province) named the Eyalet of Temeşvar.

During Turkish rule in the 16th and 17th centuries Banat was mainly populated by Serbs (also called Rascians) in the west and Vlachs (Romanians) in the east. In some historical sources it was referred to as Rascia and in others as Wallachia. Both Serbs and Romanians in Banat were Orthodox Christians. In some parts of Banat, Serbs were so numerous that the entire region was sometimes called "Rascia" ("the land of the Serbs", 1577).^[2]

Jurisdiction of Serbian Patriarchate in 16th and 17th century
Eyalet of Temeşvar in 16th century
Uprising in Banat in 1594

At the beginning of the Austro-Turkish War (1593-1606), in the spring of 1594, Serbs in Banat started an Uprising against Turkish rule. The local Romanians also participated in this uprising. Rebels took Vršac and various other towns in Banat and started negotiations with Prince of Transylvania. One of the leaders of the uprising was Serbian Orthodox Bishop Theodore.^[3]

During Austro-Turkish War (1683-1699), Serbian patriarch Arsenije III sided with Austrians and appointed Spiridon Štibica as new Bishop of Vršac in 1694. Austrian troops took over parts of Banat and Eparchy of Vršac was officially recognized as a diocese of Serbian Orthodox Church by the charter of emperor Leopold I in 1695.

Eyalet of Temeşvar in 17th century
Eyalet of Temeşvar and surrounding regions in 1683
Eyalet of Temeşvar, from 1699 to 1716

Under the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699) the Banat remained under Turkish administration. At the beginning of Austro-Turkish War (1716-1718), when Prince Eugene of Savoy took the Banat region from the Turks, Serbian Bishop of Vršac was Mojsije Stanojević. He sided with Austrians and secured official confirmation. After the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), region became an Austrian province and was renamed as the Banat of Temeswar.

Banat of Temeswar, from 1718 to 1739
Banat of Temeswar, from 1739 to 1751
Banat of Temeswar, from 1751 to 1778

Eparchy of Vršac at first went under the jurisdiction of Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Belgrade.^[4] During Austro-Turkish War (1737-1739), Serbian Patriarch Arsenije IV sided with Austrians and made his residence in Sremski Karlovci. Eparchy of Vršac remained under the jurisdiction of Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci, until 1920, when united Serbian Patriarchate was re-created.

During 18th and 19th century, prominent Serbian bishops of Vršac were Jovan Đorđević, who became Metropolitan of Karlovci in 1769 and Josif Rajačić who became Metropolitan of Karlovci in 1842 and Serbian Patriarch in 1848.

Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat (1849-1860)
Residence of Serbian Orthodox Bishop in Vršac
Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Vršac

During the First World War (1914-1918), many Serbian priests and parish councilors of the Eparchy of Vršac were persecuted, imprisoned or sent to concentration camps by the authorities of Austria-Hungary. The region of Banat was liberated and united with Serbia in 1918, becoming part of newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). New border with Romania was established in 1919. Eparchy of Vršac was reorganized and renamed as Eparchy of Banat in 1931.

During the Second World War, territory of the Eparchy was occupied by forces of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944. German forces committed numerous atrocities against orthodox Serbs in Banat and also against local Jews and Gypsies. After the Liberation in 1944 and the establishment of new communist regime in Yugoslavia, Eparchy of Banat was kept under constant political pressure, until the collapse of the communist one-party system (1988-1990).

Monasteries[]

Vojlovica monastery near Pančevo. Old monastery, founded in the 15th-16th century.
Mesić monastery near Vršac. Old monastery, founded in the 15th-16th century.
Središte monastery near Vršac. Old monastery, founded in the 15th-16th century.
Bavanište monastery near Kovin. By local tradition, founded in the 15th-16th century and destroyed in 1716. Rebuilt in 1858.
Holy Trinity monastery in Kikinda. New monastery, built in 1885-1887 as a foundation of .
Saint Melanija monastery in Zrenjanin. New monastery, founded in 1935 by bishop Georgije Letić.
Hajdučica monastery near Plandište. New monastery, founded in 1939.

Bishops[]

Bishop Georgije Letić

Bishop Vikentije Vujić

From the middle of 16th century up to the beginning of the 18th century, under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, Bishops of Vršac were styled as titular metropolitans, as was customary for all diocesan bishops. Later, under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci, diocesans of Vršac were simply styled as bishops. Title was changed from "Vršac" to "Banat" after territorial reorganization in 1931.

