Matija Mazarek or Matija Masarek (; ; 1726– 1792) was an 18th-century Catholic priest.
In the second half of the 18th century he was the archbishop of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje. His reports to the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
are an important source for demography study of his diocese.
Career
Most probably of
Albanian origin, Mazarek was born in
Janjevo in 1726. The name Mazrek(u), which means horse breeder in Albanian, is found throughout all Albanian regions.
Elsie links the name to
Mazreku, an Albanian tribe north of
Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...
.
Before 1743, Jovan Nikolović (or Gjon Nikolle) sent Mazarek to Italy to be trained for his religious tasks. In 1750 he was archbishop of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje.
Many of his ancestors and descendants were notable Catholic priests, such as:
*
Pjeter Mazarek, 17th-century archbishop of the
* Josip Mazarek, his brother, a Catholic priest.
Reports
He wrote notable reports to Vatican during the second half of the 18th century. Those reports include description about migrations of people from
Malësia (region now divided by Montenegro and Albania) to a region he called Serbia (Kosovo is the likely region). In 1792 he reported that villages around
Gjakova
Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...
received influx of Catholics from Albania.
His reports include many complaints about Albanians who arrived from Malesia. His prayers included "Ab albanensibus libera nos Domine" ().
References
Sources
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1726 births
Year of death unknown
18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Ottoman Empire
Bishops of Skopje
18th-century Albanian Roman Catholic bishops
People from Lipjan
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