The Church of Intercession of the Theotokos ( hr, Crkva Pokrova Presvete Bogorodice) is a Greek Catholic church in Kričke, Croatia.

History

Construction and dedication

Construction of the church begun in late 1832. In February 1833 construction was stopped, but it was resumed next month. It was projected by architect Valentin Presani in Classicist style. In 1836, the church was dedicated.

Dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

was constructed next to the church.

Destruction

The interior of the church was almost completely destroyed in World War II. In 1942, the

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

devastated and burned the church and expelled priest Janko Heraković, who came to Kričke in 1925 and was the last Greek Catholic priest in the village and in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

as a whole. After Heraković was arrested by the Partisans in 1945, Kričke did not have its own Greek Catholic priest until 2010. In 1947, the church burnt down after a lightning struck it and ignited hay which was stored inside by the Partisans. At the same time, dormitory was turned into elementary school. In 1992, during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

, church towers were mined by rebel Serbs.

Restoration

In 2009, the surrounding terrain around the church was cleared, thus fulfilling the prerequisites for the church's restoration. In March 2011, restoration began under the supervision and guidance of the Drniš Town Museum. In 2010, for the first time since World War II, Greek Catholic liturgy was held in Kričke on the occasion of the celebration of Intercession of the Theotokos. The liturgy, which was held in front of the ruined church, was led by Greek Catholic Vicar for Dalmatia,

Milan Stipić Bishop Milan Stipić (born 28 December 1978) is a Croatian Greek Catholic hierarch, who serves as Bishop of Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci since 8 September 2020. Previously he was an Apostolic Administrator of Greek Catholic Eparchy of Kri� ...

. On 1 October 2011, with restoration in progress, a solemn liturgy was held in front of the church, led by the Bishop of the

Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci The Eparchy of Križevci is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia eparchy of the Catholic Church in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its current eparch is Milan Stipić. The cathedra is in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinit ...

Nikola Kekić Nikola Kekić (born January 18, 1943) is a Croatian Greek Catholic hierarch, who served as the bishop of the Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Križevci. Childhood and education Nikola Kekić was born in 1943 in the village of Stari Grad Žumberački ...

in concelebration with Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic priests.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of Intercession of the Theotokos, Kričke Buildings and structures in Šibenik-Knin County Destroyed churches in Croatia Greek Catholic church buildings in Croatia 19th-century churches in Croatia