Giovanni Thomas Marnavich or Joannes Thomas Marnavich or Ivan Tomko Mrnavić (born 1579; died 1635 or 1637 or 1639) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as

Bishop of Bosnia Diocese of Bosnia (Latin: ''Dioecesis Bosniensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese that existed in Bosnia between the 11th and 15th centuries, and remained formally in existence until 1773."Diocese of Bosnia (Bosna)"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Metropolitan Archdiocese of Đakovo–Osijek"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 and an author of historical works. He was the author of several forgeries, with the most famous being that of the ''Life of

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

''. He also wrote a book on the Life of

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

Biography

On 10 November 1631, Giovanni Thomas Marnavich was appointed during the papacy of Pope Urban VIII as

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Santa Pudenziana Santa Pudenziana is a church of Rome, a basilica built in the 4th century and dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Praxedes and daughter of Pudens (mentioned by Paul the Apostle in ''2 Timothy'', 4: 21). It is one of the national churches in ...

, with

Erasmo Paravicini Erasmo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Claudio Erasmo Vargas (born 1974), Mexican race walker *Erasmo Carlos (born 1941), Brazilian singer and songwriter *Erasmo Catarino (born 1977), Mexican singer, winner on the TV show ' ...

, Bishop of Alessandria, and Bartol Kačić,

Bishop of Makarska The Diocese of Makarska was a Latin Catholic bishopric from 533 to 590, from 1344 to 1400 and from 1615 until its 1828 merger into the (meanwhile Metropolitan Arch) Diocese of Split-Makarska, which preserves its title. No statistics available. Hi ...

, serving as co-consecrators. He served as Bishop of Bosnia until his death in 1635 or 1639. In 1631, Marnavich published a pamphlet that Albanian national hero

Scanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

was not an Albanian but rather a

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 ...

. His claim was refuted by

Frang Bardhi Frang Bardhi (Latin: ''Franciscus Blancus'', it, Francesco Bianchi, 1606–1643) was an Albanian Catholic bishop and writer. Bardhi is best known as an author of the early eras of Albanian literature. He served as Bishop of Sapë (1635–1644 ...

in his

The Apology of Scanderbeg ''The Apology of Scanderbeg'' is a work of Frang Bardhi, published at Venice in 1636, in Latin. Its complete title is ''Georgius Castriottus Epirensis vulgo Scanderbegh, Epirotarum Princeps fortissimus ac invictissimus suis et Patriae restitutus'' ...

, published in Venice in 1636.

Views

Mrnavić believed that the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

were Slavs. He claimed that

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

, the national hero of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, was of Slav origin, which prompted

to write a biography on Skanderbeg published in Venice in 1636 as a polemic against him, defending the Albanian identity of Skanderbeg.

Episcopal succession

While bishop, Marnavich was the

principal co-consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

of: *

Octavio Asinari Octavio is a Spanish language masculine given name. In the Portuguese language the given name Octavio or Octávio is also found, but in Portuguese the normal spelling is Otávio. It is also used as a surname in the Philippines. Individuals * Octa ...

, Bishop of Ivrea (1634); and *

Nicolaus de Georgiis Nicolaus de Georgiis or Nicolaus de Zorzi (1574–1644) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Hvar (1635–1644). ''(in Latin)''Bishop of Hvar A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

(1635).

Works

His works written in Latin include: * ''Vita beati Augustini'' (

Augustin Kažotić Blessed Augustin Kažotić ( it, Agostino Casotti, hu, Kazotics Ágoston; 1260 – 3 August 1323) was a Dalmatian-Croatian Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Order of Preachers who served as the Bishop of Lucera from 1322 unti ...

) * ''Vita Berislavi'' (

Petar Berislavić Petar Berislavić (or Péter Beriszló in Hungarian) (Trogir, 1475 – 20 May 1520), a member of the Berislavići Trogirski noble family, was the ban (viceroy) of Croatia from 1513 to 1520 and also bishop of Veszprém. Petar was born in Trogir. ...

) 1620 * ''Vita s. Sabbae'' (

), Rome, 1630–31 His works written in "Illyrian" language include: * ''Život Margarite blažene divice, kćeri Bele, kralja ugarskoga i hrvatskoga'', 1613, translated from Italian * ''Žalosnoskazje Krispa Cezara'', 1614 - translated from Latin, tragedy of Bernarda Stefoni * ''Život Magdalene od knezov Žirova'', Rome 1626, Biblical-religious epic, translated to Italian, celebrating union of asceticism and anti-Turkish sentiment * ''Potuženje pokornika'', songs on death of Jesus, half of the poem is translated from song written on Latin by Sannazar * ''Osmanšćica'', drama written in 1631

References

1579 births 1637 deaths 1639 deaths 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Hungary Bishops appointed by Pope Urban VIII 17th-century Venetian historians Bishops of Bosnia Venetian period in the history of Croatia {{RC-bishop-stub