Bishops of Vršac[]

Teodor (1594)
Simeon (1619)
Antonije (1622)
Teodosije (1662)
(1694-1699)
(1713–1726)
(1726–1728)
(1728–1738)
(1739)
(1741–1748)
(1749–1769)
(1774–1785)
Josif Jovanović Šakabenta (1786–1805)
(1806–1818)
(1829–1833)
Josif Rajačić (1833–1842)
(1843–1849)
(1853–1885)
(1887–1895)
Gavrilo Zmejanović (1896–1919)
(1922–1929)

Bishops of Banat[]

Georgije Letić (1931–1935)
(1935–1936; administrator of the eparchy)
(1936–1939)
(1939–1947)
(1951–1979)
(1980–1985; administrator of the eparchy)
Amfilohije Radović (1985–1990)
Atanasije Jevtić (1991–1992)
(1992–2003)
(2003–present)

References[]

^ Ćirković 2004, p. 119.
^ Palffy 2001, p. 109-132.
^ Ćirković 2004, p. 141-142.
^ Точанац 2008, p. 151-166.

Sources[]

Шематизам Српске православне епархије вршачке за годину 1898, Вршац 1899.
Иларион Зеремски, Српски манастири у Банату, њихов постанак, прошлост и одношај према Румунима, Сремски Карловци 1907.
(1929). Историја Срба у Војводини. Матица Српска.
Радослав Грујић, Духовни живот, in : Војводина (collection of papers), књ. 1, Нови Сад 1939, стр. 330-414.
(1957). Срби у Војводини. књ. 1: Од најстаријих времена до Карловачког мира, 1699. Матица српска.
Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr. (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08149-7.
Вуковић, Сава (1996). Српски јерарси од деветог до двадесетог века (Serbian Hierarchs from the 9th to the 20th Century). Евро, Унирекс, Каленић.
(2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77017-3.
Fodor, Pál; Dávid, Géza, eds. (2000). Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of Ottoman Conquest. BRILL. ISBN 9004119078.
Palffy, Geza (2001). "The Impact of the Ottoman rule on Hungary" (PDF). Hungarian Studies Review. 28 (1–2): 109–132.
Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
Точанац, Исидора (2008). Српски народно-црквени сабори (1718-1735). Београд: Историјски институт САНУ. ISBN 9788677430689.
Ingrao, Charles; Samardžić, Nikola; Pešalj, Jovan, eds. (2011). The Peace of Passarowitz, 1718. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press. ISBN 9781557535948.

Банат кроз векове, Београд 2010. (collection of papers)

External links[]

Official site of the Eparchy of Banat

[FOOTNOTEĆirković2004119-1] Ćirković 2004, p. 119.

[FOOTNOTEPalffy2001109-132-2] Palffy 2001, p. 109-132.

[FOOTNOTEĆirković2004141-142-3] Ćirković 2004, p. 141-142.

[FOOTNOTEТочанац2008151-166-4] Точанац 2008, p. 151-166.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t Subdivisions of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Metropolitanates	Belgrade and Karlovci Dabar-Bosnia Montenegro and the Littoral Zagreb and Ljubljana Australia and New Zealand
Traditional dioceses	Bačka Banat Banja Luka Bihać and Petrovac Braničevo Buda Budimlja and Nikšić Dalmatia Gornji Karlovac Kruševac Mileševa Niš Osječko polje and Baranja Raška and Prizren Šabac Slavonia Srem Šumadija Temišvar Valjevo Zahumlje and Herzegovina Žiča Zvornik and Tuzla
Diaspora dioceses	Austria and Switzerland Britain and Scandinavia Buenos Aires and South America Canada Düsseldorf and all of Germany Eastern America New Gračanica and Midwestern America Western America Western Europe
Ohrid Archbishopric	Metropolitanate of Skopje Debar and Kičevo Polog and Kumanovo
Historical	Belgrade Metropolitanate Karlovci Metropolitanate Karlovci Patriarchate Lipljan Marča Arad (1695–1865) (1713–1771) (1831–2006) (1870–1931) (1878–1931) (1920–1931) (1920–1931) (1931–1967) (1920–1967) Mukačevo and Prešov (1931–1945) (For others see: History of Serbian Orthodox Church)