Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Slavonia ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна епархија славонска, hr, Srpska pravoslavna eparhija slavonska) is an

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on th ...

(diocese) of the

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

encompassing areas of western and central

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

, in modern

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 ...

. Since 2014, the Eparchy is headed by bishop

Jovan Ćulibrk Jovan Ćulibrk (; born 16 April 1965), is a Serbian Orthodox prelate who is the current bishop of Pakrac and Slavonia of the Serbian Orthodox Church, from 2014. Before that, he was titular bishop of Lipljan between 1999 and 2014. Ćulibrk was ...

.SOC (2014): Enthronement of Bishop John (Ćulibrk) of Slavonia
/ref>

History

During the Middle Ages, the Banate of Slavonia was under the rule of Hungarian kings. By the 15th century, some eastern regions of Slavonia were inhabited by

Serbs 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 ...

, who settled there after fleeing

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, even before the Ottoman conquest in 1463. Since Serbs were

Eastern Orthodox Christians Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

, some tensions occurred with local Catholic Church. In 1438, pope

Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

(1431-1447) sent the inquisitor

Giacomo della Marca Jacob de Marchia ( la, Jacobus de Marchia, it, Giacomo della Marca; c. 1391 – 28 November 1476), commonly known in English as Saint James of the Marches, was an Italian people, Italian Friar Minor, preacher and writer. He was a Papal legate an ...

as a missionary, with instruction to convert "schismatic" Serbs to "

Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

", and if that should fail, to banish them. During that period, Serbian nobility was also present in the region. In 1454, Serbian Orthodox liturgical book, the

Varaždin Apostol The ''Varaždin Apostol'' ( sr-Cyrl, Вараждински апостол, hr, Varaždinski apostol) is a hand-written Orthodox liturgical book written in 1454. It is named after the northern Croatian city of Varaždin. The book represents the ...

was written in Upper-Slavonian city of

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

, for princess

Katarina Branković Katarina Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Катарина Бранковић, gr, Καταρίνα Μπράνκοβιτς; 1418/19–1492), also known as Kantakuzina (, ''Kantakouzena'') was the Countess of Celje, through the marriage with Count of Celje U ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, wife of

Ulrich II, Count of Celje Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of Al ...

. In the first half of the 16th century, entire

was devastated by frequent wars. Serbian despot

Pavle Bakić Pavle Bakić ( sr, Павле Бакић, hu, Bakics Pál; (ca. 1484 – 9 October 1537) was the last titular Despot of Serbia. He was one of the most notable military commanders among Serbian nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary, and fought agains ...

fell at the

Battle of Gorjani The Battle of Gorjani ( hr, Bitka kod Gorjana, german: Schlacht bei Gorjani) or Battle of Đakovo ( hu, Diakovári csata) was a battle fought on 9 October 1537 at Gorjani, a place in present-day Slavonia (today in eastern Croatia), between the to ...

in Slavonia (1537), defending the region from the Ottoman Turks. By that time, eastern part known as ''Lower Slavonia'' was conquered by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, while the western part (known as ''Upper Slavonia'') came under the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

rule. Since the renewal of the

Serbian Patriarchate of Peć The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Српска патријаршија у Пећи, ''Srpska patrijaršija u Peći'') or just Patriarchate of Peć ( sr, Пећка патријаршија, ''Pećka patrijaršija''), was an autocephaly, a ...

in 1557, the Orthodox Serbs of Lower Slavonia were placed under jurisdiction of the Eparchy of Požega, centered at the

Orahovica Monastery The Orahovica Monastery ( sr, Манастир Ораховица, Manastir Orahovica) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery in the village of Duzluk of Orahovica, Croatia. It is mentioned in 1583 when it was a seat of the Požega metropolitanate and ...

. In 1595, Serbian Orthodox metropolitan Vasilije of Požega moved to Upper Slavonia, under Habsburg rule, in order to avoid the Turkish oppression. Historically, the Eparchy was known as Eparchy of Požega (Пожешка епархија) in 16th and 17th century, and later as

Eparchy of Pakrac Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Slavonia ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна епархија славонска, hr, Srpska pravoslavna eparhija slavonska) is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church encompassing areas of wes ...

