Church of St. Nicholas ( hr, Hram svetog Nikole, sr-Cyrl, Храм светог Николе) in

Pačetin Pačetin ( sr-Cyrl, Пачетин, hu, Pacsinta) is a village in the municipality of Trpinja, Vukovar-Syrmia County in the easternmost part of Croatia. At the time of the 2011 Census the population of the village was 541. Village lies north of ...

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

church in eastern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas.

History

The building of the St. Nicholas Church in Pačetin started in 1752 and the construction works were finished in three years period so that it was blessed in 1755 by the Bishops of Pakrac

Sofronije Jovanović Sofronije may refer to: * Sofronije Podgoričanin (1668 - 1711), the Metropolitan of Karlovac * Sofronije Kirilović (died 1786), Serbian Orthodox bishop in the Habsburg * Sofronije Jugović-Marković (fl. 1789), Habsburg Serb writer and activist i ...

. At that time, three Orthodox priests practiced religious services in the village. The church was reconstructed several times in its history with 1908 reconstruction being the first one, 1958 the second and 1986 the third reconstruction with the renovation work still in progress in 2018. The new church

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

was erected in 1910 and it was the work of painter Ivan Tišov. Iconostasis was commissioned by the Government of

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...

, nominally autonomous kingdom within the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, with the aim to create higher quality in the standards of equipment of sacral edifices for both the Orthodox and the Catholic churches within the kingdom.

Architecture

The architectural framework for the iconostasis is designed in the Byzantine Revival architecture style which was the most frequently used style in the late 19th and early 20th century design of Orthodox churches in Croatia while most of the design elements are based on the classical origin. The compositional structure of iconostasis and the style of painting are in line with the Western academic traditions of painting. Some icons show the elements of

Secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

with the icon of the Virgin's on the top of the iconostasis having the most elements of Secession. Old iconostasis from the 1891 was painted by Đorđe Rakić from Neština. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Church of St. Nicholas was turned into

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church by the authorities of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

. Ustashas damaged the iconostasis and parish house and robbed part of the church inventory. 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 ...

in 1991 church was hit with two shells that damaged its

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

section. In the early 2000s church attracted attention among Orthodox and some Catholic believers when story about weeping icon of Saint Nicholas appeared in regional and national media.

References

{{Serbian minority institutions and organizations in Croatia 18th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings

Churches completed in 1755 Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia

History

Architecture

See also

References