Benedikt Benko Vinković ( lat, Benedictus II Vinkovich) (1581 – 2 December 1642) was a Croatian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who served as the bishop of Pécs (1630-1637) and the

bishop of Zagreb The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, a ...

(1637-1642).

Early life

Vinković was born in 1581 in

Jastrebarsko Jastrebarsko (; hu, Jaska), colloquially known as Jaska, is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. History Antiquity In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan are ...

(or Jaska). While some contemporary sources say his parents Petar and Magdalena were free peasants, other sources, including Toma Kovačević, claim that they were serfs. During his early years, Vinković was educated by

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

in seminaries in Erdelj,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, and

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. In 1606 Vinković became rector of the Ilyrian College in

Bologne Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nati ...

, and in 1608 he received a PhD in philosophy. In 1611 Vinković became archdeacon of

Čazma Čazma is a town in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. It is part of Moslavina. Geography Čazma is situated 60 kilometers east of Zagreb and only 30 kilometres from the center of the region - Bjelovar. Čazma is situated on the slopes of Mos ...

, and in 1612 he became archdeacon of Komarnica. In 1619, Vinković served as an envoy of the Croatian Diet sent to the Emperor to discuss

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

-related issues. In 1622, he was appointed as cathedral archdeacon. Due to

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

policies on Ottoman-controlled territories in Europe, several Jesuit priests who fluently spoke different Slavic languages were appointed to higher positions in the Catholic church. Vinković was appointed bishop in Ottoman-controlled

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

in 1630. Aside from his native language, he also used

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and Hungarian in his correspondences. Vinković was a supporter of Martin Borković's counter-reformation activities in Međimurje.

Activities related to Serbs

According to Serb historian Slavko Gavrilović, Vinković (and Petar Petretić) wrote numerous inaccurate texts meant to incite hatred against Serbs and Eastern Orthodox Christians, some of which included advice on how to Catholicize the Serbs. Vinković also targeted the bishop of Marča, Maksim Predojević, whom he reported to the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

after refusing to support the conversion of the population of his bishopric to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Vinković estimated the number of Serbs in Slavonia to be about 74,000. In 1640 Vinković requested Predojević's deposition from the Roman Curia in his 1640 letter to the Pope's nuncio in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Vinković claimed that Predojević was subordinate to him and Vinković expected to receive some income from him. He also intended to appoint Rafael Levaković as bishop of Marča instead of Predojević. In the same year he reported that Serbs still used the

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...

. In a 1673 letter, Vinković reported that some Serbs from Istria,

Senj Senj (; it, Segna, la, Senia, Hungarian and german: Zengg) is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress ( hr, Tvrđava Nehaj) whic ...

, and Vinodolski had been converted to Catholicism.

References

Sources

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External links

Profile
Archdiocese of Zagreb website; accessed 8 January 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinkovic, Benedikt Date of birth unknown 1581 births 1642 deaths Bishops of Pécs Bishops of Zagreb Bishops appointed by Pope Urban VIII 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Croatia 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Hungary 16th-century Hungarian Jesuits 17th-century Hungarian Jesuits History of the Serbs of Croatia