(Пакрачка епархија). During 18th and 19th century, it was under jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox

Metropolitanate of Karlovci The Metropolitanate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка митрополија, Karlovačka mitropolija) was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713 ...

. Since 1920, it belongs to the united

Heads

Patriarchate of Peć in the 16th and 17th century

Metropolitans of Požega (Lower Slavonia)

Josif Josif ( sr, Јосиф) is a masculine given name, a cognate of Joseph. It may refer to: *Josif Chirila (born 1983), Romanian sprint canoeist who has competed since 2004 *Josif Dorfman (born 1952), Ukrainian-French chess Grandmaster, coach, and che ...

(around 1585), *

Vasilije Vasilije () is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic masculine given name, a variant of Greek language, Greek given name ''Vassilios'' ("Basil (name), Basil"). It may refer to: *Vasilije, Serbian Patriarch (), Serbian cleric born Vasilije Jovanovi ...

(around 1590-1595), *

Sofronije Sofronije may refer to: * Sofronije Podgoričanin (1668 - 1711), the Metropolitan of Karlovac * Sofronije Kirilović Sofronije Kirilović ( sr, Софроније Кириловић, ro, Sofronie Chirilovici; died 28 February 1786) was a Serbian ...

(during 16th or 17th century), *

Grigorije Grigorije ( sr-cyr, Григорије) is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of Greek ''Grēgorios'' (, la, Gregorius, English: Gregory) meaning "watchful, alert". It has been used in Serbian society since the Middle Ages. It may refer to: ...

(during 16th or 17th century), * Stefan (around 1641).

Bishops of Pakrac (Lower Slavonia)

Sofronije Podgoričanin Sofronije Podgoričanin (Podgorica, Ottoman Empire, today's Montenegro, 1668 – Sremski Karlovci, Habsburg Empire, today's Serbia, 7 January 1711) was the Metropolitan of Krušedol (near Sremski Karlovci), from 1710 to 1711, and one of the most im ...

(1705-1710), * Vasilije Rajić (1710-1714), * Gavrilo Popović (1715-1716), * Atanasije Radošević (1717-1720), * Nikifor Stefanović (1721-1743), * Sofronije Jovanović (1743-1757), * Vićentije Jovanović Vidak (1757-1759), administration * Arsenije Radivojević (1759-1769), * Atanasije Živković (1770-1781), *

Josif Jovanović Šakabenta Josif Jovanović Šakabenta ( Irig, Habsburg monarchy, 1743 – Vršac, Habsburg Monarchy, 31 December 1805) was the bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the throne of Sremski Karlovci and Vršac. He was Zaharije Orfelin's friend and patron. L ...

(1781-1783), * Pavle Avakumović (178?-1786), * Kiril Živković (1786-1807), * Josif Putnik (1808-1828), *

Georgije Hranislav Georgije Hransislav (secular Gavrilo Hranislav; 8 November 1775 - 22 June 1843) was the bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Biography Bishop Georgije was born as Gavrilo Hranislav in Ruma on 8 November 1775, to father Pavle and mother Alka. He ...

(1829-1839), * Stefan Popović (1839-1843), * Stefan Kragujević (1843-1864), *

Nikanor Grujić Nikanor Grujić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никанор Грујић; December 12, 1810 – April 20, 1887) was the Serbian Orthodox bishop of Pakrac, the ''locum tenens'' Serbian Patriarch, the Austro–Hungarian emperor's Privy Councilor, knight of th ...

(1864-1887), * Miron Nikolić (1890-1941), * Damaskin Grdanički (1945-1951), administration

Bishops of Slavonia

* Emilijan Marinović (1952-1981), * Lukijan Pantelić (1985-1999), * Sava Jurić (1999-2013), *

(since 2014)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

*
The Serbs in the Former SR of Croatia

Spiritual Genocide: The Diocese of Slavonia

Bishop Jovan: Historiography of the Holocaust in Yugoslavia
{{Serbian minority institutions and organizations in Croatia Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia Serbian minority institutions and organizations in Croatia 1557 establishments in Europe Religious organizations established in the 1550s Religious sees of the Serbian Orthodox Church 16th-century establishments in Croatia