Gregory of Nin ( hr, Grgur Ninski ; la, Gregorius Ninnius) was a medieval bishop of Nin who strongly opposed the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and official circles of the Church and introduced the Croatian language in the religious services after the Great Assembly in 926, according to traditional Croatian

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

. Until that time, services were held only in

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 ...

(being under the jurisdiction of Roman influence before the Great Schism), not being understandable to a majority of the population. Not only was this important for Croatian language and culture, but it also made Christianity stronger within the Croatian kingdom.Dragutin Pavličević, Povijest Hrvatske, naklada Pavičić, Zagreb 2007. godine,

Historical facts

Gregory was the bishop of Nin and as such was under the strong protection of King

Tomislav of Croatia Tomislav (, la, Tamisclaus) was the first king of Croatia. He became Duke of Croatia and was crowned king in 925, reigning until 928. During Tomislav's rule, Croatia forged an alliance with the Byzantine Empire against Bulgaria. Croatia's strug ...

. At the Synod in 925, held in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

, Gregory became subordinate to the Archbishop of Split. He rejected the offer of the Sisak Bishopric. After the conclusions of the first Synod Gregory complained again in 927/8 but was rejected and his Nin Bishopric was abolished, Gregory himself being transferred to the diocese of

Skradin Skradin ( it, Scardona; grc, Σκάρδων) is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, with a population of 3,825 (2011 census). It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and ...

The statue

The tall statue of Gregory of Nin by

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

is a busy tourist site in the town, which the toe of the statue shows.

Rubbing A rubbing ('' frottage'') is a reproduction of the texture of a surface created by placing a piece of paper or similar material over the subject and then rubbing the paper with something to deposit marks, most commonly charcoal or pencil but ...

the statue's toe is said to bring good luck. The toe has been worn smooth and shiny as a result. The statue was erected in September 1929 in the Peristyle of

Diocletian's Palace Diocletian's Palace ( hr, Dioklecijanova palača, ) is an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "pala ...

and can be seen in postcards of the pre-World War II period. In 1941, the statue was moved outside the city by Italian occupying forces. In 1954, it was re-erected in a different location, to the north of the Palace and Old Town of Split, just outside the Golden Gate, where it currently sits. A major restoration of the monument took place between 2013 and 2015. There are also statues of Gregory of Nin in the cities of Nin and

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

Historical facts

The statue

See also

References

Further reading